Notes:Now, that wasn't too long of a wait, was it? :)
As I said before, I will be uploading at least once a week, but sometimes the chapters will come early, like today!
I hope you'll like it. Let me know in the reviews what you think!
Without further ado, here's chapter 23!
ENJOY! Chapter 23: Scars
'Mudblood' he thought, watching her eyes as she opened them again. Kakashi could guess the meaning behind the word. Especially considering the book she had been reading a few minutes before he threw her against the wall. Which, in hindsight, might not have been the best way to deal with his frustration. She just had this gift to get under his skin so fast. Was that maybe something the bond was responsible for, in a way? Or was it just her?
He looked at her face as she clearly avoided his gaze. Was she ashamed of her scars? Most likely, given her response to this. He wondered what had happened to her, who or what gave her these scars. From what he understood, she came from a whole different world. Not just because of her abilities, but also because of her upbringing. While having scars and getting tortured is by no means a normal thing here, it's most likely a lot more common here than where she's from. It's definitely clear that they deal with it differently.
The thin scar on her neck seemed bad enough, even though it was small. Having a scar there only meant that you were in a tight spot and that in turn meant she was lucky to be alive. What interested him more was the word scratched on her wrist. That scar seemed almost fresh, like a wound, which wasn't possible since he knew no one had done anything like that to her while she was here. This wasn't something that had happened when Danzo had gotten a hold of her either. If that were the case, the wound would most likely still be bleeding.
Kakashi finally looked down at her wrist, seeing the scar for what it was. It looked as ragged as it had felt when he touched it. It was an angry looking scar, really. It really made him wonder. "When did you get this?" He asked her softly. He kept his eyes on the scar this time, giving her the time to respond if she chose to. He actually didn't think she would, given her reaction to all of this.
"It's- about a year and a half ago." Her voice was so small he had to strain his ears to make sure he had heard properly.
That long ago? A scar like this shouldn't still be looking like a fresh scar. "Why hasn't it healed properly?" He asked. He wondered if he should call for Yugao to take a look at it.
"It- I don't know. I mean, it's always been like this. She- she used a cursed knife, and because of that, it won't heal any further."
She? Cursed knife? He wasn't sure what that meant but it wasn't hard to guess. He focused on the scar with his Sharingan this time. It was weird to see, but there were definitely some irregularities around the word written on her arm. "She tortured you." He wasn't asking. This wasn't something that was done accidentally.
"Yes." "Why?"
She was silent for a while, until.. "It's complicated."
Kakashi had to refrain from letting out a sign. Well, of course it was complicated. But he wanted to know. "Then explain it to me."
She looked up at him at that, looking at his left eye. "What about your scar?"He couldn't help his reaction to that. He snorted. "What about my scar?" He asked, eyebrows raised, "I hope you don't think that's the only scar I have."
"No, I know you hide your scars. Just like I do. And I don't see you explaining yours. So why should I?"
It was Kakashi's turn to stay silent as he contemplated that. She made a valid point, why should she explain it to him? Just because he wanted to know? He couldn't describe it but there was a need inside him. A need to know what had happened to her, to understand it. The longer he touched her arm, the stronger this need seemed to become.
Kakashi's sharp ears picked up her heartbeat that seemed to be beating harder as well. This kind of answers the question of what caused this need. It had to be this bond that he still knew nothing about. Putting her sleeve back as it was, he let go of her arm and took another step back. Kakashi was well aware of their so-called bond during their physical connection. He would be lying if he said he wasn't as affected as she clearly was. Feeling her heartbeat speed up and hearing her gasp definitely didn't leave him as composed as he wanted to be. This just fueled his need to know more about it. And in order to learn more, he needed her to find the information in whatever section it was in the book.
The story of the scar would have to wait for now. He couldn't blame her for not wanting to tell him, he wasn't prepared to say anything about his either. Without saying anything he turned around, moving to make another cup of tea for the both of them. It would give her a moment to compose herself. He was far from done with her, though. Right now he wanted to know about this bond, after that she would have to spill the beans on the abilities of the kid. Kakashi hadn't forgotten what had happened, the way the boy's hair suddenly looked exactly like his. The way he then changed his appearance to look like Shisui. Did she have the same abilities?
As the water started to boil, he glanced over his shoulder at the witch with one eye. He had closed his left one, the strain getting almost unbearable with the amount of time he had been using it these past couple of days. She still looked a bit shaken but did seem to calm herself down. Good. "Sit down." He said, nodding at the chair. He made sure not to sound as annoyed as he was, it would only invoke another sassy response for her and he had heard enough of those. This surely would be a bit more well-received, right?
"Excuse me?!" He couldn't stop himself from rolling his eyes at her response. Well, apparently he was wrong. Go figure.
"I told you to sit down." Kakashi put another cup of tea in front of her. "We're going to finish this conversation tonight. No more avoiding or deflecting this subject." Again, he didn't mean this in a bad way and did his best to not sound annoyed or anything like that.
"You're one to talk," he heard her mumble. He figured it was probably best if he didn't respond to that comment.
She sighed as she took her seat, pulling the book back towards her, clearly annoyed with him. She continued to browse through the pages for what seemed like forever. He was actually surprised at the speed she was going through the book, checking every page.
"Oh! I think this is what I saw before." She suddenly said. Glancing at the clock, he noticed it had only been about fifteen minutes or so. He watched as she turned the book around and shoved it under his nose, pointing at a paragraph. "See? It explains the bonds a little here."
Kakashi glanced at the page, attempting to read the text. He was going to have to take her word for it. He knew how to read English a little bit, but only what had been in the scrolls that Minato-sensei had shown him. And even then, he had struggled a little, even though he refused to admit that out loud. Looking up from the page to glance at her with his eyebrows raised, he cocked his head in question.
"What?" "What does it say?" "What do you mean what does it- wait. Can't you read?"
"I can read just fine, thank you. I just can't read that." He rolled his eyes as he pointed at the page. 'Can't you read?' she said. Unbelievable.
-
"Oh, right. Of course. I'm sorry," Hermione rushed to apologise, "I didn't mean it like that." Honestly, she was so tired that she had almost no filter in what she was saying. She would have to make sure not to say something stupid. She had a feeling he wouldn't appreciate that.
"Right, whatever. Just. Explain to me what it says." He said with a wave of his hand.
"Right. Of course."
She summarised what she had read in the text. To put it simply, what had happened between them was completely accidental. There was nothing either of them could have changed in order to prevent this bond. And most important of all, it wasn't something they could remove. Bonds like this were, for lack of a better word, forever.
Hermione was almost scared to look at him to see whatever reaction she was going to get to this news. She knew he wasn't going to like it. She didn't like it. It basically meant she was stuck with him in terms of this bond. Worst of all, this wasn't even everything. She still had to figure out and explain to him about what it would mean for them. How the bond worked. It didn't say in the text here and she wasn't completely sure it was even in this book. Merlin, she hoped it was. Hermione didn't want to find out through trial and error.
As she raised her gaze to his, he looked impassive. Closed off. Like a statue. If she didn't know any better, she'd think he hadn't heard her. But she did know better. And she knew he had heard her. Suddenly there was a feeling of panic coursing through her. While she was panicking a little after having read this, this wasn't her. Was he panicking?
The second that thought entered her mind, the feeling was cut off. Like a door slamming shut. At the same time she saw him blink. Did he actually consciously stop himself from feeling like that? She never thought anything like that was possible. To be in control of your emotions like that. It made her wonder what he had to have been through in order to perfect that.
"Is that all?" He said in a very calm manner.
It threw her off. She didn't like this, he was already impossible to read and now this? No reaction to what she had said whatsoever? All she got was him asking if that was all?
"This is everything I could find on what this bond is, yes."
He let out a frustrated sigh and leaned back in his chair, hands coming up to grasp his hair, before leaning forward again, resting his elbows on the table with his head down.
"Kakashi-san?"
"So there's nothing we can do to break this bond? Nothing at all?"
"No, I- if what I've read is correct, then no. This bond can't be broken."
"Fuck." He hissed and slammed a fist on the table, resulting in his teacup falling on the floor. Hermione barely managed to save hers. Before she could even say anything to him, he had scraped his chair back so fast it fell over and was out of the kitchen.
"Wh- Kakashi!" She called after him. "Wait!"
She scrambled after him, cursing her injured leg in the process, stopping only when she heard the door slam shut. She had barely made it out of the kitchen.
"Well, that went about as well as it could," she muttered sarcastically.
She turned back around, making her way back into the kitchen, this time more slowly. She shouldn't have tried to rush after him, her leg sure as hell didn't agree with that action. Hermione decided against bending down to pick up the broken cup, but instead pulled out her wand and with a quick swish she had repaired the cup and placed it on the kitchen counter, next to her own which she had placed there right before. She then picked up the book and slowly made her way to the bedroom. She was ready to lay down and just sleep for a week, Kakashi be damned.
-
Kakashi couldn't believe what she was saying. He was stuck with her, bound to her, forever? He cursed his rotten luck as he ran away from his home. It sounded pathetic and extremely childish. Hell, it was. He just didn't care right now. It was as if his whole being just didn't matter anymore. It was all being decided for him and he hated feeling this powerless, not being able to have any say in this whatsoever.
His mindless wandering led him to the doorstep of his kohai. He wasn't sure what led him here, deciding whether or not he should go. It was late and Tenzou's lights were off. Yeah, he should go. Taking a deep breath, he turned to leave as the door slowly opened.
"Senpai?" The question was clear in his voice. Kakashi never just showed up like this. Never.
"It's nothing. Sorry I woke you." He dismissed the worry that was clear in his subordinate's voice, not looking at him.
"Senpai, I don't mean any disrespect, but that's bullshit and you know it."
Kakashi sighed as he looked up at the sky, eyes flickering from one star to the next. "It's fine, Tenzou. My mistake. Go back to bed."
"I'm already up now, so you might as well come on in. I'll make some tea."
Kakashi sighed at Tenozu's stubbornness. "Actually, you don't happen to have sake by any chance?" Kakashi was not in the mood for tea. The thought of tea made him think of her. Of the shocked look on her face as he slammed the table and spilled his tea.
"Sure, I still have some somewhere, let me go get it. Make yourself comfortable on the couch, okay?" Tenzou said as he disappeared into his bedroom, probably to put on a shirt as he wasn't wearing one.
Kakashi walked inside and closed the door. Bending down to take off his sandals before making his way to the small couch that was planted on the left side of the room. As he sat down, he pulled his mask down as well. Tenzou owned a small apartment, just like Kakashi's previous apartment. There wasn't a lot of space, but he knew the wood-user was fine with it. He was barely home with all the back-to-back missions they did and didn't own a lot of stuff anyways.
He was brought out of his musings as Tenzou plopped down on the couch beside him, carrying a bottle of sake that was still half full and two cups, placing both on the table. Without uttering a single word, he poured the drink in the cups and handed Kakashi one of them. Kakashi quickly downed the drink and placed the cup back on the table in order to get a refill. Tenzou wordlessly filled it up, before taking a sip of his drink.
"So, what made you come over at this hour?"
While he was glad Tenzou didn't beat around the bush in situations like these, he wasn't sure he wanted to talk about it. Thinking about it, he hadn't talked about it at all. He knew he had mentioned it to the Hokage but after that single conversation about it, it hadn't been mentioned again. Normally Kakashi was alright with not talking about it. He'd just go to the memorial stone and talk about it there. That would be his next stop, before going home, because he knew he couldn't leave Hermione alone for long. No doubt the Anbu watching his place had seen him leave. Who was it tonight? He realised he didn't even know.
There wasn't a reason to worry though. Iruka had done a good job with the wards, keying him into it in a way that he could even feel it now. Only Hermione and Teddy were inside. As long as he didn't feel any changes, it would be alright.
"Can't I just come visit my dear kohai?"
Tenzou actually snorted at that and rolled his eyes. "Sure, because that's what you always do, senpai. You always come by at one in the morning asking for sake."
"It's complicated, Tenzou." Was what he ended up saying, with a sigh, not beating around the bush for once. It was ironic. Because wasn't that the same thing Hermione had said to him not even an hour ago?
"Is it?"
Kakashi looked up at Tenzou, trying to read his expression. He didn't give away much this time around. "Hm?"
"Is it complicated? Or are you just saying that so that you don't have to answer?"
Damn Tenzou. He had a point. Was it really that complicated? Well, in a way it was. But it all came down to one simple sentence, didn't it? "I am, somehow, bonded with Hermione-san." There. He said it. It was weird saying it out loud, but it did make him feel a bit lighter.
Now that got Tenzou's attention, if his reaction was anything to go by. He saw his head whip around, eyes wide. "What?"
"Do I really have to repeat that?"
"No," Tenzou replied slowly. "I suppose not. But, how?"
"We don't really know. Apparently it's something that happens randomly." Kakashi said while shrugging, his voice betrayed how he really felt about it though.
"I- I don't really know what to say, senpai. I mean, for how long?"
Kakashi slid down, barely sitting on the couch as he threw an arm over his face. With a muffled voice he replied, "Forever."
"Wha- Forever?!"
"Yep," he responded with another dramatic sigh. "You can say it, Tenzou. I'm fucked."
"Don't be so dramatic, senpai," he said laughing softly. "It's not the end of the world. Will you explain it more, though? I'm sure you could use someone to confide into."
He had a point. Of course he did. When did the kid get so goddamn smart?. Kakashi took a sip of his drink as he thought about where to begin. Well, the beginning was a good place to start. So he did. He explained to Tenzou what had happened the first time he touched her arm and how it escalated over time. He ended up telling everything, well, almost everything. He didn't mention the time he fell on her, yeah, he was taking that to his grave. Nor did he say anything about what had happened earlier that evening with him slamming her into the wall and seeing her scars. It wasn't his proudest moment and it was also her story to tell.
-
Hermione felt incredibly groggy as she woke up. She sat up in her bed, looking around. Something had woken her up but she wasn't sure what. Looking at the crib where Teddy was still soundly asleep, she realised it wasn't him that had woken her up.
She carefully got up, making sure not to put too much weight on her leg. Really, she couldn't wait until she could walk properly again, this was frustrating her to no end. Hermione grabbed her wand as she made her way to her bedroom door, listening closely for any noises. Hearing nothing, she opened the door and took a peek into the hallway.
The light in Kakashi's bedroom was on, the door slightly ajar, while she could've sworn all the lights had been off when she went to bed. She deemed it safe enough to check if out, thinking they couldn't be burglars or anything like that. Surely they wouldn't be so stupid to break into someone's home and turn on the lights. Maybe Kakashi had returned home?
"Honestly, senpai."
Senpai? She's heard that word before. One of the men on Kakashi's team called him that, didn't he?
"Hello?" She said softly, as she approached the door and opened it slightly to look inside. She saw two men standing, well, one standing. She wasn't sure what Kakashi seemed to be doing.
"Hello," the brown-haired man replied. "Did we wake you?" He asked, looking at her apologetically.
"Um, yes, but that's alright I suppose," she shrugged as she looked at the teen hanging onto him. "Is he okay?"
"Oh, heh, yeah, he's fine. He just had a bit too much to drink."
Hermione raised her eyebrows at that. "He's drunk?" Looking at the man she had been bonded with, she almost felt bad for him. This proved he hadn't taken the news well, at all. She just hoped this wouldn't be a regular thing, seeing as she had seen him drunk before, when he had found her in his house. She didn't want to deal with someone who would run to alcohol whenever things got tough.
"Well, technically he's out cold. I just wanted to make sure he got home in one piece. Oh! I'm Tenzou by the way."
"Oh, I'm Hermione," she awkwardly responded.
"Yes, I know." Of course he knew who she was. Nice going, Hermione, she berated herself.
"Do you need a hand?"
"Nah, I'll just throw him on the bed."
Which he actually did, tossing Kakashi on the bed, who actually did seem to be out cold.
"Just leave him like this, alright? He's probably going to be a bit cranky tomorrow, so be prepared for that." He said as he turned to her. She wasn't sure what to say in return so she just nodded. "Okay, I'm going home. If you need anything-"
"I'll call out to the Anbu stationed outside, I know."
Tenzou smiled a kind smile at her before nodding at her. A moment later, he had disappeared from the room. Hermione looked at the silver-haired teen in front of her, almost falling off the bed. She sighed at the sight, completely ignoring Tenzou's advice on leaving him be and moved towards him to make sure he was properly. As soon as she touched him, he moved lightning fast, however, grabbing her arm in return and threw her on the bed. It all happened in the blink of an eye.
Her first reaction was to push him off, but he had somehow managed to grab both her wrists in his one hand, his other hand pushing a knife against her throat. "Ka-kashi," she tried to say, but the knife was only pressed harder against her, not quite cutting her skin. She couldn't move her legs either, his shins leaning on hers to stop her from moving.
As she looked up at him in horror, eyes wide, she barely noticed that while his eyes were open, he wasn't seeing her. A small voice in the back of her mind supplied that it wasn't him, he was simply reacting to being touched in his sleep, but it was ignored as a surge of fear cast out any other thought she had.
Not a second later, Kakashi was torn off of her and thrown against the wall on the other side of the room. One of the Anbu held him down, while another carefully moved towards Hermione. Hermione scrambled back on the bed, trying to get away from all of them. She needed to get away, she wasn't safe here. It wasn't safe. She had to go. All the thoughts going through her mind consisted of just that. She needed to leave. Take Teddy with her and leave.
She ran out of the room as fast as her leg would let her, not even checking if anyone was following her and ran into her own room, grabbing any of her stuff she could find and shoving it into her bag. Carefully picking Teddy up, making sure not to wake him, she turned in shock as her door slowly opened. In the opening stood one of the Anbu that had tried to approach her, hands up in the air as to say they meant no harm. Looking at the mask, it was the same Anbu that had helped her get some food from the market.
"Granger-san, I know you're scared but you can't just leave. You'll only be in more danger."
The laugh that escaped Hermione was one of utter disbelief. "More danger? And what do you call that?" She said, pointing in the direction of Kakashi's bedroom.
"You shouldn't have touched him while he was asleep and-"
"Oh, so it's my fault. That's great, really. Thanks for that."
The Anbu let out a sigh at that. "Alright, how about I'll take you to stay with someone else for the time being? You'll be able to stay there for the remainder of the night. We'll figure out what to do from there."
Hermione knew she had no say in this, so simply nodded in agreement. She stiffened as the Anbu moved towards her slowly, making sure not to make any sudden movements. "Okay, I'm going to touch you now, so that we can go somewhere else. Please don't freak out."
And so he did. He held her by the arm, encircling both her and Teddy as they disappeared in a swirl of what seemed to be leaves. The curious side of her wondered where those leaves came from as there were most certainly no trees in the house. A moment later, they stood in front of a house. The Anbu had let her go and told her to stay put as he knocked on the door. From where she stood, she couldn't see who had opened and they had spoken in hushed tones, so there was no telling who it was.
Suddenly the Anbu disappeared, showing the person he had brought her to. Yamanaka Inoichi. He smiled a tired smile at her as he beckoned her inside, dressed in a robe, clearly barely awake himself. This was the final straw, as she couldn't keep it inside anymore. She started crying as she walked inside. The door softly closed behind her, and then she felt strong, comforting arms around her.
"You're going to be alright, Hermione-san. Come on, let's get you to bed, you must be exhausted. We'll talk in the morning."
He led her inside the house, to a small guest bedroom. Inoichi was right. She was exhausted. Hermione put Teddy on the bed and put herself next to him, holding the boy close to her. She heard the bedroom door close and Inoichi speaking to someone in his own language but it barely registered as she drifted off. She'll deal with it in the morning.