Chapter Thirty-five
I had been back in ANBU for four months and was on my way home for a party to celebrate Kakashi's second birthday. I stopped at a nearby town on the way and found the perfect present.
It was a book on how to talk circles around people since he already had a smart mouth I just decided it would be funny to watch Sakumo get even more flustered around him. He was becoming a genius quickly and was already training with his father since he could walk.
I ran to the gates and identified myself and continued to run. I was already half an hour late and still in my bloody and muddy uniform but I didn't care. I finally made it and burst into the house to see Sakumo, Nozomi, Jiraiya, Light and a Kakashi who was reaching for his first present looking at me with amused shock.
"Sorry I'm late, rough mission, the damn people just wouldn't stay down." I muttered as I scratched my cheek nervously and moved into the house. I placed my present with all the others and I sat on the wooden floor and waited as Kakashi continued to open his presents.
He purposefully waited to open mine last. He just wasn't opening it fast enough. Finally getting the book out he read the front cover and gave me a mischievous grin. And I grinned back.
We sat and had cake and talked. Kakashi dragged me outside to watch him practice. He moved like an experienced shinobi already. He would be dangerous when he grows up.
"Hey, Sonea. When is your birthday?" Kakashi asked me while he was throwing kunai at a tree.
"Why do you want to know?" I asked back in a meditative pose and my eyes closed.
"So I know for future reference." He said with a slight shrug.
"November twentieth. Are you happy now?" I asked not moving
"Wow, that's close. How old are you?" He asked. I sighed; I did not want to talk about my age.
"Well, how old do I look?" I decided to play it safe.
"Um…" He started to look up, a kunai pointed to his chin in thought as he tapped and looked at me.
"If you poke yourself, I'm going to laugh." I said, still with my eyes closed.
"How do you do that?" He complained and crossed his arms over his chest with a pouty face.
"I just know now guess harder." I said with a small smile.
"I'd say about seventeen." He said.
"Well then, I'm seventeen." I said and opened my eyes to study his face.
"That's no fair! Really, how old are you?" He complained.
"You would find the truth even more hard to handle than just thinking I'm seventeen." I said as I stood up and looked at the tree with kunai in it.
"Why, are you like some really old lady or something?" He asked, looking at the tree to.
"Actually I am." I smiled at him with my eyes closed. I opened them again to see Kakashi staring at me intently. He was shocked and started to study all of me quickly with a hard glare. I felt like I was being stripped naked by his eyes and I started to edge back.
I tripped over a rock and fell on my back. I just lay there until I had Kakashi's face in mine again as he bent over me.
"I don't see any transformation. You're not playing with me are you?" He asked with one eyebrow up in suspicion. I smiled and grabbed him around the neck, making him fall onto me.
"As you can feel, this is not a transformation but I really am really old." I said into the mop of silver hair. He squirmed a little bit but then stopped dead in his tracks.
"So, you're immortal then?" He asked with a bit of fear.
"You could say that. It's a secret so don't tell anyone. You catch on quick for a two year old." I said as I released him and he sat on his knees next to me and I sat up and watched his face flow with hundreds of different thoughts.
"Hey, I'm still me, I haven't changed." I said as I laid a hand on his head. He looked up and smiled then started to get up. He kind of helped me up afterwards and we returned to the house.
I returned to my duties as well as the club as a rumour spread that Raven the ANBU stays in the tower and watches over the village, the Fire Shadow's Shadow as I returned to being his personal guard if I promised not to beat anyone up again.
There was an odd day when Danzo showed up again. Half of his face was bandaged as was his right arm but Hiruzen said nothing about his friends condition until things went from bad to worse.
December came quickly and I was confronted with bad news.
"Raven, please come here for a second and remove your mask." Hiruzen asked as I pulled out of my meditation and out of the shadows. I had night guard and had just returned after freshening up for the day duty as well. I removed my mask as I reached his desk. I could feel a heavy heart from someone in my circle but I paid little attention to the lives of my circle members.
"Yes Sandaime?" I asked, hooking my mask onto my belt.
"I will be relieving you of duty for a while. Hatake Nozomi has passed away in her sleep last night." Hiruzen said sadly as he watched me carefully. I stared in disbelief. I knew she was going to pass soon but not today.
"May I be excused now?" I asked.
"Yes but I think you should stay away. Sakumo and his son are in a bad way." He said with conviction. I nodded numbly.
"Then, may I stay for half a shift Sandaime, I need to be doing something so I don't go straight there." I said as I bowed my head in sorrow and respect.
"Yes you may. You may leave at one o'clock then. Please return to your duty." He said with understanding. I nodded and replaced my mask back on and returned to the shadows where silent tears fell down behind my mask for the family. I stayed tuned into Light as he was with Sakumo without Kakashi and it worried me.
"You may leave now Raven." Hiruzen called. I slipped out into the open skies and placed my mask into my pouch and transformed to my blonde self. I sat on a roof across from the residence and tuned back into Light. There was a bonfire at the back of the house with Nozomi's deathbed in it as well as all of her clothes and Light was trying to comfort him I started to worry about Kakashi.
I transformed into my demon state and concentrated for the white chakra of Kakashi, no matter how small. I was off before I knew it when I found it. I landed in training ground seven, where the three posts stood as well as the memorial stone that was erected after the previous war. I walked past the posts and to behind the stone to see Kakashi with his knees pulled up and his head hiding in his arms.
Of coarse, I was still in ANBU mode as I transformed back and sat silently next to him. I listened to his heart wrenching sobs as I sat there in silent support even if he didn't notice I was there. It became to much as I let tears fall again and pulled him into my side. He stiffened but relaxed when he realised it was me and he cried into me. His sobs calmed down a bit when he decided to talk.
"Dad said that I looked to much like her and ordered me to get out and away." He said between sobs. "I agree with him, I can't even face myself without it hurting again." I sighed and pushed him down until his head was resting on my lap and I stroked his head soothingly, willing him to let it all out.
I couldn't say anything without it sounding heartless so I decided to stay silent. His breathing became even as he calmed down a little and the sun was setting fast. I decided to take him back to my place but I had something to do first. I concentrated on Storm who was in his apartment.
'Storm, can you please go into my apartment and remove all mirrors and reflective surfaces?' I asked, he seemed a bit startled and confused before he sighed and moved towards the elevator and went to my apartment and began his task.
'Light, I have Kakashi with me and you probably know what happened so please tell Sakumo that he is safe with me for as long as they both need'
'Will do, please, take care of him.' Light asked as I cut the connection.
I looked down at the red-eyed kid and saw he was sleeping. I smiled as I picked him up bridal style and stood up and hugged him close to me as I took to the air. Storm had completed his task as I made my way to the top of the tower.
I sighed with annoyance as I thought about opening my door. I put him into one arm with my tail as support and unlocked the door that leads to the garden and went inside. I closed it with my foot as I shuffled the kid into both of my arms again.
I looked around and sighed. I definitely wasn't giving him the couch or to myself. I walked to my room and lay him on my bed. I pulled off his shoes and went to the bathroom to retrieve a warm facecloth. I gently rubbed around his eyes and nose and threw it back to the bathroom with perfect aim for the shower.
I pulled the covers over the small frame and proceeded to the shower. I peeled of my ANBU gear and got into the shower. I let some more tears wash away with the water. I washed and got ready for bed.
I climbed in next to Kakashi and he instantly clung to me. I allowed it and set my chin on his head of silver hair, got comfortable and fell asleep.
I panicked when I woke up to an empty bed. I ran into the lounge and there he was sitting at the dining room table. I leaned against the wall and held a hand to my heart with a small smile. It was as I got closer that I noticed the piece of material covering from the bridge of his nose and down into his t-shirt. He looked up at me and closed his eyes in a crescent shape and I knew he was 'smiling.'
"I solved my problem." He said as I sat across from him.
"I see it as more of avoiding it than solving it." I said, tugging at it from under his chin. He grabbed my arm and made me let go. His eyes told me everything. "So, what? Are you just going to hide your face for the rest of your life? What about when you have showers, you can't wear it then." I said as I lazily rested my chin into the palm of my hand as the elbow sat on the table.
"If I have to then yes. And I won't carry a mirror with me when I shower so it will be fine." He complained.
"What about when you finally start to grow facial hair?" I asked, curious at his answer.
"I'll figure that out when I get there." He said with a pout in his voice. I smiled and reached for the 'mask' again and he held my wrist to stop me.
"At least let me fix it properly with a sewing machine so it looks better." I complained. He raised an eyebrow at me.
"You can sew?" He asked with a hint of sarcasm. I rolled my eyes as I stood up and took off his temporary mask and looked at the design he was trying to achieve.
I set it down again as I went to grab my very old sewing machine and started to work on the mask. Kakashi watched over my shoulder as I worked. He had made it out of some stretchy material that I had stashed away for when I had to repair parts of my clothing and was black.
When I was finished, I pulled it over his head and it sat just under the collar of his shirt. I straightened it and pulled out a hand mirror I kept in my weapons pouch and showed him. He felt at the material and I could see a smile under the fabric.
"Thank you, for coming to find me and listening and for letting me stay and helping me with the mask and anything else I have left out." He said handing the mirror back and I placed it into the pouch again.
"Anytime." I smiled back at him.
I made breakfast for us and I was glad that he wasn't wearing it the whole time. I think it was because I didn't look at him with pain from his similarities to his mom. We chatted while we ate but I saw that his smiles were fake and his eyes seemed slightly glazed over when he wasn't looking at me.
He sat on the counter as I cleaned the dishes and he dried and put them away. We decided that it would be good for him and Sakumo to go home and see how it went from there. I stood by my door and waited for the elevator and looked down at Kakashi.
I bent down to his level and pulled his mask up and smoothed it out. He closed his eyes in crescents and we went into the elevator. We walked silently, side by side until we reached the house. I followed Kakashi in and removed my shoes and continued in the house with Kakashi.
We got to the living room where Sakumo and Light sat, I motioned with my head towards Light and he got up and followed me to the kitchen to give them privacy. I leaned against the counter, crossed my arms and legs and closed my eyes and let my head fall towards my chest a little.
"How is he doing?" I asked with a sigh.
"He's gotten over the shock of finding his wife dead next to him. It's going to take a while until he will be fine again like he was, if ever. How's Kakashi?" He said, equally as tired.
"I don't think that it has hit him but he did take it pretty hard about what his father said. I even helped him make that mask. I just hope that it doesn't become a permanent thing, I just don't think that it would be good for his psyche." I said sadly.
"I agree. I'll keep as close as I can and watch both of them. I'll call you for any help though." He said. I raised my head and stared at the ceiling. "How are you doing with this?" He asked suddenly.
"It's opened a few wounds from my childhood but I can avoid what happened to me from Kakashi. I need you to keep them together and remind them without actually saying anything. They need to break and rebuild it together." I said as I remembered vaguely what happened to me. Light nodded and we brought tea to them.
Kakashi was cuddling on Sakumo's lap and they were both crying with Sakumo's arms around Kakashi. I was glad to see that the mask was down and hopefully the phase would end soon. We passed the tea to them and we sat down in silence.
A few days later it was the memorial and Kakashi stood with his mask on and no emotion passed his face neither did Sakumo's face betray any emotion like a true shinobi. I was asked to say a few words but I sung with my guitar in hand. The song caused a lot of people to cry but Kakashi and Sakumo just sat there.
I grabbed Light quickly before he left with Sakumo and Kakashi and pulled him aside quickly.
"You need to keep an eye on them especially tonight, good luck." I whispered and let him continue on with them. I sat by the new grave for a while as my thoughts became very philosophical about life and death.
I saw through Light that they both broke and were now finally getting over the tragedy. They even decided to clean the house the next day I smiled as I came back to my own reality and opened my eyes. I placed my palm on Nozomi's grave.
"They're going to be just fine." I whispered to her as I started to turn away.
"But how are you dealing with it?" Storm asked from a nearby tree. I jumped and spun around to face him.
"I prepared for this months ago so I'm doing fine." I replied defensively.
"You didn't answer my question." He said as he gracefully came over and stood in front of me.
"Death is something I just don't deal with anymore, I let it pass by." I said coolly.
"So that is how you choose to exist, by not feeling?" He asked carefully.
"No, I do feel but I detach myself from attachments." I said emotionless.
"You're one heartless bitch." Storm said sarcastically with a small smile as he hugged me. I returned the embrace with a small smile. We pulled away and he gave me a childish grin.
"Escort me home?" I asked with a smile.
"Sure." He said offering me his arm and I took it.
We chatted and enjoyed each other's company as we strolled through the village, the long way around. We even hung out in the club as the rest of the circle joined us except Light and Taka.
I excused myself as soon as Storm started to tell us embarrassing stories about his twin and decided I did not need to hear them sober, in other words, never hear them.
I fell asleep happily as Kakashi's scent that he left filled my lungs and I had a peaceful sleep. I returned to my post next to the Hokage as time and missions flew by me.
Minato and Kushina were jonins at the age of fifteen. They were both seventeen now and Kakashi had just turned four and entering the academy soon.
The countries started to take some strain, including Konoha. The five great nations began warring with the smaller countries as the want for space and power overtook rationality. Little did we know that this was the start of the Third Great Shinobi War.
A/N: Alright this is the end of part one and Part two will be posted as a new story under the same name Part two and another sub heading. Hope you guys are enjoying it so far