The next day Mizuki woke up to the camp being mostly packed up and Kakashi not around. She instantly sprang up into a sitting position and looked all around her. She looked up at the sky and noticed the position of the sun.
"I've slept half the day away." She muttered to herself. She got up and stretched. She then started tolook and listen for any sign of where Kakashi might have gone. She heard a river go gurgling near by.
Mizuki quickly packed her stuff up and then went in the direction of the stream. She figured that Kakashi had gone to get them some water. She walked through the trees that had surrounded their camp until she came to a small clearing in the trees that opened up into a river. She looked all around the river and then she saw Kakashi.
The only thing was, he wasn't filling their canteens with water. His clothes were slung over a branch and he was in the water his back to her...his bare back. She took in the lean muscle of his body as Kakashi rinsed himself off.
It was at that moment, while Mizuki was ogling him, that Kakashi turned around. It was one of the rare moments Kakashi would remove his mask. He however still had his headband on, covering his Sharingan eye. It didn't take him long to spot Mizuki standing on the river's edge.
He gave Mizuki a nervous smile and put one hand behind his head. "You're awake. The way you were snoring, I thought you were going to be out for a while." He said.
Mizuki couldn't make her mouth move to say anything. The man she had been in love with her entire life, was standing in front of her naked in the water. Her eyes moved from his unmasked face and to his muscular chest. She noticed that over his heart was a small silver dragon twisted around a sword. "When did you get that?" She asked, finally finding words.
"Get what?" Kakashi asked, his voice sounding alarmed and his face reddening slightly.
"On your chest. Above your heart." Mizuki answered.
Kakashi looked down at his chest. "Oh that. I woke up with it the morning after you defeated the shadow."
Mizuki felt her cheeks reddening as it really hit her that she was interrupting Kakashi's bath. She quickly turned her back to him. "Uhm...I'm going to head back to the camp site and let you finish up here."
"I'm already finished." Kakashi said.
Mizuki heard him moving around in the water and then getting out. She kept her back facing him even though she really really wanted to turn around. She heard him pull his clothes from the trees and it wasn't long before he was standing behind her and placing his hand on her shoulder.
"You ready?" He asked her.
"Yeah." Mizuki answered, trying to figure out exactly why and how the dragon appeared on Kakashi's chest.
They walked in silence for a while. Then Kakashi spoke up. "Do you have any idea why I have that dragon appeared on my chest?"
"The only thing that I can think of is that it has something to do with when I used my chakra to break you out of the despair the shadow had put you in." Mizuki answered.
They walked until dark, Mizuki not needing to take as many breaks as the previous day of travel. They soon arrived back at the first inn they had stayed at when they began this journey. They were even given the same room as before.
"Well since you took a dip in the river this morning, I'm going to take the first dip in the hot spring." Mizuki told Kakashi. "The warm water and the moonlight will be the perfect way for me to recharge my batteries."
Kakashi lounged back on his bed and read his book. "Alright." He agreed.
Mizuki slid behind the changing screen and began to slip her clothes off. Kakashi happened to look up in the direction of the screen and once again found himself staring at Mizuki's shapely silhouette.
After a few moments, Mizuki emerged from behind the screen, a towel wrapped around her body. A thin white towel being the only thing keeping Kakashi's eyes from seeing every inch of Mizuki. "So, are you going to walk out there on me?" She asked her voice teasing.
Kakashi looked taken aback. "Why would you ask that?"
Mizuki grinned at his discomfort. "To get even for me walking in on you this morning." She answered.
"Oh...uhm..." Kakashi stuttered, not sure what to say to that.
"Well, if you do I won't hold it against you." Mizuki said and then she stepped through the sliding door and walked out into the open night air. She gazed up at the sky and noticed that the moon was full. She felt the light of it wash over her and fill her with strength and energy. She breathed in the smell of the night and then slid the towel from around her body.
Mizuki stood naked in the moonlight for a long moment before sliding into the hot spring. She sat down, letting the water surround her. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes. She relaxed as the hot water and moonlight bathed her in healing and comfort.
Kakashi sat on his bed, book still in hand. He however wasn't reading it. He was staring at the door that Mizuki had just slipped out of. Did she just invite me to come out there? Does she want me to come out and try to get a peek or is she testing me? Kakashi thought. If I go out there will she be happy or will she kill me? Women are way too complicated.
Kakashi sat stone still debating with himself for what felt like an eternity. It was then that he noticed Mizuki had been in the hot spring for well over an hour. "She's been out there too long." Kakashi said to himself. Mizuki had always been sensitive and prone to passing out in the hot springs if she stayed in them longer than thirty minutes.
Kakashi rose from the bed and walked over to the doors. He slid them open and stepped out. To his surprise, Mizuki was not passed out and in danger of drowning. She was sitting on the edge of the hot spring the towel wrapped around her and her feet in the water. She was leaned back on her hands, her face turned heavenward her eyes closed.
The moonlight wash over her face and her hair spilled down her back in long thick, damp waves. She practically glowed in the night. She definitely seemed to have gained her strength back. He could almost see her energy and vibrance returning to her.
He watched as a slow smile slid across her face. For a moment, Kakashi felt like he was intruding on something; like her smile was for some private moment, one that he wasn't a part of. Mizuki's liquid silver eyes opened and she turned to face him, the smile still on her face.
"I'll just go back inside now." Kakashi said, suddenly feeling out of place.
"You don't have to." Mizuki replied.
"Really? I feel like I'm interrupting something."
Mizuki sat up and patted the spot next to her. "Come sit. I'll explain."
Kakashi walked over and sat down beside her in the lotus position. "So, what's going on?"
"Mostly just enjoying the moonlight...letting it recharge me." She answered. "But...I've always felt a special connection to the night. And in some way, now that I know where I came from...I feel like it connects me to my family."
"That makes sense." Kakashi replied, looking up at the full moon.
"Thank you again, Kakashi." Mizuki said after a long moment of silence.
"For?"
"For coming with me and being my friend." Mizuki answered. "I don't know how I would have done this without you."
"I'm always here for you." Kakashi replied.
"I know. I...I just wanted to thank you for it."
Later that night, after Mizuki and Kakashi had gone to sleep, some strange dreams played through Kakashi's head.
Kakashi's dreams...
Mizuki had just told Kakashi that she was leaving the village. She hit one of his pressure points and he fell unconscious. Kakashi saw only blackness, but he felt Mizuki's arms around him, laying him down. Then he felt her lips at his ear.
"I know you won't remember this when you wake, but I have to tell you this." He heard Mizuki's voice tell him, but he couldn't respond. "Of all the people in this village, you are the most precious to me. I don't know what I would have done all this time without you and your strength. I love you, Kakashi."
Then he felt his mask being pulled down and Mizuki's lips on his. they were warm and wet and gentle. And it was only for the briefest of moments before she was replacing his mask and leaving.
Fastforward...
Kakashi lay in his own world of misery after being hit by the shadowy tentacles. He felt cold and alone. Then out of nowhere he felt warmth flooding his chest. It seemed as though he could hear a voice, faint and familiar whispering to him.
The voice slowly became louder and clearer. He could hear it, it was Mizuki speaking to him. "I love you, Kakashi. I've always loved you."