15 – Her Acceptance

The darkness was soothing and quiet, like a blanket of silence after the chaos and pandemonium of battle. Kiruma distantly felt arms around her, warm fingers against her neck and a hand supporting her side. For once, the hold didn't feel aggressive or life threatening. She wasn't sure she'd be able to retaliate even if it was at this point. She was so, so tired. And his hand was totally digging into ribs she was pretty sure were fractured, but she barely even had the energy to complain at this point.

It didn't matter though, not anymore, because anxiety and hurt and relief were all warring in her chest and above it all was guilt. Horrible, heavy guilt because Three was gone. Minato-san was gone. But she couldn't help but feel so glad, and so happy that Kakashi was here, and that he had come for her, even if she was about to die. (Which she still wasn't sure about.)

Her heart was swelling in her chest until she thought it would burst because he was here. He hadn't left her alone. She couldn't stop the smile rising to her lips, amidst all the pain, and she didn't care that she looked a little insane, or that she was hurting. Kakashi was here.

"How do I stop him?" Kakashi breathed into her hair, his eyes trained ahead. He prayed she had the energy to answer, because, yes, she was safe, and he was definitely not considering keeping her locked in kamui for the next month so that she couldn't be hurt (cough), but Konoha was in danger, and his loyalty to his home village was protesting his position irritatingly loudly. Something had to be done, and he was an elite Jounin of Konoha. He was obligated to help.

Her eye fluttered open, her smile fading, and she struggled to lean against the wall so that he wouldn't have to support all of her weight. She scowled and resisted the urge to shrug, because the movement would hurt way too much for her liking.

"I don't fuckin' know, Hatake, why don't you go ask him?" she coughed once, and the wet sound worried him. She needed medical care, and all he knew was emergency basics, and Konoha wouldn't even help her in a state of lockdown because technically she was a missing nin even if she did risk her life to save all of theirs.

She tried again once she caught her breath, her hand going to her torso as a flicker of anguish crossed her expression.

"My guess is he's got general control over the elements of fire, water, earth, and air." She swallowed hard, breathing shallowly. He noticed a small area of her ribcage that didn't rise properly with the rest of her chest and internally winced. "Controlled by an orb. Might get rid of the puppet army to look like a hero."

"Orb?" he repeated lowly, and she nodded.

"But, Kakashi, there's no way… I don't think it can contain that much energy."

"What makes you say that?" he asked sharply, waiting patiently as she was overcome by another fit of coughing.

"Acgh," she spat blood onto the ground and dragged in a weak breath.

"Just something the fire demon told me," she gritted out. "I gotta go back… check on Dandelion…"

"I won't send you back," he stated flatly, his expression set in total deadpan. "I will handle Obito."

She shook her head slowly, and he watched in exasperation as her eyes unfocused. She'd just made herself dizzy.

"Not safe here," she muttered, starting to feel a little better as her head cleared. "Shared Sharingan."

Kakashi froze.

It took him a moment to understand what she was implying, but when he did it struck him like lightning. It could only be a theory, but what if it were true? He and Obito possessed two halves of the same Sharingan, so… could he find her here? If he could, why hadn't he come already? Had he lost too much chakra fighting?

And… why didn't he think of that earlier? She made the leap in logic like it was common sense, and he didn't think about it for years? Granted, he'd been convinced Obito had died, but… still.

He dearly hoped Obito was incapable of Kamui currently, but even if that were the case, Kiruma was right. She wasn't safe here. Neither of them were. But where would she be safe then? He let out a frustrated sigh. She was a missing nin for Kami's sake. Was there any place safe for her?

It struck him at that moment how tenuous her life must have been up to this point, always on the run, trying to protect herself and get information to protect the people she loved constantly, unsupported by any village's healthcare or financial aid… it was... It was actually kind of amazing. But now wasn't the time to be in awe. She was in critical condition, and action needed to be taken. He wasn't going to let it come down to deciding between saving Konoha and Kiruma. He would do both, and he wouldn't fail. He was never going to fail like that again.

"You… you search for Danzo here," she rasped out weakly. "I need to stay with Dandelion."

"I can't leave you alone," he murmured in a low voice, and she patted his face awkwardly.

"Not long," she answered with a small smile, and he felt his frustration expand. She shouldn't look so happy right now. Why was she smiling when she was so injured? Why?

"Just find him and then bring him back. He's Hokage. Ninja will see him… and…" she paused to try and catch her breath, but she didn't need to finish for Kakashi to understand what she was getting at. If Danzo were freed, the people would know that their Hokage had not abandoned them. They would realize that they had been fooled, and turn their suspicion and attention to Obito, see him with a huge amount of power in his hands, and set Konoha on the right track.

He saw the logic of that, but… what would happen if he left her with another half dead host?

"Stop it," she groaned, studying his pinched expression. "Stop thinking so much and hurry up." She coughed again. "No time left."

She was definitely right in that respect.

"Don't move, then," he muttered through clenched teeth, not willing to admit how scared he was. Scared to lose someone else. But he wasn't a Jounin for nothing. This would be his fastest retrieval mission yet, because Kiruma's survival depended on it. "And if we both make it through this, marry me."

She choked, spitting out blood, and he held her a little tighter, worried. He hadn't expected his words to be that much of a shock. It kind of hurt his feelings, actually.

"What?"

He stared at her flatly, his expression skeptical. He was not repeating himself.

"Unless you happened to find some other dashing missing nin out in the wild ready to sweep you off your feet and run away with you," he answered dully, only half joking. Had she met anyone during her missing nin days? Should he be worried?

No, no, it was Kiruma. She didn't trust that easily.

But what if…?

"You've been reading too much of that trash," she coughed, and he felt a rush of relief and started breathing normally again. He wasn't even aware that he had stopped.

"Fine," she acceded, almost ponderingly. "But I want your last name."

He blinked in surprise before he felt his heart swell to an embarrassing size. She said yes. And then his heart nearly stopped all together. Holy shit, she said yes.

"Not one for tradition?" he questioned dryly, frantically trying to sound cool. Hatake Kakashi was not flustered. He wasn't.

"Your surname is cooler," she dodged the inquiry, but he was pretty sure he understood. The Koizumi name held nothing but pain and twisted relationships that had resulted in nothing but death all around her, from all sides.

"I think I can live with that," he breathed into her hair, and she turned her face away so that he wouldn't see her eyes glistening as tears slipped down her face, past the upward curve of her lips and dripping from her chin.

I never thought I'd live this long, she thought with a bittersweet sort of happiness, and she felt Kakashi cling tightly to her as the world twisted and turned, and a jolt of pain later she was suddenly at Dandelion's side, and Kakashi was nowhere to be seen.

Good. He'd actually listened to her for once and was looking for Danzo. She may hate the man with a moral code in shades of grey, but she really wasn't one to talk, and he was a heavy hitter in battle. They needed his status and ability. Especially now.

She shuddered as an icy, unnatural gale of wind shot across the clearing, kicking up dust and taking out a row of puppets where they stood, slicing them clean in half. A moment later, they erupted into flames.

Dandelion was at her side in an instant, pulling her up into a sitting position, and she wrapped an arm around his shoulders gratefully, trying to get her wobbly feet beneath her. He helped her move to the side, closer to the protective line of trees and away from the open clearing. Her gaze slowly swept over the limp forms of Three and Minato and she closed her eyes and turned away, her hand clutching at Dandelion's shirt.

He shook his head slowly in answer to her wordless question.

"He broke the chain, Yondaime did," he told her quietly. "Between us two. But he and Senju…" he broke off, a strangled note coming from his throat, and for a moment his hand fisted around the fabric of her shirt.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered, and he didn't answer, instead just holding her tighter. "But you're here, ne, Fire?" he asked weakly after a moment. "You're gonna give 'em hell, right?"

She tried to smile and nodded.

"Just who do you think I am?"

The sound of rushing water roared past her ears and she saw fires extinguished all across the village. The shinobi of Konoha were following the spectacular display of Elemental chakra with gusto, cutting down the puppet army with fervor. She spotted Obito standing on top of one of the taller buildings, continuously pushing Jiraiya back with earth barriers and giant waves, the glowing orb tight in hand.

As if in slow motion, she watched him turn his marred face toward the mountain, where the evidence of his cruelty lay dead and injured, and she knew in that instant exactly what was going to happen, right before it did.

Blue light fluttered vibrantly from the orb and water surged from beneath the ground, pooling around his feet and rushing toward the mountain to erase everything. He was trying to sweep them away. Three, Minato, Naruto, Dandelion, and all the traces of battle.

"Incoming," she whispered, and Dandelion's eyes widened fractionally before he picked her up and effortlessly threw her towards the unconscious form of her surrogate son. She shot toward Naruto and encircled his head and shoulders in one arm, hugging him tight to her chest, before her other hand reached out and latched onto Minato's wrist with a death grip. From the corner of her eye, she saw Dandelion dive for Three.

Then the water rose over the tops of the trees and smashed into the mountain with a crash that shook the entire village.

It slammed into her like a brick wall, and for once, Kiruma felt no fear. There was a habitual tensing of her muscles, expecting to lock up into paralysis that they were so used to, but the stiffening didn't come. Instead, as she was battered around like a sand castle before a tsunami, she found herself holding her breath and hugging her two precious people tight to her as she was thrown mercilessly into the tree line. Her back was braced against the branches of the tree, and she prayed their combined weight wouldn't snap it and send her hurtling into the monument as she desperately curled herself around Naruto, her hand nearly wrenched from Minato's arm with the force of the blow.

The water ebbed, strong but brief, and she slumped against the tree, soaked and tired, but for once not trembling in fear. She wasn't sure whether she'd overcome her fear herself, or if it was just another side effect of not being a host anymore.

She gulped in air as the water flowed around the tree line, and Naruto stirred in her arms, shaking water droplets all over her as he shook himself awake.

"Ugh, why am I all wet? OH YEAH, where'd that bastard go, huh?! I'm gonna kick his ass and finish my mission-ttebay—eh, Sensei?" The boy's blue eyes focused in on her, just realizing that he was tucked into her chest as she allowed her limbs go limp against the tree.

Kami, she was tired.

"S-Sensei!" His arms were suddenly around her neck, hugging her tightly, and she heard him inhale deep through his nose as his hair rubbed against her cheek, which, frankly, sounded disgusting.

"I... I thought I was gonna be too late—ttebayo!" he rambled into her shoulder, blinking back tears. "But you made it! You totally escaped, and I knew you would, but you still scared me—ttebayo!" he trailed off, noticing for the first time the form of Minato's body lying gently on the ground, the strain on her wrist forcing her to release him once the water receded.

It hurt her more than she'd like to admit how dispassionately Naruto stared at the body of a father he never knew. He looked confused, and a little sad, but there was no love, no horrible pain of losing a family member, and she wasn't sure whether she should be grateful or guilty.

"Naruto, you need to go help the citizens," she breathed quietly, her voice coming out weak and tired. His eyes snapped to hers, immediately softening with worry, because his sensei was loud and irritable and fiery, not soft and meek like she sounded. "You need to help get them to safety."

"But what about you?" he asked in a small voice.

She lifted a hand and tapped his shiny new forehead protector.

"Your duty is to Konoha, Naruto," she reminded him. "Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere."

His lip trembled, eyes conflicted, but finally he offered her a short nod, giving her one last tight hug before leaping away and crossing the span of the crumbling roofs with ease.

As soon as he was out of sight, she slumped and fell from the tree, landing on the ground with a grunt.

"Dandelion," she called, dragging herself to her knees. She found him underneath a heavy branch, coughing up water. Three was nowhere to be seen.

"I let go, dammit," he coughed, vomiting more water, and slammed his fist against the ground. "I let him go!"

She laid a hand on his back and stayed at his side, turning her gaze skyward and feeling her heart sink. They'd been spotted, and a group of ninja had broken away from the main force decimating the last of the puppets to speed towards them.

"Is it over?" Dandelion asked, his eyes following her gaze, and for once, she could think of no reply. The shinobi were surrounding them in a flash, and leading them was Asuma.

"To think you're still alive after all the destruction you've caused," he told her coolly. "You should've known better than to attack this village. This village that did nothing but protect you until the day you abandoned it and all of your friends along with it."

Dandelion hissed at him, but Kiruma said nothing, her eyes slowly moving past Asuma and staring at all the shinobi, even as more arrived, filling in a half circle around them and cornering them once again by the monument.

"Did you hear me?!" Asuma demanded, enraged by her lack of attention. Was he not good enough for her to acknowledge? Was Kurenai not good enough?!

"I hear you, shinobi-san," she answered quietly and he bristled at the vague form of address. Why didn't she call him by name? He knew she remembered it. She remembered everything.

Kiruma looked at the people she at one time might have hesitantly called allies and all she could see was the leaf engraved on each of their forehead protectors. None of them could see her, she realized. None of them could see her training, fighting, protecting, crying. They couldn't see her pick up Dandelion when he fell, or spar with Jiraiya and share a cup of tea afterwards. They couldn't see her sharing Christmas with Kakashi and Minato and Kushina, or see her blushing at a party while she awkwardly sat in a corner, feeling so out of place and yet more at home than she ever had been.

All Asuma could see was a missing nin.

And all she could see were Konoha Shinobi.

How easily the bonds of friendship were broken, she remembered thinking as she watched Asuma's lips move and his hand flash through commands.

And then they descended on her like vultures onto a corpse.

From an adjacent building, Obito smiled.

She remembered resting her head on Dandelion's shoulder, too tired to even stand, and she watched him meet her eyes seriously, violet against grey, and both gazes so unbearably sad.

Sayonara, she might have whispered it aloud, before she closed her eyes, and she winced at the feeling of his body trembling against hers. He was scared, and so was she, but not for much longer.

The blow did not come.

She waited, afraid to open her eyes, because maybe the blow did come and she'd died instantly? Could life possibly be that merciful?

But no, that couldn't be right, because she still felt like absolute shit. More worried than she'd like to admit, she opened her eyes. The shinobi had backed down, and she was staring at the back of a knee.

"Move aside," she heard Asuma growl. "You shouldn't let your personal feelings get in the way of a mission! She has broken just about every law in this country."

"Mah," a familiar drawl made her heart nearly skip a beat. "Not every law. You shouldn't be so melodramatic, Asuma-san. You'll die old and lonely."

A/N: So Kiruma and Dandelion are reaching their limits, and Obito figured he'd just screw up Konoha as much as he could. There was a question behind Obito's motives, and I'm pretty sure it's already been answered on my tumblr.

Also, the end is near. Like, extremely near, but I have the layout of my next story kinda in place, so there probably won't be much of a break between Fireborn and the next one.

Happy Reading!