Chapter 29

"Here. You should drink some water."

"Thank you Shikamaru."

The room was dim when Shikamaru entered. All was dark but a bedside lamp that was illuminating the space around them. He handed the cup of water to the silver-haired ninja and returned to his spot next to Kakashi, facing the bed where she laid.

"It's been two days already." The jonin said as he continued watching over his student. Shikamaru eyed Kakashi, taking in his form. He looked as if he had been to hell and back for the past two days. Figuratively of course...and literally.

Shikamaru still remembered the shock on his face when the copycat ninja showed up on his doorstep the same evening he was pronounced dead.

He hadn't stuck around to the very end of the fight. He knew he had to find somewhere safe to bring Naome so that he could treat her wounds and get her rested. He told Katsuyu to return to the village where she could use what was left of Lady Hokage's chakra to aid the other villagers there. Afterwards, he left towards the outskirts of the village where the Naras had their second family home inside their part of the woods. He knew his parents would also show up there once everything was over, or at least he'd hoped.

That's why, when there was a knock on the door in the evening, Shikamaru had fully expected it to be his parents. His soul left his body when he opened it to find Kakashi Hatake standing on the other side. "How…." he had whispered, because he was sure as hell that the jonin was dead in front of his very eyes.

"Please tell me she's here." Kakashi begged. After Shikamaru was able to get past the fact that the dead was no longer dead, he was able to quickly analyze his teacher's state. His breathing was quick and ragged, his body so weak that it looked like he would fall over at any moment. He was still in his battle uniform, with all the tears, cuts, dirt, and wounds that he had suffered, and the most jarring of all, his eyes, one of which was once bloody, now were red and filled to the brim with tears.

"Shikamaru." His sensei placed both his hands on his shoulders, snapping him out of his thinking. "Please. Please tell me she's here with you. Please tell me she's okay."

"Yeah...come in."

Kakashi was right. It had been two days already since the battle ended. The village was still in shambles, but everyone was working together to get it fixed. Shikamaru was busier than ever in trying to communicate with the other lands and villages about what had just happened so in some ways, he was relieved that Kakashi was able to watch over Naome daily at home.

"You should get some rest." Shikamaru replied. He didn't know how Kakashi was doing it. As far as he knew, the older man had been up every hour of the past two day waiting for Naome to wake up. He, himself, was barely able to function with work, keeping an eye out for her, and surviving on 1 to 2 hour naps in between.

The older shinobi gave him a small smile beneath his mask. "You should too. Thank you for having me here."

Shikamaru placed a palm at the back of his hand as he always did. "It's not a big deal. Besides, your house is still being repaired, and my parents don't seem to mind having you around either."

"You're right." Kakashi's eyes returned to the kunoichi in front of him. "My apartment is just about done. It hadn't been hit hard so I should be able to return soon. Also, please tell your parents I said thank you. They must be wondering why I'm here…."

Shikamaru shrugged. "I doubt they're thinking that deep into it. You're her teacher, of course you would be worried."

He didn't mean to take a jab at Kakashi's relationship with Naome, but he realized how much it affected the jonin when he could visibly see him getting more depressed and silence ensued. In fact it was the opposite, the past two days had only confirmed how much the man truly cared for Naome.

Shikamaru kept mum for the next stretch of time, only looking at Naome who had yet to come to after the fight with Pein. The hospital had been destroyed during the invasion, so he was unable to bring her in for a check up. Sakura had visited and assured him that everything seemed alright and that Naome had passed out from a combination of loss of blood, exhaustion, and namely, shock.

Still though, two days had been longer than she had predicted and Shikamaru spent every hour of the day worrying and anticipating when she would awaken.

"Naome?"

Kakashi's broken voice jolted Shikamaru from his thoughts. Shikamaru's eyes widened and he stood up when he noticed Naome's eyes began fluttering open. He made a move to grab her hand, but Kakashi had already already beat him to it.

"K-Ka-Kashi...Kakashi?" Noticing Naome struggling to move, Shikamaru quickly wrapped an arm around her shoulders and brought her upright. She winced, suddenly aware of the pain in her left shoulder. She turned to him with grateful eyes and a faint smile, and leaned on his chest. "Thank you Shika."

Kakashi had looked back and forth awkwardly between the two when Naome turned to him. She lifted her good arm and reached out to. "Kakashi, is that really you?"

He leaned forward in response, letting his cheek rest against the palm of her hand. He let out a sigh of relief as her fingers reacted, instinctively stroking his face lightly as she took in his presence in front of her. "Yeah. It's me."

"But how?" Naome's eyes were awake now as she stared wide-eyed in wonder.

"It's a long story." Kakashi replied, "I'll tell you everything when we have time. For now, you need to rest."

"I need to rest? You need to rest! You were just...you...and I….wait…" The two men watched as Naome tried to piece everything together. She turned with a panicked look to Shikamaru. "If Kakashi's dead...and I'm dead….Shikamaru! You're not-"

Shikamaru let out a loud laughter at the thought process Naome was going through. Even Kakashi chuckled at her theory.

"No. I'm not dead. Neither are you, or Kakashi-sensei." He leaned in and kissed her lightly on the forehead, appreciating just how adorable Naome still was in his eyes. "Kakashi is right. You need to rest. Don't worry, for the most part, everyone is safe. You just need to worry about yourself."

It took a moment for Naome to consider what had happened, but then after that, tears sprung wildly in her eyes as she leapt forward to grab hold of Kakashi's body in her arms.

"Oh thank God." She repeated several times as she clung desperately to the silver-haired ninja. Her tears soaked his shirt as she cried in relief. "You're still here. Thank God you're okay."

Shikamaru slowly let go of her as Kakashi supported her weakened body. Slowly, he backed away from the couple. He watched as the older man wrapped his arms tightly around her in response, some would even consider it suffocating to be held so closely.

Naome fisted the fabric of Kakashi's shirt in her hands as she spoke in anger and sorrow. "You made me promise to stay safe! You keep lecturing me about how I'm doing reckless things and how I'm always putting myself in danger. Look at you! You stupid hypocrite! Don't you dare do that to me again. You hear me Kakashi Hatake?! Don't you dare do that again!"

Kakashi only embraced her in silence. His own tears falling as he considered how close he had been to death and never seeing or holding her again.

Shikamaru was numb as he stood further back, watching the scene with his own eyes. A small smile played on his lips now that he knew she was okay again. He was heartbroken and shattered beyond belief, but at the same time he was oddly happy that the two of them were reunited.

"Don't ever leave me again." He heard Naome sob into Kakashi's arms. "Don't ever leave me again."

"I won't. Never again." Kakashi whispered.

Shikamaru took that as his sign to go. She would be happy now, and that's all that he could ask for. Quietly, he exited the room. Everything hurt. He wondered if he should have felt pity for himself, that the girl he once saved, housed, loved was now completely in love with another man. Yet in the end, he couldn't find it in himself to hate her. With every ounce of his body, he still loved Naome through and through, but even he knew when it was time to quit.

He'd lost.

Naome was still woozy the next day when she got up in the morning. She had barely eaten anything the night prior, just a small amount of porridge that Yoshino had brought up because she needed to "settle" her stomach first. Her stomach was rumbling in protest and her body felt gross and in desperate need of a bath. A pounding headache ensued from the amount of crying she had done the day before, and her eyes were bloodshot.

Getting out of bed, she went to wash up for the first time in three days. She cringed when she looked at herself in the mirror. The hair at the back of her head had been pressed up into a giant knot from lying down so much. The bags under her eyes were extremely noticeable, and her left shoulder had been wrapped intensively in gauze. Forcing herself to turn away, and trying to focus on the bright day ahead, she washed up and got ready.

"Good morning auntie, uncle," Naome greeted as she entered the kitchen and dining area. The temporary housing was smaller than the original Nara residence, though still quite big compared to the apartments that were in the village. In the back of her mind, she had wondered how large and powerful the Nara clan actually was in the Hidden Leaf in order for them to have this much ownership over land and properties.

"Glad to see you up! Come! Have some breakfast!" Yoshino said from her spot at the table. With a familiar sense of warmth and family, Naome took a seat next to the couple and dug in.

"Where's Shikamaru?" She asked. She remembered briefly seeing the male the evening before right when she woke up. She was hoping to see him again last night, or even in the morning, but alas, his room was empty when she peeked in.

"He went to work already, sweetheart." Yoshino replied, putting more food on Naome's plate. "He's been quite busy since the village...well, you know."

Naome dropped her head in shame. Kakashi had told her briefly about it the evening before, and he had promised to go into more detail once they met today. The entire time, she had only wished that she hadn't been so weak and that she was conscious enough to help during this time of disaster.

"Oh…" Naome looked up at her uncle in particular. "Is there anything I can do to help? I'm not sure what my duties are at a time like this...Should I visit Lady Hokage?"

Shikaku sighed, "Lady Tsunade...she's not doing too well right now. In fact, the council and I have a meeting later today to discuss our next steps as well. For now, you just rest up. There's not much you can do with that injury of yours. I don't want you to get hurt further."

Succumbing to her uncle's words she let out a heavy breath of disappointment. "Okay."

With a soft smile, the man stood up and placed a warm hand on her good shoulder as he walked by. It was a gesture that radiated calmness throughout her body. "I'm just being a little overprotective," he said with a wink, "In a day or two, alright?"

Giving into the Shikaku's fatherly tone and expression, Naome returned a nod in agreement. Once Shikaku left, Naome quickly finished up her meal and began cleaning up as well.

"Going somewhere already? You've barely begun recovering." Yoshino asked with a worried expression.

"I'm just going to take a small walk with Kakashi-sensei." Naome replied. "He promised me he would bring me into the village today so that I could see what happened."

Yoshino's shoulders visibly relaxed at the sound of the jonin's name. "Alright. I guess if you're with Kakashi, I trust that he'll keep you safe." Her trust in the male had grown exponentially, especially after she saw how worried he was for Naome during the past few days.

"Don't worry about me, auntie!" Naome called as she pulled on her shoes and slipped out the door.

To her surprise, she had only taken about two steps outside when she noticed Kakashi leaning on a tree across from her. He had his favourite book in his hand, but put it away as soon as he spotted her walk towards him.

"Hey! I didn't know you would be picking me up today...or that you would be early." Naome speculated as she approached him with a wide grin on her face. It had only been a few hours since she had last seen him, but having him there made her all the more ecstatic.

"Yeah." A light blush tinted Kakashi's face, and he had wondered what was wrong with him to be so shy all of a sudden. Perhaps it was the real intention to go on a proper date with someone he had genuine feelings for. "I thought you might need some help finding your way back to the village. We are in the middle of the woods afterall."

Kakashi was right. As she looked around, she realized she was unfamiliar with the trees around her. It was on a piece of Nara land that she had never been to and she couldn't really see the village through the thickness of the trees.

"Well, let's go then!" Naome cheered as she hooked her arm around Kakashi's. Taking a quick look at the kunoichi next to him, Kakashi led the way. A slight smile appeared on his face as he began to appreciate the fluttering he felt in his core.

The two walked arm in arm until they had reached the village where Naome detached herself and stepped forward in shock. "No…" Kakashi watched as water lined her eyes, her hands coming up to cover her mouth as she took in the damage around her.

"How could anyone do this…" She didn't need an answer to her question because she had remembered clearly the conversation she had with Pein. She wondered if he was really hurting that much that he could create this much chaos to a village unknown to him. Her heart hurt for him. She pitied him. She wished that he would have been able to live the life that she did, and find the love and support that she found. Maybe then things would have been different.

Kakashi walked up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "To be fair...he did redeem himself in a way." It was almost as if the copycat ninja had read her mind. "Pein...he was the one that brought everyone back to life as well, at the cost of his own life. After what you and Naruto said to him, he had decided to trust in the future rather than continue the killing."

"What…" It all seemed too surreal to Naome. Kakashi had explained it briefly the night before, but he didn't go into detail as he didn't want to overwhelm her. But even now, as she knew the truth, she couldn't quite comprehend or imagine what had gone on. She only knew though, that she mourned the death of someone who lived the same life but suffered a different fate than her. She also knew, she was simply grateful that Kakashi was alive and with her now.

"Come." Naome turned her head to the taller man as he took her hand in his. The way he was being so publicly affectionate was confusing to her. Wasn't he afraid that they would get caught? The usual alertness seemed to evade him though as he smiled down at her, the most genuine smile she had seen from him ever.

"Let's go," he said. "I planned a little something for us."

For us. Naome couldn't help but let out a goofy grin as she allowed herself to be dragged off. She liked the sound of that.

Kakashi led Naome to the top of the cliff where the hokages' faces were carved. Further back, there was a line of trees that provided shade over a meadow where a large blanket was laid out, overlooking the rest of the village.

"Wow Kakashi-sensei, I gotta admit…I didn't think you had this in you." Naome teased as she took a seat down on the blanket. Kakashi to her, had always been a one night stand or simplicity type of guy. Definitely not the romantic type.

"Well I don't read all those romance books for nothing." He too took a seat and pulled his mask down, relaxing next to the girl.

"What lies. You're telling me those porn novels teach you how to be romantic?" Naome scoffed. "I doubt it."

Kakashi leaned over so that his face was dangerously close to hers. A playful smirk donned on his lips as he witnessed a blush form almost instantly on her cheeks. "You're right. This is my first time ever doing this, for anyone."

"That's hard to believe." Naome murmured, her eyes diverting to anywhere but Kakashi's own that were staring intensely at her. She couldn't help but feel overly joyful at the idea though. She loved that of all the women that must have passed through Kakashi's life, she was different.

"Well believe it."He leaned in and kissed her on the lips. "I would never lie to you."

Naome backed away a bit and took Kakashi's hand in hers. She fiddled with his fingers as she thought about how to phrase her next request. Never had she been this nervous and intimate with the copycat ninja, at least not in public. Perhaps the change in atmosphere meant that things were going to progress from here.

"Kakashi…"

"Hm?" He had been looking at her with a small sense of concern ever since she distanced herself from him.

"Can you...can you tell me a little bit more about you? About your past?" When silence was returned, she quickly felt the need to explain herself. "I mean, you don't have to. I just wanted to know more about you, you know. It doesn't have to be anything serious. Just...like what's your favourite colour? Your favourite food?"

Kakashi chuckled at the way his usually feisty student was now scrambling for words right in front of him. "My favourite colour is gray. Favourite food, well you know already, it's miso with eggplant. And...well…"

Naome watched as he took a deep breath and used his free hand to brush a piece of stray hair out of her face. His fingertips lingered on her skin afterwards. "My past...that's a long story."

"We have time." Naome found herself saying.

"Just so you know...it's not going to be a happy story." Kakashi warned. His eyes reflected the pain and suffering as he recounted parts of his past.

"I still want to know." Naome replied, her hands clasping Kakashi's tighter. She was relieved that this time, it seemed that Kakashi would no longer pull away from her. "I want to know the good and the bad."

"Okay." Kakashi scanned Naome's eyes briefly before he began. "Well, I grew up much like you. My mother died when I was at a young age and my father...he committed suicide not long after I entered the ninja academy."

"Oh...I'm so sorry about that." Naome's eyebrows furrowed together. She knew to expect that Kakashi's parents were no longer alive as he had never mentioned them, and she had never seen them before. But it was unexpected for her to hear about his father. "Do you know why he…"

"He was heavily criticized by the entire village. There was a very important mission which he failed in order to save his teammates. No one, not even his own comrades were happy with his decision." Kakashi closed his eyes. His hand gripped a bit harder on hers in response to the pain that still haunted him today at the mention of his father. Anger, pain, loneliness...he still felt it all every time he thought back to it, but this time, he had someone to rely on as he opened himself up.

"I resented him at first." Kakashi had never told anyone about this, not even his closest teammates or classmates. Not even his own sensei. "I resented him for leaving me all alone in this dark and scary world with so many expectations. But now I know why he did what he did. I understand why he would never abandon his comrades in battle."

"It wasn't that easy for me at first though." Kakashi continued. A faint smile played on his lips. "Would you believe if I told you I was a prodigy?"

Naome rolled her eyes playfully at his self-indulging comment. "No...I wouldn't be surprised."

"I graduated from the academy with top marks when I was 5 years old. I made chunin when I was 6, and jonin when I was 12." Naome was overwhelmed by a sense of pride for Kakashi when she heard about his history. She knew that he was talented, but never had she imagined he had advanced so fast at such a young age. By looking into his eyes though, she knew that something was missing.

"Ever since I was a chunin, I was placed on a team led by the future Fourth Hokage." Kakashi smiled fondly at the mention of his sensei. "I was also teamed up with Obito Uchiha and Rin Nohara."

Naome noticeably flinched at the sound of the familiar name, almost as if she had been burned by fire. Kakashi had noticed. He had suspected all along, since they first kissed in the cave, that he must have slipped in mentioning Rin's name in Naome's presence. His heart ached, to hear his own voice speaking her name. The pain didn't go unnoticed by the kunoichi.

"The day I became a jonin...we were sent on an A ranked mission. The three of us were separated from Minato-sensei and I was put in charge." Kakashi's eyes closed, his voice began trembling as he recounted his experience. "I screwed up. Rin was captured and I wanted to go ahead to finish the mission. Obito...he wouldn't let me. He fought to save Rin. He fought to save me, to the point where when boulders fell, and rocks caved in on us, he died to have us go free."

Kakashi opened his eyes. His hand shook as it moved upward to touch the scar that ran straight down past his eye, emphasizing the bright red colour of the Sharingan. "This...was his final gift to me before he died. Even though I did nothing to deserve it...he still considered me his friend."

"It's not your fault." Naome brought her hand up to meet his underneath his red eye. Kakashi watched as she scanned his face with nothing but love and support. No judgement, no signs of disgust for what he had done. "It was his choice to save you. Besides, I'm more than positive you would never leave your teammates behind again. He would be happy to see that you've learned and you've grown."

"That's what I want to believe too." Kakashi said. The pain reflected in his eyes seemed to run impossibly deeper as he braced himself for the remainder of his story. "But Obito...would never forgive me for what I've done, because you see...he loved Rin."

"What happened...to Rin?" Naome regretted it almost instantly. She knew she should have bit back her words. She wanted to know, but she also didn't want to know because a part of her feared that Rin would be that wall to separate her and Kakashi from moving forward. She was afraid to possibly hear that Kakashi still hadn't gotten over her.

"Later, Rin was captured by ninja from the Hidden Mist village. They sealed a tailed beast inside of her, turning her into a Jinchuriki so that she could lose control and rampage once she was back in the Hidden Leaf Village. I fought off many Hidden Mist ninja to try to save her...I did."

Naome grasped onto Kakashi as he began to quake as his memories became more real to him. It was almost impossible for him to continue because the following moment was so clear to him, almost as if it had just happened not a minute earlier. The nightmares he had fought all his life were now being retold in words.

"But then...I killed her. With my own hands."

Naome's blood ran cold as she heard Kakashi's whispers escape his lips. Never had she expected that. Never had she expected Kakashi to kill someone clearly so dear to him, but for some reason, she wasn't afraid as in fact, she inched closer to him. "You...didn't…"

"I had my Chidori charged. I was prepared to strike an enemy and then suddenly, she was there. Her body, impaled right through by my forearm. I know she probably did it on purpose...but still...she died to my attack."

Naome wasn't sure how to respond so she simply held him in her arms, hoping that at least that sense of comfort would help him through his emotions. It was also a sign, to show him that she wasn't scared, rather she felt safe with him regardless. Also, it was a reassurance that she still loved him despite his past. Afterall, she was positive that being this vulnerable and open, was something entirely new to him.

After a long period of silence, in which Kakashi waited anxiously for Naome to reject him now that she knew the truth, Naome finally conjured up a response.

"Rin...must have been important to you."

"She was." Kakashi confirmed with a small voice.

"Did you...did you like her?"

"Yes, I did."

"Were you in love with her?"

"Yeah. I was."

Kakashi watched as Naome looked up to him with a wavering gaze. He could tell she was curious but at the same time, terrified to ask the next question, which he could anticipate from a mile away. It was okay though, because he came prepared to answer this question today.

"Do you still love her?"

"I-"

Kakashi was interrupted. He abruptly separated from the girl and pulled his mask up when a voice and presence entered the meadow. A chunin that he had recognized who worked for the council came walking towards the two, his eyes trained on the copycat ninja.

"Kakashi Hatake." The male greeted him with a bow.

The ninja in question simply sent him a nod, not bothering to get up. "Is something the matter?"

"You have been summoned by the council elders. Please come with me." The male began to walk away in the direction that he came.

Naome's eyes widened at the sound of the words. Immediately she tried to recount in her memory what could possibly be of such high importance that the council elders would need to call Kakashi in.

With a masked expression of shock himself, Kakashi sat up quickly. He leaned over and whispered a, "I'll let you know later tonight, I promise" before he set off into the distance after the messenger ninja. After a few steps, he turned around one last time to send her a quick wink before walking off again.