Kyandi: Hey Kyandiacs!

Aisa: She's on a roll with this story.

Kyandi: I am. I have a friend that's been reading this and if I make her wait to long, she'll start asking where the chapters are.

Aisa: And since she works at a place that Kyandi-sama frequents everyday, Kyandi-sama would rather not make her wait.

Kyandi: Yep. Not to mention that this chapter was really hilarious to me.

Aisa: Not to me.

Kyandi: Oh well. Lets just get to it. Everyone enjoy and review.

Aisa: Kyandi-sama does not own Naruto.

Chapter 14 Trust Exercises

A few days later, Aisa was deemed perfectly healthy and ready to leave the hospital, provided she stick to an iron rich diet for the next week or two. Aisa, who did so anyway, agreed. During the whole discharge process, she didn't sense hide or hair of Kakashi and was starting to think she would be able to sneak on home without running into him.

That is, until she stepped outside the hospital.

Kakashi stood there, at the gate, two packs at his feet and a book open in his hand. Aisa instantly ducked back into the building, spreading her senses out. Kakashi was merely flipping the page of his book. She should have known he wouldn't let her back out of whatever it was he had planned. While she was grateful that he had readily accepted her, monstrous side and all, she really didn't want to know what he had up his sleeve.

So, no.

She was going home.

Cutting through the hospital, Aisa left through the back, slipping out of the hospital and making it home without smelling Kakashi or sensing him once. Then again, since she was still recovering, her range wasn't as wide as it previously had been. She quietly slipped into her apartment and heaved a sigh as she leaned back against her front door.

"Aisa!?"

Aisa's head rose and she pushed herself off the door. Rounding the doorway into her living room, she found Ihai pressed up against the bars of the door of his cage.

"Thank the heavens you're alright! Let me out of here!" Ihai barked.

"I know I raised you with better manners than that, Ihai." she retorted.

"Please!"

Inwardly grinning, Aisa walked over to the cage, opening the door for the pup. Ihai flew out of the cage and took a flying leap at her stomach. Aisa winced as he hit the exact location of where her oh-so-gracious clansman had tried to rip out her stomach.

"I wish you wouldn't jump at me like that." Aisa told him.

"And I wish you would stop going on those missions! You look terrible." Ihai told her.

"So glad I can always count on you for a bias free, honest opinion on my appearance."

"I meant-"

"I know what you meant. After a bath and a change of clothes, I'll be better."

"Then go do it."

Aisa did not need to be told twice. Leaving Ihai in the living room, Aisa retreated to her bathroom. She would apologize to Kakashi at a later date, but she really did not feel like being subjected to any kind of team building exercises he might have in store.

Sinking into a tub of melt-your-bones hot water, Aisa didn't think about it long. Draping her long legs over the end of the tub, she sank until the water was almost up to her nose. After the long fight with the three insane idiots, she was so grateful for the relaxing water, that even her guards lowered. Leaning her head back against the side of the tub, she released a sigh of relief.

"I will never take a hot bath for granted again." Aisa muttered.

Reaching up, Aisa fiddled with her visor until she slid it completely off. Even with the lights in the bathroom off, Aisa squeezed her eyes as closed as they could get. Normally, she only removed the visor to bathe, and when she did, the tiniest bit of light filtering in past her eyelids, made her eyes hurt. A price to pay after so many years of darkness.

Moving as quickly as she could, she dunked her head back, wetting her hair before working shampoo into it. A quick rinse later, she was wrapping her hair up in a towel and was replacing the visor. She gave her body a wash and slipped out of the tub. After drying and changing into one of her short, sleeveless kimonos, Aisa stepped out of her bedroom and headed down the hall towards the living room as she toweled her hair dry.

"Ihai, I hope you have enough of your food because I really do not want to go out today." Aisa called as she approached the living room.

When she didn't get a reply, she came to stop outside the living room. She strained her ears but didn't hear anything.

"Ihai?"

Aisa stepped into the living room and finally heard the puppy, though whatever he was trying to convey, was muffled. Aisa instantly spread her Blind Eye Jutsu's web, locating Ihai. The puppy was tied up, his mouth muzzled shut and he was locked in his cage once more. It was then that a familiar scent hit her nose and Aisa almost groaned out loud. Heaving a sigh, Aisa turned towards her couch. And just what did she find there?

"Hey."

Kakashi greeted her with a wave of one hand, one of his infamous books in the other hand. He seemed to be very comfortable too, his legs stretched out before him, crossed at the ankles, and his feet bare.

"What is it with shinobi and not understanding what personal space is?" Aisa demanded. "And do I want to know how you got past the five locks on all of the doors?"

"Do you really want to know?" he asked.

"You know what...no, I don't. I just want you to leave me be." Aisa told him.

Kakashi marked his place in his book and closed it. He tucked it away before turning to look up at Aisa. If the smell of her shampoo and soap, strong and fresh, wasn't a give away, she had just gotten out of the bath, her wet hair hanging around her with slightly curling tips.

"I told you. I have somewhere to take you. I already have your pack all packed and have asked the lady who runs the shop under your apartment to continue looking after Ihai." When Aisa's mouth only twisted up, he went on. "I knew if I gave you time to go home, you would probably lock me out. Seems you decided to try to avoid me anyway."

"...Smart man."

It wasn't so much that he was smart, more that she was, at least where he was concerned, predictable.

Reaching down, Kakashi scooped up two packs sitting on the floor by the couch and held one out to Aisa. Aisa didn't move to take it at first. Her mouth moved slightly, as she thought about it.

"I don't really have a choice, do I?" she asked.

"Since Lady Hokage is backing me in this...no."

"Now I see where Naruto gets his persistence from." Aisa muttered, snatching the bag from him.

"I'm only persisting on this." Kakashi told her, standing as he threw his own bag over his shoulder.

He turned on his heel, heading for the front hall. Aisa turned, facing him when she heard Ihai's muffled complaints.

"And you had to tie up my dog?" she asked.

"As far as that's concerned..." Kakashi rubbed the back of his head. "He really doesn't like me."

"Ihai doesn't like men. I told you that."

Aisa slipped her arms through the pack straps and followed him, apologizing to Ihai over her shoulder. She didn't know what Kakashi had up his sleeve, and if she was being honest, it made her a little apprehensive, but she was also a little curious.

Kakashi glanced back at Aisa. He was half tempted to ask her if she was sure it was all men that Ihai didn't like and not just him. Because it really seemed like the puppy had it out for him and he hadn't seen the puppy treat any other guys that way. But he kept it to himself, jamming his hands into his pockets as he waited for Aisa to lock her door. She remained quiet as they walked through the streets, and even as they passed through the gates of the village and out into the woods surrounding the village, avoiding the main road out of the village. After walking for twenty minutes, she couldn't remain silent any longer.

"Hatake-san, where are we going?" she asked.

"Well, first, we're stopping right here."

Kakashi came to a stop in the middle of a clearing. Setting his bag down, he turned to face her. Aisa stood still, waiting to hear what he had planned and why they were out in the middle of the woods.

"Hold out your hand." he requested.

Cautious, but curious at the same time, she held out her left hand. Kakashi latched onto the wrist in a tight grip that she would have to struggle to break free from if she wanted to get away from him. With the other hand, he performed seals faster than he had in the past. He knew if he didn't hurry, she would catch on and rip free of him. It clicked in her head, a second too late, what he was doing.

Aisa went to pull her arm back as his free hand suddenly clamped down on her wrist, putting in place a seal that banded around her wrist. Aisa gasped as her Blind Eye jutsu, the very jutsu she relied upon to replace her blinded eyes, went dark, her chakra suddenly sealed within her with no way for her to reach it.

"What did you do!?" she demanded, yanking her arm free of him.

She pressed the arm to her chest, her free hand wrapping around the wrist that now bore a seal that would keep her from using her chakra. Unable to use it, she could no long form a picture of her surroundings, leaving her, truly, in the dark.

"I sealed your chakra. You won't be able to use it until I remove the seal." Kakashi told her.

"Why!?"

"So you will have to rely on me to get you home."

Aisa really, honestly, didn't know what to say to this. He had lost his mind, surely. She was so shocked by his answer, that her mouth fell open. She tried to think of something to say, but could only repeat what she had already asked.

"Why!?"

"You need to learn to trust people, Aisa. Even the Hokage thinks you do. We're teammates and, yet, you could not trust us to help you in a time when you really could have used it. How are we suppose to work together, if you don't trust us to have your back? One day, you being able to trust me, might be what stands between us completing the mission in one piece and dying." he told her.

Aisa frowned. She knew, somewhere deep in her heart, that he was right, but she had been so set in her ways for so long, that she wasn't prepared to see it his way. Not yet.

"I understand that asking you to trust all of us, so quickly, is a nearly impossible thing to ask of you, so I'm not asking that. I'm merely asking you to trust me. That is why I sealed your chakra. I'm going to get you home, but you have to trust me, trust my guidance and believe I will do as I promise. That's what teammates are suppose to do."

"What you're asking...it's not so simple of a thing for me." she remarked lowly. "It makes me uneasy not being able to tell what's around me. I don't like this."

Kakashi reached out then, taking hold of her right hand and laying it flat his right hand. He stepped up beside her until she could feel the warmth of his body just behind her.

"That's why it's called trust." he told her. "So, will you trust me, Aisa?"

Aisa worked her jaw, debating this. She trusted so few people, but Kakashi honestly seemed to just want to help her. While, yes, he had put her in a position she wasn't fond of, he didn't mean her any harm. He was just trying to teach her to have a little trust in her teammates. And Tsunade seemed to trust him. If she did, than Aisa figured she could too. Though it was going to be quite the trial. Stealing her nerves, she slipped her fingers through his, tightening her grip on his hand.

"Alright. I'll trust you, Hatake-san, but it's not going to be at once."

Kakashi folded his hand around hers and laid the other hand on her waist, guiding her forward. Aisa had no idea which way they were going, or what was around her. Now and then, Kakashi would guide her to one side or the other, or would have her duck. Soon, the ground under her feet became littered with rocks and Kakashi moved in front of her, taking both of her hands as he verbally guided her over boulders.

"I really don't like this. Especially going over rocks and boulders. Why is this necessary, again?" Aisa asked, as she searched for her next foot hold.

"Lift your foot a little higher. That's right. To the left...a little bit more." Kakashi coached until Aisa found the next step, stepping up with his help. "To answer your question, I told you, a team needs to have some level of trust in each other. Even if something happens and one of us is forced to do something to let that trust down, we have to continue trusting each other."

"You, the great Hatake Kakashi, do something to let down the trust one of his comrades has in him? That sounds like an impossibility." Aisa remarked.

"You think? Move your foot more to the right...right there."

Aisa stepped down as he told her and stumbled forwards into his chest when her foot passed through thin air. She gripped his arms, holding on tight as she scrambled to find a foot hold. She found one, but didn't release him.

"That wasn't funny, Hatake-san." she told him sourly.

"Joking aside, you see my point, right?" he asked.

Grudgingly, Aisa admitted that she did. Especially in the state she was in. If ever, during a fight, she ran too low on chakra that she couldn't use her Blind Eye jutsu, she would have to rely upon her teammates. Meaning, she would have to trust them to lead her straight and true.

Gripping the front of his flak jacket, she shifted her feet, giving herself better balance. She didn't dare let go of him, but she had no idea if she could step back from him or to one side, without falling back down the slope they had been climbing. For the first time since she had first put on the visor, she cursed the thing.

"Alright, I understand. Can you release the seal now?" she asked, hoping he would.

"Sorry, but no. We'll be out here for a few days and the seal is going to remain in place during that time." he told her.

Aisa groaned, her forehead banging against his chest once. She could feel the slight vibration in his chest that suggested he was lightly chuckling to himself. Releasing one of his arms, Aisa smacked him in the chest.

"Seriously, it's not funny. I might not be able to physically see, but I haven't been completely blind once in my life. This is highly uncomfortable for me and you are not helping matters by laughing at me." she told him sourly.

"Right. Let's keep moving."

Moving back away from her, but still keeping hold of her hands, he lead her further up the incline. Now and then, just to remind her that she had to continue to trust him, even if he let her down, he would tell her to take a wrong step, causing her to stumble into his arms or nearly fall, in which case he would have to catch her with an arm around her waist.

Aisa really wanted to give up and refuse to take another step, but she wouldn't be able to find her way home without him thanks to the seal, and she knew it.

By the time they reached the point where they would be bunking down for the next few days, Aisa was mentally exhausted. She dropped to sit on the bedroll that was set out for her use and frowned. Kakashi, sitting across a fire from her, looked up at her. He had to admit that this whole thing was kind of amusing. Aisa was usually very confident in every step she took. After all, why wouldn't she be when her jutsu gave her more details about her surroundings than the naked eye did? To see her so overly cautious and timid with her surroundings, was actually on the adorable side.

Who knew Noroi Aisa knew how to be timid?

"You do realize that, like this, you're going to have to help me with everything, right?" Aisa suddenly asked.

"Of course."

"That includes cleaning and changing clothes since we're going to be out here for a few days. After all, I can't tell what I'm grabbing."

Kakashi paused for a moment as he considered that. He had considered her needing help with eating and getting around. He hadn't really stopped to think about if she needed to wash or change clothes. After all, when shinobis had missions that spanned days on end, they sucked it up and dealt with it. But this wasn't a mission and Aisa wasn't in her ninja gear, so of course she would want time to at least clean herself up a little and change clothes.

Kakashi wasn't quite sure how he felt about helping her with that.

"No offense, Hatake-san, but...I'm not willing to trust you with that."

"That's understandable." Kakashi replied, rubbing the back of his head.

Aisa's frown grew at his reply, her shoulders slumping for a moment.

"You didn't think that through...did you?" she asked.

"Must have slipped my mind."

"Uh-huh...you've spent too many days on duty if that kind of thing slips your mind."

Kakashi chuckled in reply to that. He couldn't really tell, at first, if she was joking or not, but judging by the slight twitch of her lips, she was fighting back a smile. Pulling her legs up to her chest, Aisa wrapped her arms around them, laying her chin on her knees.

"Hatake-san, be honest...why do you care so much if I learn to trust others or not? I understand that a team functions better when trust between it's members exists, but I'm more along the lines of additional protection for Naruto than an actual member of the team. All that should matter is rather or not I can effectively carry out my duties. I don't need trust to do that." Aisa remarked.

"You might not feel like a true member of the team, Aisa, but you are. While you might see it being better not to trust at the risk of being betrayed, that's not the case." he told her.

"How so?"

"Have you stopped to consider what your refusal to trust us says to us?"

Aisa paused then. She opened her mouth to say something, thought better of it, and closed her mouth once more. As he watched, one side of her mouth twisted. It seemed to be a little more than she could comprehend at the moment.

"Let me put it this way, see if you understand it then." Kakashi offered. "How would you have felt if Itachi hadn't trusted you as he did."

And that was enough to make it sink into her head, he could tell. He watched as her grip on her legs tightened and her shoulders sagged. Considering her close relationship with Itachi, of course she would be able to see it his way when he put it like that.

"Not good." she admitted.

"As your teammates, whether you consider yourself a real member or not, that is how your refusal to trust us, makes us feel. It causes strife in our team and we can't function if one member is constantly neglecting herself in favor of the mission. Trust me, there are more important things then always completing your missions."

"Like?"

"Like your comrades. You can't abandon them, or in your case, refuse to trust them, in favor of the mission. In the ninja world, those who break the rules are trash, that's true, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash. You need to learn this. Not just for your comrades' sake, but for your own. Going through your life constantly wary of those around you...you don't have to live that way."

"It's not so easy to change the way you've been for most of your life, Hatake-san. I have my reasons."

"I know that, too, but it's not impossible. I'm just asking you to have a little faith in your comrades, in me. You'd be surprised how big of a difference it makes." he told her.

"You still haven't told me why it matters to you so much." Aisa retorted.

Kakashi reached up to rub at the back of his head. He could tell her, of course, though he didn't really like talking to others about what had happened in the past. Then again, if she knew about his father, she might know, at least a little, about Rin and Obito, too.

"Let's just say...I was a lot like you at one time." he told her.

"That's hard to believe. I can't see you as anything other than who you are now. To be honest...I prefer the way you are now to any possible way you were before. Especially so if you were anything like how I am."

Now that was a surprise. She actually liked the way he was. It kind of made him smile when he thought that, perhaps, she might have liked Obito a little too. Then again, she didn't really like Naruto and the similarities between Naruto and Obito, were overwhelming.

"Oh? How so?" he asked.

"I've had enough time to observe you and the others. In our team, you're like the glue. You're what holds the team together. Despite some of your more...juvenile qualities. From what Sakura has told me, you're often tardy and you always have some unbelievable excuse as to why, and then there is your obsession with that somewhat perverse book series." Kakashi hung his head when she said this. "But, even with those traits...I don't know. You're presence just seems to be...relaxing. Reassuring. Sakura and Naruto work better when you're there with them, Captain Yamato respects you, and Sai even seems to have respect and admiration for you. Even I feel more relaxed when you're around and I'm the one with issues."

Kakashi raised his head to peer at Aisa. That was actually the last thing he expected her to say.

"You don't get worked up, which is opposite to what I'm use to. Chiruras have short tempers you know, so when I'm around my clansmen...serenity is a sorely lacking quality. Even half breeds can have short tempers. I like the sense of calmness and tranquility that I get from you. So to be honest...I really can't see you being anything close to how I am. In fact, you remind me of a distant cousin of mine. Though, he was more on the stupidly carefree side, kind of like Naruto...which probably explains why he annoyed me, too."

"If there was a compliment in there, I missed it." he told her.

"My point is that I can't see you having ever been anything like me."

"Stranger things have happened." Kakashi told her simply.

He truly regretted the choices he made and it had lead to the change in his view point. From what he had learned of Aisa, she had gone through a similar moment when she had first put on her visor and decided to change her ways for the better. But changing her recklessness and changing her fear of trusting others, were two different things to her. One was possible for her. The other...she doubted she would ever reach a time in her life when she wasn't scared to trust another.

"I wonder about that." she told him.

"Is it that hard to believe?" he asked.

"You, the apathetic, cool and collected Hatake Kakashi, anything like the mess that I am? It's not hard to believe...it's impossible. Though, everyone has their pasts, right?" Aisa replied.

Kakashi silently agreed with her, his thoughts, for a moment, going through all the mistakes he had made in his life. Shaking his head, he snapped himself out of it.

"I changed, so can you." he told her simply.

"Perhaps."

"Aisa, nothing will change if you don't make an effort."

"I know. It's just...not easy."

"You've done it once already."

Aisa's lips pressed together as she considered this. He was right, she knew that. She had changed once, and quite a lot. She could do it again, but to change this, to change her lack of trust in others, she had to be willing to risk something she wasn't sure she could.

She had to risk her heart and her feelings.

"Hatake-san."

"Hmm?"

"How do you do it? How do you lose someone and continue on letting others in, knowing you could lose them too?"

Kakashi thought about how to answer this. There wasn't really an answer he could give her. Yeah, he had lost his parents, his sensei, and several friends along the way, but he kept going. There were too many people left that needed him. He couldn't roll over and play dead yet.

"Because there are still people who need me."

Aisa raised her head off her knees. It wasn't the answer she had been expecting. She had expected something a little deeper and probably overly sappy. Then again, probably not. This was Hatake Kakashi, after all.

Though the concept was simple, it still made her heart ache. Of course, she still had Tsunade, but Tsunade didn't need her. She would have been just fine without Aisa in her life and with Itachi gone...there wasn't really anyone who absolutely needed her presence. Not even her fellow half breeds who would survive just fine without her.

"That's pretty simple for a sensei." she remarked.

"You think?" Kakashi asked, chuckling as he scratched one cheek. "In this case, the truth is simple. You have to be willing to give a little in some places."

Aisa nibbled on her bottom lip, as if she wasn't ready to accept that he might be right. Kakashi couldn't blame her. People handled grief in different ways. Some drowned themselves in relationships with others, continuing on for the sake of others rather than themselves. Some fell into a spiraling pit of despair, forever remaining sad, even when they still had a lot to live for and drowning themselves in some kind of vice. Then there were some, like Aisa, who closed themselves off completely, refusing to let another person, or anything or that matter, that could possibly make them feel the same pain they had already felt, have any sway in their lives.

It depended on the person on rather or not they wanted to change that.

"Take Itachi for example."

That got Aisa's attention, making her tune back into the conversation at hand. He figured it would. Whether he liked it or not, Aisa's friendship with Itachi had been a deep one formed and fortified over years of helping each other and having each other's back.

"If what you tell me about him is true, then he spent years burying his pacifist side, spent years bottling up his true feelings. And how did that effect him?" Kakashi asked.

"Badly. Going against his nature, doing everything he did, even if he felt it was for a good reason...it was tearing him apart. He took on more than he should of had to bare." Aisa replied.

"Sound familiar? Or do I have to bring up what you did with your clansmen the other day?" Kakashi asked.

Aisa frowned at him. How could she forget? Her body was still aching. Not to mention that Zumaragi had managed to leave quite the unflattering scar on her stomach.

"That's a bit of a low blow considering that I've already told you that it takes one of our own to defeat a clansman." she told him.

"You aren't the only one who could fight. There is Shitarou and the others."

Aisa's frown grew. Kakashi had a pretty good feeling that if he could see her eyes, she would be glaring at him at that moment.

"You just enjoy being right, don't you?" she asked sourly.

"You see my point, right?" he asked instead of answering.

"Unfortunately."

Kakashi heaved a sigh. Reaching up, he ran a hand through his hair. What was it with Aisa and not wanting to budge on this?

"What will it take to get you to try?" he asked.

"You're offering to trade something?

Why did he suddenly feel like he had walked right into a trap or something?

"Yes?"

Aisa shifted forward until she was on her hands and knees, roughly facing his direction.

"Try to make that not sound like a question. Yes or no."

"Yes."

"Good, then it's a deal." Aisa said with a firm nod.

"Why do I have a bad feeling when you say that?"

"Because if you make a deal with a Chirura, you can't back out. Something about our reputations proceeding us. Everyone gets a bad feeling, even if we don't mean harm." Aisa told him.

"And what do you want?"

"Oh, I'll think of something. For now, let's just classify it as a favor to be named at a later date."

This could end up so badly.

-0-0-0-0-

Later that night, after finally getting Aisa to agree to trust him enough to defend them over the course of the night, Kakashi stayed up for a bit, reading his book by fire light. Just as he reached the end of a chapter, he peered across the fire, checking on Aisa. She had fallen quiet a while back, and when he looked at her, she was asleep.

For someone who had complained about leaving another person to assure her safety while she slept out in the middle of the woods, she was definitely sound asleep. Maybe she was actually starting to trust him a little. He hoped so. All it took was just a little trust at a time. After a while, trusting her teammates wouldn't be so difficult for her.

He hoped.

If this didn't help her in any way, then he wasn't sure what he could do to get her to change her grudge against trusting others. Whether it worked or not, though, he expected to hear some complaining from her. Apparently she had issues with handing over the control she had on her life. And given the current position he had put her in, he had effectively taken the control right out of her hands.

Sometimes, though, that was what it took to get through to a person.

He kind of felt like he had taken on the role of her sensei with how things were.

Kakashi glanced over at Aisa then. Aisa was laying on her side, facing the fire. Thanks to the visor, it was difficult to actually imagine that she was asleep. Except for the fact that she was laying down, one hand tucked under her head, she looked exactly as she did when she was awake. Only the soft sounds of her deep breathing, gave away that she was asleep. Watching her, he wondered exactly what was going on in her head.

While, normally, he didn't pry into others' business and just simply watched from the side lines, with Aisa, he felt compelled to help her, to try to learn more about her. All without actually flat out asking her, of course. If he flat out asked her, she would then have the right to ask questions about him and his life. He didn't really talk to others about himself. Even when he had first greeted Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke, he had been vague about himself. He still didn't talk to Naruto and Sakura about himself and he had known the two for years.

But the point with Aisa was that he didn't really understand her. There were things he knew for sure, things he could guess, but he didn't completely understand her and why she was the way she was. She had said it was for a reason, but the question then became...what reason?

Given the persistence of the Akatsuki's pursuit of Naruto, Kakashi had a feeling he would have quite a bit of time around Aisa before her job was complete and she left the village. He would eventually learn more about her.

If she wasn't as stubborn as she was being now, that is.

He would just have to handle it as it came.

-0-0-0-0-

Over the next two days, Aisa seemed to get grumpier and grumpier. Kakashi had her staggering all over a rocky hillside, leading up one boulder riddled slope and down another. He had never seen her so flustered and found it to be quite the interesting sight considering how calm and confident she normally was. After two days of tripping, missing steps, and having to rely on him completely so she didn't face plant the ground, Aisa had had enough.

"That's it! I'm done!"

Kakashi turned to Aisa as she backed away from him and dropped to sit on a boulder. She let out a huff when she missed the boulder and hit the ground. Grumbling to herself, she felt around until she located the boulder and heaved herself up onto it. Kakashi joined her, standing in front of her as she dusted herself off. Her hands lightly ran over her knees, which were scraped from the several falls she had taken over the two days they had been out there.

"I'm done, Hatake-san. I'm suppose to be a shinobi. This is ungraceful and undignified. No shinobi is suppose to be stumbling around, falling on their face like I have been. I haven't scraped a knee from tripping since I was five." she complained.

She lasted longer than he had thought she would without complaining. He had expected her to complain now and then throughout every day, but she had simply trudged on with a frown on her face. She had even dealt with the same clothes and only washing her hands and face so that he wouldn't have to help her with that.

Maybe she deserved a break.

Kakashi lowered himself to sit across from her. He propped his elbows up on his knees, letting his hands dangle between his legs.

"You've made it this long and have improved. You aren't questioning me anymore. Give it a few more days." he told her.

Aisa frowned at that. She wanted to go home...now. She was dirty, her knees ached, and she was getting awfully feed up with not being able to take two steps without tripping over something or missing a step because he wanted to remind her that she had to trust him. He was only pushing this because he didn't know why she had such a hard time trusting people. Heaving a frustrated sigh, she decided that informing him might be best.

"Do you want to know why I don't trust others?" she asked.

"I don't want to know anything you don't want to willingly tell me." he replied.

In other words, he didn't want her to tell him unless she trusted him with the information. Aisa was starting to dislike the word "trust".

"I told you that I lived with my parents and my mother's parents, right?" Aisa asked.

"Yes."

"Well...my father was the Chirura. When Murako, the previous clan leader, found out about the child his son had had outside of the clan, he cracked down on all half breeds and went on a man hunt for them. My father was very careful about hiding me and my mother and grandparents. The only other person who knew about us, aside from a few half breeds, was my father's best friend. This man was suppose to be completely loyal to my father for they had grown up like brothers. He had been like a favored uncle to me. But when asked if he knew anything...he gave up my father and me without hesitating for a moment."

Well that made sense. The man her father had trusted the most, who had been like family, had betrayed him, leading to the death of her father. It had left such an impression on Aisa that she was now horribly against trusting most. It had probably even taken Itachi a long time to gain the trust from her that he had. The same probably stood true for Tsunade as well.

"As far as I've seen, trusting others ends in nothing but pain and heartache, one way or the other. Even trying to learn to trust you, hurts. My knees are screaming." Aisa retorted, before leaning forward, cupping one ear. "Can't you hear them? They're screaming, "Curse you, Hatake-san"."

By this point, Kakashi knew she was trying to lighten the mood a little. She didn't like dwelling in the emotions and memories of her past. She merely wanted him to understand the task he was undertaking while adding in a joke that also showed how unhappy she was.

"Knowing this, are you still willing to continue with this?" she asked.

"Do you trust me yet?" he asked in reply. "If not, than yes."

Aisa slumped forward with a groan, dropping her face into her hands. Rubbing at the exposed parts of her face, she heaved a sigh.

"The more time I spend with you, the more you resemble my father in personality. Both of you insist on trying to help me even when I don't want it." Aisa remarked, before adding in a low tone, "Maybe that's why I like you."

So he was like her father, huh? It was probably that reason alone that she had humored him this long. Kakashi leaned forward, about to say something to encourage her to get back up and continue on, when both he and Aisa, tensed. Aisa raised her nose to the air, sniffing the breeze that blew over them.

"Hatake-san, this scent..."

"I know."

Kakashi got to his feet, his one visible eye scanning their surroundings. There was someone watching them and Kakashi was willing to bet that it wasn't a Leaf shinobi. If it had been someone from their village, they wouldn't be hiding, would have simply come out. Aisa's head twisted to, though she couldn't see and didn't have her jutsu to help her locate whoever it was.

This was the worst time for them to run into an enemy. Aisa had no access to her jutsu and couldn't see so she couldn't rely upon hand-to-hand combat. He would have to get the both of them out of there without them getting hurt.

"Hatake-san, remove the seal. I can't fight like this." Aisa said lowly.

Kakashi glanced down at her. As far as he could tell, there was no more than five people watching them. Considering they were naive enough to let someone pick up on their scent in the air, the five couldn't be that experienced or high level. He could handle them on his own. Though dragging a currently defenseless Aisa along with him, would make things a little difficult, it would also serve to make her trust him a little more.

"Do you trust me, Aisa?"

Aisa's mouth opened, then closed, her jaw working. Even with enemies around them, he wanted to insist she could trust him. Maybe, just maybe, a little trust in him wouldn't get her killed. After all, he hadn't done anything for her not to trust him and given her current position, trusting him was the only way she was going to get out of there unscathed. Making her choice, she held out her hand.

"Alright, Hatake-san. You win. I'll trust you."

Taking her hand, Kakashi pulled her to her feet and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her close. He warned her to hold on tight before lifting her off her feet. Aisa felt the wind blow her hair around her as he moved, one of her arms wrapping around his neck. She could hear the noise of rustling leaves, could hear the snap of twigs, but this close to Kakashi, she couldn't smell anything but his scent. She felt Kakashi twist, shielding her, the sound of metal on metal meeting her ears a moment later. There was a cry of pain followed by the sound of a body falling out of a tree.

More sounds of fighting came to her ears, but all she could do was hold on to Kakashi and trust him to get her out of it alive. In the course of the fight, Aisa seriously consider the pros and cons of replacing the visor with one she could see out of. Just so this wouldn't happen again. Then again, after so long in the dark, she didn't think her eyes would thank her for the reintroduction to the light.

When Kakashi finally came to a stop, Aisa continued to cling to him, wondering if the fight was done or not. She was sure it was when he set her back on her feet.

"We're clear." he told her.

Aisa released her grip on him, stepping back away from him.

"Did you get a look at who they were?" she asked.

"A hand full of rogue ronin. I'll have to inform the Hokage that they were out here in case there's more." Kakashi told her.

"Meaning we should head back now. Good. Remove the seal." Aisa said, holding out her arm.

While she had finally trusted him and he had proved that trust wasn't ill placed, she was still in a hurry to get the seal off. Well, he had some bad news for her.

"Not until we get back to the village." he told her.

Kakashi watched as one corner of her lips twitched. Her fingers curled into a fist, the muscles in her jaw working. It was almost as if she was fighting back the urge to hit him or something.

"Just you wait...one of these days, just like I did with my father, I'm going to hit you over the head with one of your precious books." she told him.

She would have to get her hands on his books first.

"Starting with this one."

Kakashi's eye widened as Aisa held up the book he had been carrying with him. Reaching back, Kakashi searched his pouch, finding his book missing. When had she gotten her hands on it?! Kakashi turned back as she held it close to herself, ready for him to try to reach for it.

"I might be blind, but when a kinochi of my skills has to be that close to someone, it's easy to slip something off the person. You were just asking for me to take it." she told him.

Trying not to sound too upset by the fact that she had taken the book before he could finish it, he asked her to return it. Aisa refused unless he removed the seal. So, Kakashi did the only thing he could. Aisa heard his feet move and twisted to avoid him reaching for the book. Her foot caught on a rock and she tripped and fell forward, crashing into Kakashi, her shoulder colliding with his gut.

Both of them went down, Aisa landing on top of Kakashi.

"Alright, this really is starting to become annoying." Aisa remarked from where she was now sprawled on his chest. "You know what, forget it. If you want to leave me in the dark until we get back to the village, then you get to give me a piggy back ride. I'm tried of tripping and stumbling."

Aisa pushed herself up until she was sitting, straddling his stomach. Reaching out, she thumped the book against his forehead.

"Got it?" she asked.

This was the second time since meeting her that Kakashi had ended up on his back with Aisa sitting on top of him. Just to get her off, he agreed. He had achieved his goal of getting her to trust him a little more, and hopefully that would be enough for her to think twice before running into a battle alone.

With his agreement, Aisa got off him and the two headed home, Kakashi carrying Aisa on his back. He could still drop her if he wanted, so it wasn't like she wasn't trusting him with her well being.

As evident by the fact that she was nearly choking him.

When they finally arrived back at the village gate, Kakashi released the seal, allowing Aisa to use her jutsu once more. A relieved sigh left Aisa as her Blind Eye Jutsu, once again, supplied her with a mental image of her surroundings.

"Kakashi-sensei! Aisa!"

Aisa and Kakashi turned as they heard their names being called. Naruto came running towards them with Sakura right behind him. The two came to a stop when they reached them.

"Where have you two been the last couple of days?" Naruto asked.

"Nowhere." Aisa answered instantly.

Naruto pouted. Once again, Aisa wasn't telling him anything. Kakashi didn't blame her with this. What shinobi of her rank and experience, wanted to admit that they had spent days stumbling around a forest and rocky hill side like a toddler just learning to walk for the first time?

"Come on, Aisa! You can trust m-"

"Don't say that word! If I ever hear the word "trust" again, it'll be too soon." Aisa said, cutting Naruto off. "I'm going home and I'm going to fall face first onto my bed for the next few days. If any of you need me, then please hesitate to ask."

With that, Aisa turned on her heel and walked away, looking tired and put out. Naruto and Sakura watched her walk away before turning on Kakashi, both of them giving him suspicious looks.

"What did you do to her, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked.

"Me? I didn't do anything." Kakashi insisted.

"We don't believe you." Naruto replied.

"It better not have been anything weird." Sakura added.

Without another word, they turned and walked away. Kakashi couldn't help but feel a little disappointed and hurt. There had been a time when Sakura and Naruto had been amazed by just about everything he did. Now, they were blaming him.

He just couldn't catch a break, could he?

END

Kyandi: You know...I don't think I could have handled being in that position either.

Aisa: Oh, that's right. You have a fear of losing your senses.

Kyandi: Yeah, and because of that, my sister made a Naruto OC with a kekei genkai that takes away your senses.

Aisa: I would not want to fight someone like that.

Kyandi: Me neither. I would be that person yelling "No thank you" while running in the opposite direction for all I'm worth.

Aisa: Which isn't that fast. You get beat up a lot in real life, don't you?

Kyandi: Shut up! Here I have power!

Aisa: No references.

Kyandi: But they're fun!

Aisa: To you.

Kyandi: I'm sure those who got it, thought it was funny. Anyway, everyone enjoy and review!

Aisa: We'll return as soon as we can.

Kyandi: Bye-bye!