Sorry for the long wait. I really had no idea where to go with this story and hit some major writer's block. I hope you enjoy, and thanks for reading!
Emi watched as Kakashi's chest slightly rose and fell with each breath that he took. Before long, she was almost in a trance and unconsciously let her fingertips linger above his bare chest and then let them fall without hesitation. As she grazed his chest ever so lightly, the hairs on the back of his neck stood tall before his hand reached out and grabbed the wrist responsible, crushing the small bones and stretching the tendons and ligaments to render the body part limp.
A slight hitch in her breathing was the only indication of pain she made as she looked apathetically into Kakashi's glazed gray and red ones. The gentleness in her eyes pulled Kakashi out of his nightmare's stupor. Her eyes trailed down to her wrist, and his followed. Once he noticed his increasingly tighter grip on her wrist, he gently released it, expecting a yell from his roommate, but nothing came.
Instead of apologizing, he started to angerly interrogate her, but Emi wasn't listening. She was trying to move her fingers but couldn't. She could feel the pain radiating up her arm and down into her fingertips, yet she couldn't care less.
"Oi, look at me!" Kakashi cried desperately. He shook her shoulders and used his firm fingers to guide her chin up to avert her gaze from her contorted wrist.
…
Kakashi's world had flipflopped from a hellish nightmare of watching Emi bloodbend Inoka and then sadistically turn towards him for what he assumed was his turn to atone for all his sins.
Crushing her wrist was the first reaction he wasn't able to stop before he realized he was no longer in a dream. The kunai in his other hand remained hidden under the pillow.
It was moments like this that Kakashi saw the girl he had rescued months before. He saw the girl who lost herself but found a new home and purpose, only to be reminded of her inner demons on the battlefield. He saw all the emotion, all signs of hope and life void from her dull gray eyes.
Eyes that didn't care about anything. That didn't register pain or happiness. That looked at pain like it was deserved. Eyes like his.
'Why was she touching my chest?' a thought that had initiated his interrogation, that proved fruitless when Emi clearly wasn't about to answer any of his questions.
Kakashi's instincts were telling him to bring her close, hold her head to his chest, to stroke his fingers through her long hair and whisper sweet nothings in her ear until she fell asleep. 'When was the last time she slept?'
But he didn't. He couldn't. The eyes that looked like a mirror of his own needed help the only way he knew how to give help. As a shinobi. He got a towel, ice, and bucket of water and order the other soldier to tend to her wounds.
Silence followed after this, as two insomniacs stared at the ceiling until the morning sun broke through the window.
…
Kakashi's headache wasn't helped by Naruto's loud conversation with Emi. Something about "I'll show them," "Sasuke," and "Hokage."
Despite the eyes he saw the night before, Emi smiled and her eyes sparkled when Naruto talked. Her laugh brightened the room as Naruto realized he was late.
"Hurry up Nee-chan, you're going to make me late!" Naruto excited squeezed Emi's hand a little too hard. The same hand that was still swollen and bruised from Kakashi's own grip. Caught in surprise, Emi flinched ever so slightly, and eyes lost their playful smile.
But Naruto could feel the way she had pulled back from his touch. And when he looked at her eyes, they were different from before. They were almost like the eyes everyone always gave him.
That's when Kakashi saw it. For a brief moment, he saw Naruto's mask slip. A mask that Kakashi didn't, or perhaps, didn't what to know about. He knew Emi saw it, too. The guilt on her face was all too obvious. In that brief moment, when Kakashi saw Naruto turn to bolt out the door, he saw all the loneliness, grief, abuse, and hatred that was the life of a demon container.
Before Naruto could reach the door handle, Kakashi's hand was on Naruto's shoulder and his visible eye was smiling in an upside down U.
"Maa, Naruto, I could go for stroll outside. How about I walk you to school today."
"Really, Nii-chan?" Naruto's eyes grew wide with surprise and threatened to spill tears at the copy nin's gesture.
Seeing this, it was then that Kakashi promised himself he'd look underneath the underneath and be there for his sensei's son, just as his sensei had been there for him when he had formed his own mask a long time ago.
…
As the pair walked to school, Kakashi looked over his little orange book and said out of the blue, "Oi, Naruto. Emi didn't mean to do that this morning. She hit her hand in the dark last night by accident, so when you grabbed it this morning, it probably hurt her."
Naruto sparkled at the thought that it wasn't his fault after all, "Ehh? So that's why- but I thought-"
"I know what you thought and that's why I told you differently." His eyes returned to his book.
"But she didn't even say ow!"
"Have you ever heard a shinobi say 'ow' Naruto?" Naruto shook his head. "Shinobi don't say 'ow' every time they get hurt. They get back up and keep fighting. Do you think the Hokage says 'ow' when he gets hurt?"
"Well, no I…" Naruto trailed off but then his face contorted into something determined, "I just have to keep getting stronger and stronger, just like Emi-chan. I won't say 'ow' ever again, dattebayo! Then I'll be Hokage and everyone will acknowledge me, 'ttebayo!"
"Sure kid," Kakashi said as he ruffled the blonde's hair.
…
Kakashi spent the rest of the day doing, well, what Kakashi does. After lamenting at the Memorial Stone just long enough to be late to his meeting with the Hokage, he finally decided to train Obito's mangekyou.
It wasn't long into his training that the green spandex wearing beast of Konoha ran into the scene leaving a cloud of dust behind him. Kakashi didn't need his sensitive ears to hear him yelling, "OI! KAKASHI! Diligently training in the springtime of youth, I see. Working hard as ever, as expected of my rival."
"Did you say something?" Kakashi said without turning to look at the man.
"As cool and hip as ever Kakashi!" Gai said with stars in his eyes.
"Yo, Gai. I think you have something on you back?" Kakashi said not so much as a question but as a statement. He already knew the answer.
Gai turned to reveal a passed out Emi. "Ah, Emi-chan. I saw her training and asked for a match in taijutsu. But Kakashi…"
"Hmm?"
"She did not seem herself today. Like she was afraid to touch me. At one point she froze up and I could not stop myself in time."
"Ah well, try not to blame yourself Gai."
"There was another thing Kakashi," Gai said turning suddenly serious and eyeing his surroundings. Kakashi raised an eyebrow as if to say continue.
"It seems we had an audience today during our spar."
"That so?" Kakashi hummed. Kakashi himself started to eye his surroundings, looking for signs of being watched.
"Chakra like the ANBU, however I do not believe the Hokage would be interested in our training."
"Root."
Gai nodded at Kakashi's answer. "After I knocked Emi-chan out, I had every intention of bringing her home, however I realized I do not know where she lives. I thought you might know, Kakashi, and brought her straight to you."
"Ah." Kakashi understood the message. Gai had finished the "little show" quickly when he had the chance, and announced to the unwanted guests he did not know where she lived and lost their trail. "Arigato, Gai. I can take it from here."
Kakashi gripped his friends shoulder with an eye smile, and Gai returned the gesture tenfold with his blinding toothy smile. His signature thumbs up good guy pose almost made Emi slip off his shoulders, but Kakashi caught her swiftly and pulled her onto his own.
Emi started to wake but not before Gai winked and said, "Anytime, Kakashi. I leave my youthful comrade to you. I am sure you know where she lives." Before Kakashi could answer Gai made a quick exit.
Emi mumbled awake on Kakashi's shoulders.
"Yo, you're awake."
"Kakashi- but Gai-" she groaned in remembrance, rubbing the back of her head.
"Seems you two were having fun," he teased as he put her down.
She ignored him, instead asking, "What time is it? Did you pick up Naru-kun from school?"
Kakashi's heart rose into his throat as he sputtered out, "Was I supposed to?"
"Hatake Kakashi!" Emi scolded. She placed a hand on the ground and closed her eyes, searching through the energy of nature to find Naruto.
"Shit. He's all alone again. On that swing at the Academy."
Kakashi felt the familiar guilty pang in his chest and grabbed Emi by the waist (Who gave a quick "oo!" in surprise) to shushin to the Academy. With a swirl of leaves, they both arrived at the gates of the Academy, Emi's face pink on the cheeks.
"Nii-san! Nee-chan! You came! You really came, dattebayo! I thought you-"
"We would never forgot about you, right Kakashi?" Emi interrupted, elbowing the copynin in the ribs who responded with an "oof."
"But after this morning I thought, I thought that…" Naruto started.
Kakashi butted in, "Naruto, I told you this morning. That had nothing to do with you."
Emi shot Kakashi a questioning but grateful look. She looked down and rubbed her wrist.
"Nee-chan, does your hand still hurt? I'm sorry if I hurt you more this morning.."
"Naru-kun, you didn't hurt me, it wasn't your fault. You just surprised me is all, ok? Hey, how about you hold my other hand and we walk home together, ne?"
The three walked home together, Iruka smiling from the classroom window.
…
Emi made dinner while Kakashi pretended to listen to Naruto go on about his day. In reality, he was deep in thought about why ROOT was following Emi, and what he would have to do about it.
"Mm-hmm." Was Kakashi's fake reply.
"YATA! Thank you thank you thank you nii-san!" Little did he know that the previous question was "ne, ne Kakashi-nii, will you teach me some cool new jutsu so I can beat Sasuke-teme?"
Emi giggled at the situation but firmly said, "Wait until after dinner boys."
…
Kakashi and Naruto trained until after dark. Instead of cool jutsu, Kakashi corrected what the Academy had failed to teach Naruto, and worked on refining the skills he'd need to graduate.
According to plan, Kakashi let Naruto train until he was so tired he fell asleep on the grass. He picked up the snoring blonde and brought him to his room, tucking him into bed.
'Now for my other blonde…' thought Kakashi.
Emi had been sitting on the couch waiting for the pair to return. The lack of sleep was starting to get to her, and she was continuously nodding off but trying to force herself back awake.
When she didn't sleep, she felt it harder to keep the urge to feel every living thing's blood swirling in their bodies. But when she did sleep, she was reminded of her monstrous self, a killing machine and senseless murderer.
She knew she had to get some sleep soon though, she could feel how tired her body was. How tired she was of fighting. Every day was a battle and she was slowly slipping. If only someone would notice…
Hot, moist lips touched her forehead. Her eyes sprung open to see mismatched eyes gazing into her own. Before she could think, her eyelids felt heavy and the room was going dark.
…
Kakashi had found Emi nodding off on the couch. She looked so tired, he knew that she hadn't slept much since coming back from the mission. 'And she had been getting better. Damn that fucker, Inoka.'
This time Kakashi was the one would couldn't resist the urge to touch her. Lowering his mask, he kissed her forehead. A soft smile tugged on her lips as her eyes shot open.
But Kakashi was ready with his sharingan spinning. A simple sleep genjutsu. Emi was too tired to resist, and too surprised to fight back.
He caught her as she slumped forwards, carrying her bridal style to his (their?) bed and wrapping his arms around her. Then he too nodded off into sleep.
…
A few hours later, Kakashi was woken up by Emi turning in her sleep. She kept mumbling, "Naru, no, Naru.." over and over. Kakashi moved to spoon Emi, wrapping his arms and legs around her as if to protect her from her dreams. She relaxed into his warmth and her sleep became peaceful again.
Then a beam of light washed across the bedroom as the door cracked open. Kakashi was on high alert until he saw the size of the intruder, a small boy with tears running down his blue cheeks.
"Naru?" Kakashi whispered.
"Nii-san? Can I come in?" Naruto whispered back.
Kakashi lifted his head up asking, "What's wrong?"
"I had a bad dream. Emi said if I was scared I could…" he looked a little apprehensive asking Kakashi and not Emi.
Kakashi sighed, "You can sleep with us." Naruto went to excitedly exclaim when a gloved hand covered his mouth. Kakashi's eyes narrowed in the dark, "Do not wake Emi."
Naruto gulped at what kind of seemed like a threat, but he understood. He quietly and carefully snuggled into Emi's side. He felt Kakashi's arms lightly wrap around him.
Naruto looked up at Emi's peaceful face and silently whispered, "Nee-chan's really pretty when she's asleep, ne Nii-san?" He buried his head into her chest thinking to himself, 'So this is what a mom feels like…' before drifting off to sleep.
He didn't get to hear Kakashi's late reply, "Yes, she really is."
…
The next week things began to feel more normal. Emi or Kakashi would pick Naruto up from school, Kakashi would "train" Naruto, and Emi started to get used to a more domestic lifestyle.
Emi had been in better and better moods since her headaches had disappeared and she had been able to get a few hours sleep each night, thanks to Kakashi's protective and snuggling arms.
Since being instated as a shinobi, Emi now had some duties around the village. Nothing too difficult, but it took up most of her time until school ended.
It was another normal day that Emi picked up Naruto a little earlier than usual from school. This time she saw the boy she had once seen linked with Naruto's energy. He was walking in the same direction as their home, so Emi grabbed Naruto's hand and dragged him while he whined and grumbled toward the last Uchiha.
"Naru-kun, who is he?"
"Oh that guy. That's just Sasuke-teme."
"Don't call him that Naru, it's not nice."
"Why not? He's always calling me a loser! He's such a bastard always thinking that he's better than me 'ttebayo!"
"That just means he's comparing himself to you."
"Eh?"
Emi sighed. Naruto wasn't the brightest. "He sees you as someone worthy to compare how strong he is to."
"Ooohh… huh?"
Another sigh, "It means he's watching you like you watch him."
"So he thinks I'm stronger than him! Ha! Take that Sasuke!"
"Naru-kun, that's not what I'm saying…"
"Then what is iiiiiittt?" Naruto was getting impatient.
"Maybe he wants to be your friend?" Emi finally pushed out.
"Friend…" Naruto looked at the back of the Uchiha's head, trying to picture him actually wanting to hang out with him.
"Let's ask!" Before Naruto could process, Emi was pulling him along to catch up. "Ano, Sasuke-kun?" Emi yelled.
Sasuke turned his broody face to slightly acknowledge his name, but didn't reply. As soon as he saw Naruto he kept walking.
They caught up quickly and Emi started, "You're Sasuke, right? I'm Emi." She held out a hand that was quickly rejected. "I noticed you lived near Naruto and me, and thought we could walk home together."
"No."
Emi chuckled nervously, running a hand through her hair, "Well no one should have to walk alone."
"I don't need anyone," Sasuke stated.
"I didn't say you did to walk home, but you might need a friend."
"Like I said, I don't need anyone. Not you, and especially not him. Now get out of my way," Sasuke said as he brushed past her.
Emi's face went red, 'This little shit!' "Is he always like this?" She asked Naruto, who simply shrugged in response, not wanting to get involved.
Pissed, Emi bended the ground to make Sasuke trip. She appeared at his side right before he fell and caught him. "See, you needed someone there," she said with a cheeky smile.
"Tch." Was his only reply. He finally gave Emi a good look and noticed the jounin uniform she was wearing. "This dobe knows a jounin?"
"Yeah! Emi-nee and Kakashi-nii are super strong ninja and they could beat anyone!" Naruto proclaimed. "Nii-san trains me so I'm going to beat you, Sasuke, dattebayo!"
'The dobe lives with two jounin? I have to keep training to keep up. To defeat that man,' thought Sasuke.
"Sasuke, do you always walk home alone?" Emi asked, "Where are your parents?"
"Dead."
Emi's face paled. 'He really is all alone. Now I feel like the little shit..' "Listen Sasuke, if you're ever feeling lonely you can come over for dinner sometime, or walk home with us."
"Like I said, I don't need anyone, I'm an avenger."
"An avenger, huh? Know what happens when you get your revenge? Nothing. You feel cold and empty inside, and all you did was kill another person. Killing doesn't bring about peace, it just brings about more killing, trust me." Emi stated without thinking.
Both boys looked at her in horror, feeling the chill of her words going down their spines. Realizing the sudden change in atmosphere Emi tried to smile the dark clouds away.
"If you're going to be stuck on revenge, you're going to have to get stronger, and for that you'll need a teacher."
"I know that. That's why I'm at the Academy," Sasuke said with some sass.
"If you ever want to train outside the Academy then, you can always train with Naruto, Kakashi and me. You'll always be welcome," Emi added.
Sasuke stopped in his tracks and let a little smile tug on the corner of his brooding lips. He let them walk ahead of him a bit before muttering, "Thanks."
Emi pretended not to hear it. Sasuke caught up and walked home with them until they had to part ways.
…
"He didn't say a whole word on the rest of walk home, that bastard!"
"Naru-kun, language. It's not about saying words all the time," she knelt down to his level. "Sometimes, just being with someone is enough and you feel warm right here," she poked his chest.
Big mistake. As she touched his chest, she felt his heart beating. Every drop of blood circulating through his body. She was struggling to keep herself together, but put on a mask and said, "Now go to your room and start your homework, I'll be in in a bit."
"Ok, Nee-chan!"
As soon as he left, she fell to the ground panting. She was terrified and having a panic attack. The sweat was shining on her brow and her hands were shaking, "Fuck." She tried to breathe, "Get a hold of yourself."
All she could feel was Naruto's blood flowing through his veins, pumping through his heart, likes pools of water, energy, so easy to-
A glove hand cupped her face and brought her out of her thoughts.
"What happened," Kakashi asked.
"Kakashi…" she smiled in relief, "I…" she averted her gaze to the floor.
Nimble fingers lifted her chin to meet his single eye, "Talk to me."
"It's Naruto- no it's me- I mean I- I touched him and I felt- his blood- and-"
"Ok, calm down. Breathe. You're ok."
"…"
"Good. Now try again. What's wrong."
"I've been trying so hard, Kakashi. I really have, but I'm just so tired. Everyone, I can feel their blood. I remember how easy it is, to make a person move how I want. Like puppets. How easy it is to… I know the movements of my fingers like the back of my hand. I did it so many times…so many times. It's so easy. I was doing so good too.. but then I touched his chest and all I could do was feel it. I'm a fucking monster, like a fucking vampire, I hate it!" Tears she had promised herself she wouldn't cry started to run down her cheeks out of her control.
"Emi," he looked serious, "you can bend water at any time, and I'm sure you feel natural energy all around you, but you don't always bend it do you?"
"No…but it's different. Water isn't flowing around in people's bodies. A few twitches of my fingers and… and…I just can't unfeel it. I'm a killer. A Murderer. A monster. A-"
"Stop. This isn't helping. Look at me." His voice was stern. He unzipped his jacket and opened up his shirt to reveal his chiseled chest. He grabbed her hand and placed it on his skin, near his heart. "Feel my blood. Feel it beating through my heart."
Emi couldn't help herself, transfixed on the feeling. Her breathing normalized and her tears dried up.
Kakashi continued, "Whenever you think you're losing yourself, feel for my blood. Feel my heartbeat. Just like this. I know you'd never hurt me, I trust you. I trust you with my life."
Before Kakashi could counter (or maybe he didn't want to) he felt his mask being pulled down. Lips touched his own. First just touching, hesitant and shy. Then another touch, this time, enveloping his lower lip. She pulled and sucked his lip down, begging him for more. His mouth opened slightly at the tug, which she took advantage of to slip her tongue inside.
Her tongue felt like fireworks and he craved it more. He let his mouth open a little wider and her tongue felt its way in, stroking his tongue up and down. The next kiss, he was inside her mouth, twirling his tongue around her own.
His hand had intertwined its way through her hair. Her hand clutched the skin on his bare chest and her other hand trailed up his neck, resting her thumb on his cheek and her fingers behind his ear.
He pressed his other hand into the small of her back, pushing her chest into his. The time flew by and they continued to be wrapped up in each other, forgetting the world existed.
They were brought out of their make-out session by a young boy yelling he was hungry and when was dinner. They split apart, unwillingly, and got lost in each other's eyes.
"Thank you," Emi said. She placed a last kiss on his lips before standing up to go make dinner.
Kakashi's surprised look turned into a smile as he lifted his mask back over his nose. His mind became devious as he thought of how to get Naruto back for interrupting his long awaited first true kiss with Emi.
…
