Chapter Fourteen:

"Kakashi! Obito!" Midori called, laughing and running over to them, waving her hand in the air.

"Let's go already!" she said, jogging on the spot and looking very impatient.

"Sorry I'm late!" She poked out her tongue and blushed sheepishly, scratching the side of her face with her finger.

"Obito! You're going to pay for that!" She chased angrily after him, her hands full of weapons.

"Let me sleep a little longer," she moaned, tucking her head to her chest, curling up and turning away from the sunlight.

"Kakashi will you please smile!?" She held a camera in her hand, frustrated.

"I will not be teamed up with a goggled idiot and a masked genius!" She slammed her hands down on the academy table and glared death at the two boys.

"I guess…I could live with working with you two," she admitted reluctantly, looking away and knotting her hands behind her head.

"What were you saying about Midori the tomboy, Obito?" she asked very sweetly, the edges of her eyes twitching with anger.

Midori laughed innocently and cheerfully.

"Kazuma-sensei, Obito, Kakashi," she called gently with a warm smile; her eyes curved upwards, the breeze gently blowing her hair to the side.

The day after the battle, there was a mournful ceremony of the deceased at the one temple in Konoha. It was usually not occupied by anyone, though it was left open everyday for people to come to. Monks, who were usually retired, or a few working, shinobi, came only on special occasions, such as that day. Pictures of the fallen heroes and heroines were placed into frames and propped in the temple where the villagers, clad in black, came to put flowers in front of the photos.

Kakashi and Obito had been through a number of these ceremonies for the various battles that took place over the past few years, and it wasn't as if they hadn't lost people they knew, simple acquaintances. But it was the first time that someone they really knew, were really close to had passed away. They looked sadly at the smiling Midori looking back at them from the photo as they took their turn of leaving a flower. Memories flooded their minds.

As the service came to a close, they left the temple and walked down a stoned path to the grave stones. It was late in the afternoon, but the clouds blocked the sun. It was a dreary day, but at least it was dry. The wind was strong and cold and the breaths turned into thin white vapour. There were quite a lot of people in the area, but it was still mostly silent. Young children cried as well as a few women, but very quietly. The others stood in sombre silence in front of the newly made stones, the names of the deceased carved there. Some names were simply added to the list on a family grave, and that was the case with Midori. Kakashi, Obito and Kazuma stood together before the tall, rectangular stone, the smell of incense filled the air close by, burning slowly in front of the grave.

Kakashi had a clean, white bandage wrapped around his head and his left arm was in sling to keep the shoulder wound still and undisturbed. Obito leaned on one crutch. They had woken up after noon in the hospital, where Kazuma had quietly asked the nurses to drug them into deep sleep, hoping to numb their inner pain even a little for a short period of time.

Suddenly the three of them looked up to see a woman and her husband walk towards them. Silent tears were running down the woman's face, and the three of them recognised her as Midori's mother, Matsune. Her husband, Eiji was a senior Jounin. They were hardly surprised to see the three there, but they didn't say anything. Together, they stood in the cold and simply stared at the tomb. Matsune continued to cry, and Eiji could do nothing more than put a comforting arm around her shoulders.

"Why," Matsune suddenly whispered in a hoarse, choked voice. "Why? Why Midori? Why our beloved daughter?"

"Matsune," Eiji said softly, "There was nothing we could have done. Becoming a ninja was her dream and she fulfilled it. The moment she chose her life, there were risks such as this."

His wife almost ignored him. She shook her head slowly from side to side, slipping down to her knees and holding her hands up to her face, her sobs getting louder.

"You were with her, weren't you?" she mumbled again, lowering her hands a little and glancing at Kakashi and Obito. "Why – ?" Her words turned into a half sob, half choke, a fresh wave of tears flowing from her grief stricken eyes. "Why couldn't you save her?!" she said, her hands going up to grip Kakashi's shoulders, her words loud but not accusing. She sounded like she was begging. Kakashi stiffened as her hand landed right on his injury, but he absorbed the pain and it soon died down. But he was hardly paying attention to the discomfort. He closed his eyes and opened them only when he was looking down at the ground, avoiding Matsune's eyes. The words had stabbed through him, and he relived Midori's death again in his mind. If he had been just a little quicker, he might have made it to save Midori. If…

"Matsune!" Eiji said reaching over to place his hand on her shoulder, but she didn't react to it.

"Midori…Why?...Why?" She kept repeating that word over and over again. Her arms slid behind Kakashi and rested her forehead on his right shoulder. Kakashi kept his eyes fixed on the ground and didn't move. Not even a few words came into his head to try and comfort her. He found he couldn't even move his hands a little to embrace her. He simply stood there, at a complete loss. Matsune's sobs rang in his ears and her tears gradually dampened his clothes, but he didn't care. It was the least he could do to let her use him as a support.

Finally Matsune's sobbing began to subside and she calmed down enough for Eiji to take her home. He hurriedly apologised for her behaviour, but Kakashi just shook his head to mention that he didn't mind. The air was getting colder and despite the clouds, it was clearly getting late. Kazuma urged the two to head back to the hospital where they would be staying another night. Obito crouched down slowly, careful of his left leg and lit another couple of incense, pushing them into the sandy material keeping the upright. He looked at Midori's name and smiled a little, sadly.

"We'll come again soon, Midori," he said, then got his crutches again and pulling himself upright. Kazuma saw to it that the two got back to the room they shared in the hospital before leaving to see the Hokage.

"Kakashi," Obito said all of a sudden, sitting on the edge of his bed.

"Mn?" Kakashi laid his head on the slightly raised bed but turned to face Obito.

"Sorry."

"Eh?" He was caught quiet off guard at the sudden comment.

"Remember a few years ago, when we were escorting Kengou-san?" Obito asked. Kakashi nodded. "I said something about nothing defeating us as a team. Sorry I couldn't keep that promise."

Kakashi pushed himself off the clean pillows and looked at Obito. He vaguely remembered that time. He sighed softly. "I was a part of that promise as well," he said. "The blame lays the same amount on me as it does on you."

Obito looked up from the floor then he smiled in appreciation for hearing those words. Kakashi returned the smile, though it was hidden under his mask, but Obito saw it in his eyes.

"Let's live our lives for Midori as well," Kakashi said.

"Yeah." Then he chuckled softly, "Otherwise she's going to come back every year and haunt our very steps."

"Good point."

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"Will you take the offer, Kazuma?" the Third asked. He sat at his desk in his office with his hands strung together supporting his chin. His eyes, heavily burdened and yet penetrating, stared straight at Kazuma who stood halfway between the door and the desk. Kazuma closed his eyes with a sigh, lifting his head a little and when he reopened his eyes, he looked out at Konoha through the windows behind the Hokage. His eyes were distant and thoughtful. Almost a minute passed before Kazuma finally lowered his eyes to meet the Hokage's piercing gaze. The Third knew the reply before it was even spoken out loud.

"I am afraid I cannot for the time being," he said. "I have a team that still needs me, especially now. Give me another year with them, Hokage-sama. By then, they will be less reliant on me."

The Third sighed deeply and nodded. "I understand. But keep in mind that Konoha needs a strong, reliable leader who can create the path into peace. I have done all that I can during the warring years, it is now time for the younger generation to take over."

"Hai."

There was a knock on the door, and before the Third could answer, someone opened it and entered. Kazuma didn't look back to see who it was.

"Sarutobi-sensei," Orochimaru said as he swept past Kazuma, then he stopped and glanced at the other Jounin. "Oh, am I interrupting anything?" he asked smoothly. Kazuma wasn't all too fond of the man, but respected him nonetheless.

"No, we were finished, Orochimaru-sama," he replied with a polite smile and bow. He turned and bowed to the Hokage as well before retreating out of the office. As he closed the door he heard Orochimaru talking.

"Sarutobi-sensei, this search is in vain. Tsunade is no where to be seen, it is useless to continue – "

The rest was blocked out by the door and Kazuma didn't attempt to eaves drop on other business. He turned and walked out of the building, surprised to find his teacher standing on the roof of the connected building.

"Jiraiya-sensei," he said, changing directions and heading towards the white haired man. Jiraiya smiled at his former student.

"I hope that Orochimaru didn't disturb you," Jiraiya said.

"No, we were about finished in any case," Kazuma replied truthfully. "Since when were you back? I haven't seen you in a while."

"Two days ago. I left Orochimaru to finish up his search when I heard of the battle. I was told to stay here though, in case other enemies would use the chance to attack the village."

"Tsunade-sama's search was not successful then?" There had always been groups of shinobi on the lookout for the Sannin, but there were no traces of her as of yet. It had been at least a few years since her sudden disappearance. Jiraiya sighed and shook his head.

"Orochimaru's rather ticked off now that we have to do such a mission, but the geezer thought we might be able to find her and bring her back." He looked at his student for a while before asking, "Are you accepting the title of Hokage?"

Kazuma didn't reply right away, moving beside his teacher and resting his arms on the cold railings. He looked out at the village once again, squinting his eyes against a cold burst of wind.

"No," he said. "At least not now. I love the village and all its people, I want to do whatever I can to protect them. But now, there are two others that desperately need my help. If I become the Hokage, I will no longer be able to be with them so much. I cannot simply leave them at this stage."

"The Kakashi kid and Uchiha Obito, huh," Jiraiya commented, leaning his weight on his elbows against the rails. "Sorry to hear about the girl."

"They're still young. Even if their talents were outstanding, maybe it was still too early. Maybe I should have waited another few years," Kazuma muttered.

"It's their fate to have to be strong," Jiraiya said sternly. "Sure they'll need you, but what they need most is your trust. They'll get over it and become stronger."

"Hai."

"Well then." The older man stretched his arms out a little. "I think I'll go do some research while Orochimaru complains all he wants to the geezer."

"Research?" Kazuma asked with a frown, turning around to face Jiraiya. "I doubt Tsunade-sama can be found like that."

"Huh? Tsunade?" he asked with his eyebrow raised. "Oh no, if that violent powerhouse doesn't want to be found, there's no chance of even picking up a small clue. I'm doing some other, funner research." A smirk crossed his face and Kazuma couldn't understand. "Oh you'll get it when you're older, Kazuma," Jiraiya called over his shoulder. "A cold day like this is the perfect day to dip into some nice, warm bath. Oh yes indeed it is."

Kazuma got a vague idea, but shut it out of his mind. No, surely Jiraiya-sensei won't be doing anything like that at such a desperate time. No, definitely not. No, surely not. No, probably not. No, maybe not. No…That pervert sensei.

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Leilani: It's not a problem, I have days like that as well…Thanks for reviewing!
HikaruOfArrow: Thanks a bunch! I think I should update the genre and add in angst…
Patty: Hehe, questions are always welcome. Thanks for reviewing though, and now to the answer…Misa, well, I suppose I might as well go into her a little. She's played her part, but I can always bring her in again at times. So yeah, might go into her inner thoughts, and that would answer your first question as well: why she changed so quickly. No, unfortunately not much of Itachi or the Uchiha. And not too much of Kakashi's upbringing. Good ideas for future fics though….
AnarchisticDaydreams: Thanks for your compliments! Yes, I'll be updating soon, please continue to enjoy!
Takeru: Actually, Midori is a character that I made up. And Obito isn't mentioned too well in the anime or manga…But I won't give away anymore spoilers…Already have, so I'm bad… . Anyways, thanks for reviewing!
Gisela: Lol, thanks for your review! It's really nice to hear your ideas. I'm not that much a great writer, I hardly even had most of the things you mentioned about plans of getting the story going well. . I just love to write, and I do, without really thinking so much into the future of the story. Very lousy to be exact, but yeah, that's me. Hope you continue to enjoy the fic!
Rurikat: Thanks again for your review! Yeah, I was about to post the chapter when I remembered the perfect saying. . Last minute thinker. Glad you enjoyed it!

You guys are great! Thanks so much for all your encouragements! (hugs all) Sorry it's a tad bit short this time, Kind of late and my eyes are becoming bleary…(1:05 am) Aah! School tomorrooooow! .
And if anyone hasn't really noticed yet, my sense of humour is….BAD…to say the least, so please don't get mad at me!

Thanks for reading!
-Fanyar-