Don't Walk Away
Chapter 10: Unwanted Visitor
Flamecaster15: Thank you! Hopefully in the next few chapters you will see more of her character development and maybe her relationship with Kakashi will grow *wink wink*
lovinurbuks: hmmmm... I guess you will just have to read and find out :P and don't worry... maybver her comfort may be short lived
Chloe: Thank you! As per your request, here is the next chapter! (I try to update this story every Monday... just as an FYI)
"You can't be serious, Amaya-chan!" Anko gasped at her news.
"That is a serious job, if I would say so myself!" Kurenai voiced her enthusiasm.
"It isn't that big of a deal…" Amaya wove her hand in front of her face, trying to get away from being the topic of conversation.
She still wasn't used to having questions directed at her, nor was she used to answering. She liked to be the one that observed what was going on. Just being invited to things and going places with people filled her with a warmth that she had never realized she missed.
"Don't sell yourself short—"
"Yeah, we are totally going to have to throw you a party!" Anko cheekily smiled, cutting off Kurenai, who just looked at the purple-haired kunoichi with annoyance.
"No, I'm—"
"You can't turn down a time to party!" Anko yelled across the restaurant, standing up and thrusting her drink in the air making the rest of the patrons in the establishment become silent and look at her.
Amaya blushed at everyone looking their way and awkwardly stood half way up, trying to shush Anko while apologizing to the rest of the restaurant. Sighing when everyone returned to their own conversations, and finally feeling the heat fade from her face.
"But Anko is right, we need to find a time where we can celebrate your promotion" Kurenai said to rein back the conversation.
"It really isn't a promotion, I will just be taking over the detention sections officially. I mean, all I have to do is stay at the academy even longer than necessary…"
"That isn't what I heard from Iruka" Anko replied.
Amaya furrowed her eyebrows together not knowing what she was getting at. All Iruka told Amaya was that he saw how well she had done with Konohamaru, and how he was doing marginally better in class alongside not acting up as much. The boy apparently also would not stop talking about how the blue-haired kunoichi had helped him train. She was just happy that she could help a student to that extent—she never did it with a promotion in her mind.
"Even Asuma and Gai, especially Gai, have praised how well you do while teaching kids. Apparently all the genin look up to you. I know we haven't had time to train together, but I mean you even got Asuma's lazy-ass team to actually train and not complain about it… for once" Kurenai remarked.
"Not to change the topic," which was precisely what Amaya was trying to do because she didn't like the level of praise she was getting, "but what exactly is between you and Asuma-san?"
Amaya watched Kurenai's face turn bright red, almost like a tomato, all the while Anko sat next to the blushing kunoichi laughing her ass off. Anko grined demonically at Amaya, who wasn't going to let this opportunity slip past her. Apparently, the blue-haired kunoichi had opened up a gateway that she probably shouldn't have.
"I can't believe you haven't notice how she pines over—"
"Don't say another word, Anko!" Kurenai said, her words coming out in a rush.
"But then, I guess that is why you are asking about it because you noticed…" Anko said thinking while putting her index finger on her chin, looking up at the ceiling ignoring Kurenai's pleas for her to stop talking.
"I didn't mean to ask such an awkward question—"
"That is the last thing—"
"Would you stop, Anko?!" Kurenai smacked her hand on the table, once again silencing the restaurant making everyone look at them.
Amaya tried to hide herself. She had a feeling that management was going to come to their table at any moment and ask them to leave. She enjoyed being with Anko and Kurenai, but sometimes, like now, she always seemed to become embarrassed. She couldn't imagine what the two would be like, especially Anko, if there was alcohol involved.
"Anyway, Asuma and I… well… we… I… have feelings for the man, but nothing has come of it and I don't want to rush into anything…"
"Except we don't know how Asuma feels about her… because Kurenai won't ask him out!" Anko sighed, knocking back her tea as if she was taking a shot of pure-grade sake.
"Why don't you?" Amaya questioned.
"Well… uhh…" Kurenai wiggled around in her seat, making Anko answer for her.
"Because she is afraid that she will get rejected if she asks him out. You know how men are… especially shinobi… always thinking that they have to have the upper hand on everyone. I swear, I sometimes wish only females were allowed to be nin's because then we wouldn't have to deal with this pissing contest that always seemed to occur…" Anko trailed off onto a rant, but both Kurenai and Amaya stopped listening.
"Well, I don't know if you want my advice…" Amaya said hesitantly.
Kurenai just simply nodded her head and Amaya opened her mouth to speak even though she didn't know why she did. It wasn't like she had any practical relationship advice to give to the kunoichi, since the blue-haired woman had never been in a real relationship her entire life. Yes, she had some fun, drunken nights where she had slept with a man or two, but the closest thing of a relationship she had ever had with someone was with Tenzo… and she never held a torch for him like Kurenai seemed to hold for Asuma.
"Why would he have an issue with a kunoichi, or just a woman asking him out? I mean if he did like you he would probably respect that you took initiative and acted on your feelings instead of trying to hide them to yourself. Men are sometimes oblivious so it wouldn't help just to ask him upfront… and if he had an issue with you asking him out, why would you want to be with someone like that in the first place?" Amaya replied, surprising herself with her own words.
Apparently, it surprised the other two kunoichi's as well, given that Kurenai was holding onto each word Amaya had said, and Anko was raising her eyebrows at the blue-haired woman. To Amaya, what she spoke was just common sense that she thought everyone knew. She knew that she could be blunt with her conversations with people, but she just chalked that up with being in the Anbu for so long where everyone was straight to the point.
"See, how come you don't believe me when I say that to you?" Anko laughed, breaking the mood and wrapped an arm around Kurenai's shoulders.
"Because I know that you just want to see me crash and burn so you can just laugh at me… unlike Amaya, who is a true friend and just wants the best of me" Kureani stated plainly, poking Anko on her side, making Anko squirm away from the touch.
Amaya perked up at the sound of her name and it being associated with friendship to the women in front of her. Was that really what she was starting to become to the people around her? A friend? She felt elated but at the same time, worried. If she also thought of these people as her friends, she knew that if anything were to happen to them she would be heartbroken. That was why the Anbu tried to make one stray from friendships and romantic relationships of any kind.
"Amaya?"
Amaya blinked away her thoughts and returned to the conversation that the other two women were bickering about. Amaya couldn't help but laugh over how the two kunoichi's played off each other. After all this time, Amaya was starting to see all that she had missed by never stopping and making relationships like these. She enjoyed going out to lunch and conversing about random things with her friends.
Amaya stretched in the midday sunlight with her belly full and her spirit high. She had enjoyed a long lunch with her two friends and now she was on her way back to the academy. Today the students only had morning classes and there was no one who had received detention in the last week or so, so Amaya decide that she could leave the academy early as well.
She was picking up her things, and was about to exit when she ran into Iruka and bumped into his chest, causing papers to fly out of his hands in all directions. Amaya muttered a quick "sorry" and helped Iruka to pick up all the other papers.
"Sorry about that, Iruka."
"No worries, Amaya. Those things happen, I'm just surprised you are here so late. I thought I was the only one left."
"I could say the same thing to you, Iruka" Amaya smiled and Iruka blushed, trying to put his hand at the nape of his next but forgetting he was holding a stack of papers, almost making them fall to the floor again.
Amaya reached out and steadied the stack of papers before they fell, letting a deep breath escape from her lips. She was happy that she caught the papers just in time, but she just didn't know why Iruka became so flustered suddenly. Maybe it was how she looked and smiled at him. She still wasn't used to the intricacies of which smiles go where in a conversation involving small talk, but at least she was trying.
"Anyway Iruka, I forgot to thank you, but thank you for putting in a request for me to teach the after-school class" Amaya bowed, thanking Iruka.
"It was no problem at all! We are happy to have you help us out, after a few of us saw how well you interacted with Konohamaru and how he kept boasting on and on about you, we couldn't help but give you the position."
"Well, I appreciate it, I really do. I wasn't thinking about getting a promotion, only that I wanted to help out the students in any way that I could—"
"And that is honestly what it is all about. Helping the next generation so they can be even stronger than we are."
Amaya nodded her head and knew that Iruka spoke the truth. That was what being a teacher was all about, helping the next generation in hopes that they could surpass the older generation. Amaya bid Iruka a farewell, and he did the same. Exiting the academy, Amaya let the sunlight hit her face. It was an unusually warm and sunny day, but she couldn't complain. Her day consisted of menial things, but at the same time, she was filled with a feeling of happiness. She just hoped that nothing was going to come out of the blue and change it.
Venturing home, Amaya decided that with her time off, she was going to sit down and read one of the countless of books she had begun. She always had a few started at one time, but lately, with how busy she had been, she had yet to finish anything. She would always bring one or two on missions with her, to help her pass the time during stake outs, but she had a lot of busy work to attend to while she was working at the academy.
Unlocking her door and pushing it open, Amaya set down some paper work she took home, and as usual, put some hot water onto the stove to make herself some tea. She walked into her room and squatted down in front of her bookshelf that was filled with books. She noted that she had to clean it up some time, but she just couldn't find herself parting with some of the stories that lined the shelves. She knew she had too many books, so much so that her shelves billowed from the weight of all the paper.
She evidently picked up a book from one of the lower shelves, telling herself that she had left this book untouched for longer than all the others. She tossed it onto her bed and then went into the kitchen to retrieve her tea. She came back and plopped herself down, letting a slight breeze and sunlight stream into her room through her window that was next to her bed.
She leaned her back up against the pane, and placed her tea cup on the ledge as she started to get sucked into the fantasy world that was written on the pages before her. She curled up, using her comforter to keep her feet and legs warm, and ever let her eyes leave the page until she felt something soft curl up on her lap.
"You're home early…"
"I could say the same thing to you, Pakkun." Amaya sighed.
She closed her book, and ran her fingers through pakkun's fur. She would never know why, but being around a dog always made her feel better, even when she didn't know she was feeling sad or anything to that nature. Dogs just seemed to light up the world around them, by simply existing.
"I see that you are finally finishing that book."
"Haha, yeah I am. I finally have had some time due to all that damn busy work that I have to complete at the academy."
"You enjoy it though."
"Not really…"
"Maybe not the paperwork and the administrative things you have to do, but I know you enjoy teaching… I also heard that you got a new promotion somehow… they are crazy to let you actually teach kids" Pakkun teased.
Amaya gave Pakkun an annoyed look and started to pet him in the opposite direction than the way is air grew, and the pug gave Amaya a glare. She returned to petting him naturally, but she couldn't help but wonder how Pakkun knew about the promotion, given that she didn't tell anyone about it yet besides Anko and Kurenai.
"How did you—"
"Kakashi told me."
That struck Amaya as weird that Kakashi would know what she had been up to. It had been about two and a half weeks and yet, she hadn't seen the white haired nin at all. She would occasionally run into his students, but that was it.
"When did he—"
"Iruka told Gai, and then Gai told Kakashi."
"Figures, Gai would say something like that to him…" Amaya huffed.
Amaya ruffled the hair on the dog's head and Pakkun rolled his eyes, getting off Amaya's lap and jumping to the floor, not wanting her to take out her frustration on him. The pug knew that Amaya appreciated being recommended and obtaining the position, but she never enjoyed the spot light that came with it.
"Well, I thought I was going to be catching a nice nap but—"
"Hey, don't be that way. I was just messing with you" Amaya scoffed.
Pakkun shook his head as if he was saying that she wasn't the reason for it. That peaked Amaya's interests and wanted to know why the ninkin was up and about so soon.
"I have training with the others in my ninkin pack. I just came home to check up on you to see if you were still working or not."
"Well, do you need any help?" Amaya bit her tongue knowing what she just asked.
"Actually, yes… it would be beneficial to help you train with us…" Pakkun grinned evilly at Amaya.
Amaya wanted to kick herself for not thinking and asking if the ninkin needed any help. She knew that the next few hours were going to be filled with running around, evasion, and getting urinated on—which she most definitely was not looking forward to.
Amaya was tired from training with the ninkin, and she was sure she now smelled every shade of horrible. She was happy that she went out and trained so aggressively with them since she had been feeling like she was losing her touch, but at the same time, she could have been fine without being marked. The kunoichi now sat with her legs crossed and her knuckles pressed together on top of the running water of the river.
The ninkin had exited their training a while ago, and so Amaya, already dirty, figured that she should do some training of her own. She needed to keep up her strength so it wouldn't be that much of a hassle for when she would return to her previous rank, or if she was just sent on a normal civilian mission. She trained because right now, if there was an attack, she wanted to make sure that she could protect her new friends.
As she meditated, Amaya practiced controlling and filtering her chakra. She always made sure that she had chakra stored in herself in case she needed it, but it was a tiring process to always have a steady stream being captured and closed off. She didn't know how Lady Tsunade did it so effortlessly—that was probably why the blue-haired kunoichi wasn't a medic.
Sighing, Amaya tried to get away from her thoughts, and focus on her chakra. She could feel it move through her body and she relaxed it enough that there was now a steady flow to all her chakra points. The exercise was tiring, but at the same time, made her more alert to her surroundings. It was almost like she was becoming one with the chakra that gave her life and she was connecting to nature on a spiritual level.
Eventually, Amaya felt her chakra levels rise, indicating to her that she had mediated enough. So, she stood up and removed a kunai from the pouch on her leg and spun it around her finger. She stopped, and then proceeded to dance around on the water, sparing with herself. She had no opponent, but her trick was that she couldn't disturb any of the water beneath her feet. She couldn't make a splash or move the water below her in any way. It made it so Amaya was aware of her surroundings as she fought.
During this time, she also practiced her taijustu by running and jumping all over the river, defending attacks that were only in her mind. As she tired herself out, Amaya had to push herself to make sure that she didn't misstep. A few times she caught herself with her hand because she was about to fail at her task.
Finally, Amaya took a break and relaxed her fighting stance. Her chest rose and fell rapidly with the workout she just had. She knew that Gai would have loved to see her train like this—and would want to incorporate it into his own methods, but she knew that she only did this training to test herself, to make sure that she was at her peak performance. The reason for this test was as she trained to become a shinobi when she was younger, she would do the very same thing and she would do it until she got it right.
Amaya spun the kunai around her fingers again and started to walk back to the bank of the river. She was about to open the sash of her bag on her leg, but at the last moment, she stopped spinning her kunai, gripped it in her hand and held it up to her face. She heard the harsh sound of metal making rough contact with metal.
Her demeanor instantly changed, noting that the kunai that was thrown was not friendly. That's when Amaya finally noticed the mist enclosing the space around her to the point where she could barely see her hand next to her face. Besides herself, there was no one else in the village who knew how to perform this jutsu. She knew that Kakashi could copy it, but she doubted that he would do something like this to her.
Her senses became dull due to the mist, but she tried to remain focused and use her chakra to sense where her opponent was. As soon as she closed her eyes to do this, she felt the wind of a blade coming down from behind her. She quickly jumped to the side and hit the river water with her kunai to slow her down.
She was already breathing heavy from training, but Amaya thanked herself for not using up mass amounts of chakra in case she needed to use it against her opponent. Again, the person came from behind, but this time, she was ready for it. Amaya used her kunai to deflect the blade that came down, and she turned her body to see who her assailant was.
Her eyes constricted, fear now coursed through her veins. She thought that the man in front of her had perished long ago… that he just haunted her memories of the mist village. The man in front of her breathed threw his mouth and licked his lips, making the gills attached to his blue skin quiver.
She had heard stories from the people in the mist about this man, and how he was the devil reincarnate. She had met him more than a few times in her life, but he always seemed to instill fear into her body by just looking at her.
"Amaya-channn…. It's been a while…" Kisame spoke, elongating the last letter of the suffix he used to address Amaya.
Amaya quickly broke away the contact between the two of them, and put a safe distance between them. She glanced at his sword and realized that he had yet to unleash it. She could see the contents of it start to wiggle around, ready to come out and play.
"That is no way to great your superior… now is it?"
Amaya gulped and instantly, Kisame closed the distance between the two of them. Amaya was smart enough in this time to hold up her kunai to block the advancement. She couldn't find words to speak to him.
"I still remember the day your parents begged… on their knees… to make it so you wouldn't have to undergo training under me… I don't know how you got out of it… but it would have been fun to have you as a genin… all the wonderful things I would have been able to teach you… Plus... you would have your blade already—"
"You would have taught me nothing except for bloodlust—"
"To my understanding… I never had to teach you that…" Kisame grinned reviling his horribly jagged teeth.
Amaya used her strength to push him away and she used her hands to weave signs for a wind justu. She created a wind scythe that traveled at almost mock speeds at Kisame, but with one swift movement of his blade he deflected it away, as if it was just a slight breeze and not a gale force wind.
"As much as I would like to play with you right now, my pet… I have something to discuss with you… I mean you have probably noticed that this isn't even the real me and I am somewhere far away from the village."
As much as Amaya hated to admit it, she knew that she was fighting against a water clone that Kisame somehow made, and then was able to get into the village. She didn't know how, because all unusual chakra was monitored and he wouldn't have been able to get anywhere close to the gates of Konoha.
"Look at your feet." Kisame said simply, and put his blade back on his back.
Amaya just looked at the rushing river of the water, and hoped that nothing was going to surprise her. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, until she realized the obvious.
"The river…"
"Took you damn enough time… This is why you should have stayed in the mist… and not raised here to be weak…"
"What the hell would you know about it… it wasn't my fucking choice!" Amaya said, using her emotions to propel her forward instead of thinking.
"There you are… There are those eyes that I love so much!" Kisame laughed, meeting Amaya's kunai with his own.
Amaya screamed and sparred with the blue-skinned man. He would counter her every move, making her heart just fill with more rage. She couldn't believe that he had used the river as an advantage to get his clone in unnoticed and it pissed her off even more that she was getting this angry with just a clone. Kisame's laugh took her out of her mind, and she decided to bottle it up and deal with whatever the man had to tell her.
"What did you come to tell me…" Amaya said through gritted teeth.
Kisame leaned down and Amaya shivered in disgust when she felt his warm breath against her neck.
"I just wanted to tell you… be prepared for the weeks ahead…"
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"Why would I tell you when it is too much fun, playing with you, pet?"
"Well why don't you stop being a coward and actually show your fucking self?"
"Wow, someone has a dirty mouth… don't try to turn me on too much, Amaya-chan… I wouldn't want to be responsible for you if something were to happen… I mean… ever since you got out of that little group and reintroduced yourself to life in the village… I can tell… you're not as strong as you used to be… So, playing with you right now, I wouldn't even break a sweat. Train all you want… but the next time I see you… I'm going to take something you love…"
With that, Amaya pushed through, and broke Kisame's water clone. Amaya stayed standing until the mist started to disappear, and everything seemed as it once was. The birds kept chirping and the once cool, cloudy, graying atmosphere returned to its sunny disposition. However, the changing area didn't stop Amaya from dropping to her knees. She had one hand support her and the other clutched the hair right above her forehead.
She didn't know how to approach this and she didn't have any solid proof to state her case to the Hokage. She didn't know if Kisame was only threatening her, or if he was threatening the village. She knew nothing about his advancement and didn't know when he was going to come back. Amaya took a sharp breath and tried to calm herself down. She knew right then and there that she would have to step up.
She would not allow Kisame to play with her or make a fool of herself in front of the people she classed friends. She would protect the village from him at all costs—that what she was trained for. Amaya stood up as a dark shadow was cast on her face. She would take his challenge and shove it where the sun didn't shine.
Amaya exited her shower and wiped the steam off from the mirror. She was still in a darkened mood that even Pakkun noticed. Usually, she wasn't like this unless there was something on her mind or something big happened under her command in the Anbu. Given that she wasn't one of the leading officers anymore, Pakkun could only help but wonder what happened—even though he knew better than to ask Amaya when she was acting like this. Pakkun watched as Amaya threw on her usual wear and put up her damp hair in a ponytail.
"Where are you going?"
"The Hokage summoned me."
Pakkun looked at her curiously, not knowing what she was getting at, but it was like she knew what he was thinking and answered the unspoken question.
"The hawk that is circling in the sky is telling me that I have been summoned."
"How do you know?"
"What is this, fifty questions?" Amaya snapped.
Amaya never looked up at Pakkun as she put on her shoes, but she didn't have to because Pakkun already knew that she had a look of annoyance on her face. He just hoped that whatever was bothering her she would be able to figure it out. Without saying goodbye, Amaya vanished into a puff of white smoke.
Amaya walked through the Hokage's building and rounded the corner knowing full well that she was probably still in a meeting with someone. Amaya knew that she had to tell the Hokage about the incident, she didn't know how to broach the subject. It was in her mission statement to report anything that was found out about the Akatsuki, but she couldn't tell if the information was just directed at her or if it was a treat the Hokage should worry about.
Making up her mind, Amaya decided to tell Lady Hokage about the exchange, but she would leave out some of the unnecessary banter that had occurred. However, all thoughts seemed to escape her mind when she saw Kakashi leaning again the wall waiting for the Hokage as well. A part of her was happy to see the man, but the other part of her dreaded that he was here because she didn't want to come off as cold or malice.
So, to make sure she didn't misspeak, Amaya decided to take a place against the opposite wall, a way down from the door leading to Tsunade's office. She figured that if Kakashi wasn't paying attention then she could get away with it. Plus, the difference was just enough that if the Hokage or Shizune came out looking for her, then she could hear them. It was a good strategy, but she should have known that it wasn't a good enough one to hide in plain sight when she was dealing with the copy-cat nin.
"Congrats."
Amaya looked up from her feet and looked at Kakashi who had his eyes trained on his book knowing he was referencing her promotion.
"Thanks. I would have told you in person but friends typically don't avoid each other."
"I could say the same thing to you, Amaya-chan."
Amaya sighed, not wanting to deal with this today. She glanced down at her hands and the more she thought about Kisame and actually fighting him, the more her hand shook. She tried to squeeze her fingernails into the palm of her hands, but the only thing that accomplished was making her hands bleed. The pain wasn't enough to subside the thoughts.
"Why did you ignore me?"
Amaya didn't notice at first, but there was a hand on top of her two that were bunched together. She felt warmth invade her body and she didn't want to look up into the person's face because she knew that if she saw a look of worry or pity, she would lose it on the spot. Everything from her past was starting to resurface and she didn't know why.
"Whatever it is, it is going to be okay… I wasn't ignoring you… I just—it's hard to explain…" the voice soothed.
Amaya knew that it was Kakashi who had come over to comfort her, but she didn't know why he changed his demeanor so suddenly. It was if he was giving her emotional whiplash. The two of them would become close enough that Amaya would consider them friends, but then they would go weeks without seeing each other and have petty exchanges.
"You don't even know what it is…" Amaya whimpered, dropping her hands from Kakashi's and pulling them up as if to protect her chest by cupping her hands in front of her heart.
Amaya felt Kakashi place one hand on the wall next to her head, almost as if he was boxing her in. She closed her eyes and drew in a sharp breath when out of the corner of her eye she saw him lift his hand up. She didn't know why she was trying to back away from his touch, or why she felt her heart pick up and race against her chest. She shouldn't be acting this way and instead, be able to fight against this man, but here she was, acting in an uncharacteristic way.
To her surprise, Amaya felt a soft touch under her chin, pressing her head up. She followed through with the direction of the nudge and opened her eyes to see Kakashi's face just inches away from hers. She felt vulnerable but protected, all at the same time. It was as if the world around them wasn't there and it was just the two of them.
"Then tell me…" Amaya saw nothing but kindness on Kakashi's face as he spoke, but something about it made her feel weak.
She didn't need to tell Kakashi anything about it because she could take care of herself. She didn't need a man there to do it for her. Yes, she was scared, but not because she thought she was weak. She was scared because the villagers may be in grave danger. So, even though Amaya didn't want to, she placed a hand on Kakashi's chest, pushing him backward.
Kakashi let his hand fall from Amaya's chin, and his eye reflected an emotion that Amaya couldn't register. All she knew was that there was a silent agreement that Amaya didn't want that and Kakashi wasn't someone to push for it.
"Thank you Kakashi… but I—"
Kakashi just held up his hand cutting her off and opened up his book, leaning against the opposite wall, directly in front of Amaya. She felt bad for doing that to him, but she didn't want him to get the wrong impression or think that she couldn't take care of herself. She didn't want to hinder their friendship, but before she could open her mouth again, especially to ask what he meant about ignoring her, she could hear Shizune call both of their names.
"So, you're telling me that he could have just been messing with you?"
"Yes ma'am, but it seemed like it could be something more… especially since he is a part of the Akatsuki."
"Kakashi, what do you think of this?"
"I think it is very plausible that Kisame may have been scouting out the village for an attack, but we will not know until the time comes. My suggestion would be to increase the guards along our weak points—like the river."
Amaya casted a look at Kakashi who caught her eye in return. He knew that she wasn't telling the entire truth, given how she was acting in the hallway, but it seemed like the Hokage was still in the blind about it. Lady Tsunade paced back and forth, biting her finger nail, trying to figure out the next course of action.
"The only thing I can think of is to get team 7 out of the village for a while so our forces can do a clean sweep of our territory while you are gone…"
"What mission would you have us do?" questioned Kakashi.
"I was originally going to give this to a set of chunin, but I think you can handle it with your genin team, Kakashi. There is an up and coming actress who is need of protection… apparently the director and crew want to take her to the Land of Snow… but since it is a high ranked mission where a lot could go wrong, I would like Amaya to go with you, Kakashi."
"I have no complaints, but I have work at the academy—" Amaya interjected
"Don't tell me now that you don't want to go back into the field? You were the worst one complaining about taking you out of the Anbu missions and sticking you into the academy to watch over Naruto." Tsunade responded flustered.
"I apologize Lady Hokage, I didn't mean to interject and misspeak" Amaya bowed her head, and her hair fell over her shoulder.
"It's fine… I've just had a long day and this new information is just the cherry on top" Tsunade sighed.
Amaya stood back up and bunched her hand into a fist, trying to disregard the feelings that were coming to the surface. She felt like she was in a box where nowhere to go. She didn't dare steal another look at Kakashi because she was afraid that if she did, she wouldn't be able to have a cap on her emotions.
"Anyway, the two of you should give a mission brief to the genin and then introduce yourselves to your clients. You are dismissed."
Amaya silently sighed and stepped out of the Hokage's office. She needed to find a warm coat or something if she was to travel to someplace so cold. But as the door closed behind her, Amaya felt a hand pull on her own.
"I'm sorry, Amaya."
"For what?" Amaya questioned but instantly regretted it over the sight of Kakashi's look of pity on his face.
Amaya withdrew her hand and stood her ground firmly.
"I can take care of myself Kakashi, you don't need to give me that look of pity—"
"I'm not pitying you I—"
"That's bullshit… I can see it written across your face. If, or when, Kisame comes, like he promised, I will be the one to take care of it."
Amaya felt the fire in her soul burn so brightly, the only escape was to showcase it through her eyes. She knew Kakashi saw it too, because he quickly took the look from his face that he was giving her. It seemed like for the first time, Amaya saw Kakashi look at her as a capable shinobi, and not just a kunoichi that was going to slow him down. She thought that their sparring match was enough for him, but she presumed wrong.
"My mistake Amaya…"
"Damn right it is, Kakashi."
Amaya shook her head and started walking away from Kakashi without muttering goodbye.
"I'm sorry. It wasn't my intention to think of you as weak. I sometimes over step my bounds when it comes to my comrades… especially those I consider friends."
Amaya turned around and was about to say something in reply, but saw the remains of the vanishing smoke Kakashi disappeared into. Two things crossed her mind at the same time. Firstly, she felt bad with how she had just treated Kakashi. She knew that wasn't what he was getting at, but she was tired of people not realizing that she could take care of herself. She knew she could depend on the people around her, but if she could do it herself, she could spare them from getting hurt.
Secondly, she noticed that Kakashi not only called her a comrade but a friend. Maybe after all this time, she had misjudged the man and their relationship was closer than she had originally thought. Or, maybe it was the best thing to call them at this point since they weren't exactly acquaintances either. Amaya wasn't going to complain because she admitted to herself that it was nice to have people she could depend on, even if she knew that someday she would have to leave them behind.