Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Tag, you're it!

By Amaryllis Namikaze

Chapter 21

"All done, taichou," Cat whispered behind him.

Dog nodded, "Get rid of the corpses and let's find a place to camp. We'll go back to Konoha tomorrow."

"Hai," the rest of his subordinates, Tiger and Weasel, saluted. All three disappeared in a swirl of leaves, leaving their leader alone.

Dog looked up, observing the sunset with blank eyes. The colors were beautiful, as well as the landscape around him – a forest with tall, old trees, which leaves couldn't be greener than now, and flowers spreading everywhere in the ground. With the sun's light, it was breathtaking.

But Dog couldn't care less about it.

He was completing an assassination mission – the last thing he wanted to think about was the scene around him. Calmly jumping from branch to branch, Dog found a good spot to camp and proceed to set it up.

A few minutes later, the rest of his squad and subordinates came back. The first was Cat, the only woman in the group and whose purple hair was attention-getting that it was clearly visible even in the dark – she truly was a good ninja, since Cat could hide it perfectly. The second one was Tiger, a man a few years younger than Dog himself. And the third was Weasel, a teenager – though he hated being called one – with incredible abilities.

This was the ANBU squad number 8, which Dog was the leader.

"Taichou," They greeted, though Cat was a little warmer when she saw his blank eyes. Dog felt grateful by this, really, but didn't react to it – even if Cat was his long-time friend.

Each person went to a place in the camp, minding their own thing. Weasel was reading a scroll, as always, while Tiger searched for something in his bag; Cat observed her leader, worried, for what Dog could only sigh.

Technically speaking, ANBU squad should go back to their village as soon as the mission was completed – no matter the condition they were in. Squad 8, on the other hand, was a very odd group. Their leader was chronically late, always reading an orange small book. The only woman was a kind person – something that the ANBU members must not be. Tiger was a weird man whose past was a mysterious little thing for all – except his squad and the Hokage himself. And Weasel was – simply putting – a prodigy with a depressing clan, which he was the heir.

All in all, squad 8 was always in good terms within themselves. They didn't ask about each other problems, nor the other's past or plan for the future. They could comfort each other without any words, as well as they knew when to let the other one alone.

Dog would be satisfied with this squad – if not for the reason he entered ANBU Black Ops in first place.

"Cat, go do something and stop looking at me," Dog sighed, finally losing his patience.

"Kakashi, I'm worried about you."

"Cat," the silver-haired ANBU warned. Weasel and Tiger quietly observed, knowing that Cat was their leader's long-time friend and most likely knew something they did not.

"Last week made two years since she was kidnapped, are you sure that you…-" She, however, was interrupted.

"Yes, Yuugao, I'm fine. She was fucking kidnapped, but I'm fine!" Kakashi snapped, burying his face in his hands and gripping his hair.

"Kakashi…" Yuugao murmured, a wave of sadness crashing inwardly. She also missed the small blonde's smiles and laughter. The purple-haired woman would never forget the day that Eagle knocked on her door, saying that Hokage-sama had a message.

She was confused when entered said man's office and saw all her most close friends. And, in the back, with a miserable face and eyes as blank as a few minutes ago, was Kakashi. The woman had never seen her friend so, so… pathetic. And, then, the news came, the reason for Kakashi's misery.

The fire crackled – the only sound in the night. Even the animals appeared to be silent in this cold, depressing time.

"Do you think I don't know that it's already two years? Of course I know. I'd know if I saw my daughter's face in the morning, thank you very much!"

If Weasel and Tiger were surprised – which they were – for the discovery that their leader had a daughter, they didn't show. Dog took his mask off, dropping it carelessly on the ground. Most of his face was covered by a mask and his headband, except for his right eye – the only thing that showed all his sadness.

"Sorry, Yuugao, I didn't mean to scream at you, it's just…"

Yuugao had also taken her cat mask off, though she left it on the floor more carefully, and kneeled down beside her leader squad and friend, "I know. I know."

As both stayed in silence, Weasel saw no need to stay masked, thus slipping it out of his face and revealing high cheekbones, coal-black eyes, pale skin and his onyx hair, held in a low-ponytail. Tiger carefully left his atop of his bag.

For who knows how long, the squad stayed in a respectful silence, mourning for the disappearance of Kakashi's daughter – even the two that never met her.

The fire was still crackling when they all heard a strange, sudden sound. It was a person – so Itachi quickly made sure to extinguish the attention-getting flames. Whoever it was, the breath was irregular, showing pain and tiredness. Kakashi had the most sensitive ears, therefore hearing clumsy steps through the forest. After ten seconds of poor walking, the person fell down with a thud.

"Should we check it, taichou?" Tenzou asked, looking for instructions.

But Kakashi couldn't answer, because he knew this chakra signature, this smell of lavender, lilac and rainy days. He didn't say a word, only started to run in the person direction. Confused, the rest of squad 8 followed, leaving their belongings still there.

Kakashi didn't run much. His subordinates found him in front of a bush, looking down. He was slightly shaking.

"Kakashi?" Yuugao called, stopping by his side and also glancing at the same direction. She gasped, horrified. Itachi and Tenzou couldn't understand why – there was a child, yes, but… who the hell was she?

The child was small, being maybe four or five years old. Her skin was pale – not in an unhealthy way, but like she hadn't tanned in a long time. Her face was baby-fatted with soft features, pouty lips and high-cheekbones. However, she was thin – too thin – which made her look frailer and weaker. Small fingers and feet, long eyelashes, enchanting face – she could be a doll. That is, if you didn't take into account her injuries. There were bruises and scratches all over her body – arms, legs, belly, elbow, chest, lips, forehead. Most of the wounds had already started to heal, but had dried blood in it. The small child was so full of dirty that her hair appeared to be black, with leaves and twigs in it.

"Kori…" They heard Kakashi murmur.

Itachi's face cleared with understanding. He could remember years ago when the villagers were commenting about Sharingan no Kakashi's adopted daughter. However, slowly, people stopped to talk, since they never saw the child again.

And here was she.

"Kori," Kakashi sat by her side, carefully touching her face and flinching when the child unconsciously rolled away. She was obviously too tired to even open her eyes. "Shh, don't be afraid, I won't hurt you."

Tenzou knew that his taichou wasn't a cruel man, but it was still a surprise to see him so… gentle.

The small child cowered in fear. Kakashi softly pressed his palm to her forehead, checking for fever, before caressing her dirty hair.

"There's no need to be afraid, sweetie."

Slowly, insecurely, the child opened her eyes, revealing two beautiful, yet scared, blue orbs. They were full of innocence and beauty, but, at the same time, filled with fear and insecurity.

"Da-Daddy?"

Kakashi felt like crying. His daughter's voice was broken, but held the same sweetness as before. Her throat was most likely dry and aching.

"Yes, sweetie, it's me."

Next thing Kakashi knew, he was tackled to the ground – Kori evidently wasn't heavy or strong, but she managed. Both were so confused, so happy, so afraid, so in peace – they didn't know how to feel or what to say, so, contently, the two Hatake stayed together, in silence.

Yuugao felt bad for interrupting it, but she touched her leader's shoulder.

"Kakashi, it would be the best to go back at the camp and heal Kori's injuries."

He nodded, standing up with his daughter still cradled in his arms. Squad eight returned with no hurry, since the child would be more hurt if they ran. Itachi lighted the fire, which soon started to crackle again.

Kakashi stripped his now sleeping daughter out of her clothes and laid her in the blanket that Yuugao found inside her bag. He carefully took care of her injuries, managing a basic medical Ninjutsu just enough to heal the scratches and bandaging up the rest. After a few minutes, it became too cold for Kori to stay just in panties, so he dressed her with the same clothes she was before – a gray T-shirt and black shorts – and let her sleep over his ANBU coat and under the blankets.

All the while, Itachi and Tenzou started preparing a modest meal with the food they had – knowing that they could stay without eating until they reached Konoha, but the small child was probably starving. A hot soup with bread was served.

Kori briefly woke up to eat, before falling asleep a couple of minutes later. Only when she was so deeply asleep that nothing seemed to perturb her, Kakashi finally sighed.

"You okay, taichou?" Tenzou asked.

"Yeah, it's just…"

Yuugao gave a squeeze in his shoulder, "I know; you didn't expect to find her like this in the middle of a forest in the Fire Country."

"Yeah."

Kori moaned in her sleep and all four looked at her, worried in their own degree. Itachi observed with narrowed eyes – who was cruel enough to do that to a child?

"I think that the twigs and leaves are disturbing her," the Uchiha suggested. "Maybe you should brush her hair to take it out – a little bit of the dirty would probably come off, too."

"Good idead. Yuugao, do you have a brush or something?" Kakashi questioned his purple-haired teammate.

The woman huffed at the assumption, but gave him a wooden brush anyway. Kakashi sat behind Kori and put her head in his lap. Each squad member returned to their activities, minding their own business when a sharp intake of breath caught their attention.

Kakashi was looking horrified at his daughter hair.

"What happened, Kakashi?" Yuugao asked, confused. The three subordinates eyed the hair, but only one of them found it different from before.

Even though it was slightly dirty, the brush made almost all of it come off, thus making it clearer to see the former dark hair. However, it wasn't in the sunny-blond shade from before. Kori's long hair reached her waist, curling like a princess's would have, and shining when the sun kissed it. Now, on the other hand, her sunny-blond was reduced to a few strands of hair – still there, but it gave the impression of being made instead of natural; and all of that because Kori's hair was silver – exactly like Kakashi – or, at least, most of it.

"What's the problem?" Tenzou questioned, not understanding the problem.

"Kori's hair…" Kakashi couldn't stop looking. It was like a lamp in the middle of the dark. "It was blond, sunny-blond. Now…"

"It's the same shade as yours," Itachi completed, comprehending.

"I don't understand, what's the problem with that?" Tenzou was lost.

But Kakashi didn't answer, just continued to stare at his daughter's sweet, asleep face and her silver hair. The color wasn't a problem, but it meant something – Orochimaru made his daughter an experiment.

When she had been kidnapped, the silver-haired Jounin wasn't completely sure of what the Snake Sannin wanted with his daughter – thank God it he didn't want it with his little girl -, since, as Jiraya said, Orochimaru's mind works in a fucked up way. But, now, looking at the soft, silver hair with blond strands, the possibilities of what he wanted was obvious. What more had that snake done to his baby? Kakashi was scared to even think about it.

Kori blinked sleepily, waking up with all the noises.

"Sorry, sweetie, did I wake you up?" Kakashi apologized, once again showing a caring side that his subordinates never saw.

The small blonde – well, silver-haired – child shook her head with tiredness, "No, Daddy. Your voice is melodic."

Kakashi seriously doubted that, but decided not to say it, since he was hypnotized every time his baby spoke too. He caressed her, at least, still long hair.

"Do you want something? Water? More soup?"

Kori shook her head again, silver and blond hair flying around, "No. I walking around, wishing you. And you came. I am fine."

Yuugao cooed from distance, deciding to say hello to the little girl tomorrow – now it was father and daughter time. Itachi and Tenzou appeared to think the same thing, since they were preparing themselves to sleep, perfectly knowing that Kakashi would stay awake all night, just looking at the child. The purple-haired looked at the pair one last time before also going sleep.

Kori cutely yawned, looking like a sleepy kitten. Kakashi smiled and kissed her head. She snuggled closer to him, still blinking to shoo the sleep away.

"You can rest, sweetie," her Dad assured her.

"I'm afraid of being alone."

This remind Kakashi of a conversation they had a long time ago and, as before, he pulled her to his lap, kissing the top oh her head repeatedly.

"You'll never, ever be alone, is that understood? You're precious to me."

Kori's eyes were full of unshed tears – Kakashi was satisfied that they still were the same shade between melted sapphire and cloudless blue sky.

"Daddy… I was alone."

The tall Jounin didn't what to say – he could only imagine the terror and fear that his baby felt in these last two years. She had the right to be resented with him.

"I spent most of my time alone – the rest, with Orochimaru. I was alone!" Kori cried. The rest of squad 8 kindly ignored the conversation behind them. "And I was so afraid of being alone, yet, I already was…" She whispered the last part.

Kakashi kissed the top of her head again.

"Sweetie, I'm sorry, and I know that no matter how many times I say this, it'll never be enough. I'm idiot – God, I'm such an idiot. Most of the things I do is wrong or stupid and end in a bad way. But there is one thing I'll never regret doing and that thing is to love you. You understand this? I love you – no matter what, no matter where, no matter when. I love you."

"Daddy," Kori called, her voice trembled.

"Yes, baby?"

"When I said how loneliness I was, I merely stated it. I don't blame you. Never did, never will. I love you with all my heart."

They stayed in a comfortable silence, listening to each other heartbeat and the crackling of the fire. Kori was content to just lay with her head on her Daddy's chest and Kakashi was in Heaven just for cradling his baby once again.

"My hair is different," Kori noticed after a few minutes, taking a silver part in her tiny hand.

"That it is," Kakashi couldn't read her expression.

"It's beautiful."

"You don't need to fake."

"I like its color, really. I just… don't like how it became like this."

"Me too."

"But I'm proud to have it and happy that some blond strands stayed," the small child commented, seeing said blond part.

"Proud?"

"It's your color. And a scar, of course."

Kakashi was taken by surprise this time – and so were his subordinates, still awake. "What do you mean?"

"Each scar has a story, each story is different, but, in the end, they hold the same meaning: I survived. And that I did, seeing the fact that I'm sitting here with you."

Kakashi nodded, impressed. How could he forget his baby's brilliant mind, even for a second? The other members of squad 8 didn't know such a mind; so, they were caught by surprise and were shocked by the maturity displayed.

"You're right, of course."

Kori yawned again and stayed awake for only one minute more, just enough to kiss her Dad's cheek and hug his arm tighter. Soon enough, her breath became softer.

Kakashi stayed there all night, happy to just look at his daughter face as if he had never seen it. And, though he was the only one awake, the solitude was full of noises.