Chapter 5

Keiko let out a long yawn as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. It had been a long night with Naruto. She had done her best to tutor the young boy in the ways of Shogi but it was becoming more and more clear that he wasn't going to get it, though she found his tenacity admirable. After taking a moment to consider her life choices and where she was she finally got out of bed, sure to make herself presentable. Keiko usually wore a loose silk top that tied in the front and shorts to match when going to bed. Grabbing her hairbrush from her bedside table she started working on her hair as she moved into the living area where she saw Naruto sprawled out on the couch.

A smile graced her lips at the sight. He had asked to to stay the previous night and she had obviously let him stay with her. As she watched him she noticed something that peaked her interest. A marking on his stomach. Keiko got closer to him as she could see the marking from his hiked up shirt. Reaching out she lifted up the hem of his shirt and she was surprised at the tattoo she found around his bellybutton. The large swirl was surrounded by intricate markings and there was no mistaking that this was a powerful seal.

Keiko didn't have a lot of time to dwell on her new discovery before a sound made her turn toward the window. There was a hawk sitting right outside her window. She had to wonder what it was for when realization dawned on her and all the color drained from her face. Did they know what Iruka told her? Was she in trouble?

She paused, no, if she really had been in trouble she was sure they would have done something more drastic than to send a messenger hawk.

She moved toward the window and opened it, taking the message from the hawk and read it, her brows shot to her hairline. A mission? She was being summoned for a mission by the Hokage! Excitement filled her as she rushed to get ready. She took note at how the summons said to be prepared to leave right away and stopped in front of Naruto. She debated waking him up to say goodbye, but decided that a growing boy needs his sleep. Instead she wrote him a note, saying she would be back within a week and she would tell him all about it when she got back.

Placing the note on the coffee table where she knew he would see it, she looked down at Naruto. She was going to miss him, this would be the first time they would be apart for more than a day since they met. Keiko grabbed the blanket that had slid to the floor and covered him again before placing a small kiss to his forehead. Sure that Naruto would be fine without her, Keiko left the apartment.

Now dressed in her normal attire she made her way to the Hokage's office. Keiko also wore her swords, her katana and wakizashi strapped to her left side and her kanto strapped to her right. On her way there, she paused at the sudden vibration she felt in the ground. Herself and a few villagers looked around for the source of the commotion.

Keiko hardly had anytime to react to the man running past her. He ran with so much vigor he left a large cloud of dust behind him. Keiko stood, staring in confusion as she fixed her hair that had been messed up by the wind. Where did that maniac need to be? She wasn't even able to get a decent look at the man. All she could recall was black hair and green.

Gathering her wits, Keiko continued on, reaching the Hokage's office just before the scheduled time. Keiko knocked before entering and she saw standing there in the office was the man who ran past her, at least she was pretty sure he was.

"Ah!" The man called loudly, "Our youthful Kunoichi has arrived!" The man gestured to her, giving her a thumbs up and a large grin that seemed to twinkle.

Keiko held a deadpan expression on her face as she looked him up and down. Green jump suit, orange leg warmers, flak jacket, and a black bowl cut. Keiko looked passed him to the Hokage who was seated at his desk. his elbows on the desk, hands together in front of his face, eyes closed. She wasn't the only one who found it... odd, then.

The Hokage gestured toward the man, "Keiko Takahashi, welcome. Meet Might Guy, He will be leading you on this mission."

Keiko looked at the man and nodded, "It's good to meet you." Looking around she saw two others in the room as well, a man who didn't exactly look like a ninja who carried a large wok on his back. The other man was a shinobi, headband and all. She assumed these would be the other two on the mission with her. Keiko moved closer and stood in line with the two men and smiled, excited to finally be in a team though she had a feeling this one wouldn't last too long either. The two men shared an uneasy glance toward her and gave her an awkward smile.

The Hokage eyed them all and set a scroll on the desk in front of Guy, "Your mission is to meet with a representative from the Land of Wood. Where the Hidden Leaf will hand over this scroll, they will have one in return."

Guy picked up the scroll, seemed like an easy enough mission. "Do we verify the contents?"

"If they hand over a fake scroll it will prove that the Land of Woods has no interest in an alliance with the Hidden Leaf, we can not be certain. Be very careful."

"Leave it to us." Guy said confidently with a thumbs up. He turned toward his team fist raised in the air, "Lets get going. The sweet embrace of youth waits for no one!" Guy made his way toward the door, followed shortly by her two new male comrades.

Keiko was glued to the floor as she watched the Hokage intently. Hiruzen saw this and sighed, he had a feeling this was coming. It was only a matter of time. When Guy noticed her lagging behind he turned to usher her forward but he paused at the atmosphere. Keiko didn't pay attention to him when he said to meet them at the gate, Keiko was still looking at the old man.

When the door to the office shut Hiruzen looked at Keiko, "I take it you have something to discuss with me." It wasn't a question.

"Why?" Keiko didn't know how to form the words at first. How to form all her thoughts into words. She needed to say more, "Why don't you do anything to help Naruto?"

Hiruzen was a little taken back by her words, he expected a discussion about Naruto, but he had been the one person to take care of Naruto since he was a baby. It's what the child's mother asked him just before she died. He would never go back on his word. "Keiko, I assure you, I have done my best to take care of him."

Keiko walked up to his desk and leaned against it, gripping the edge. "With all due respect, bullshit." She said through gritted teeth. They held each others gaze, coal black and ice blue. "Maybe when he was an infant, not able to fend for himself. But, from what I have seen, he was left to his own devises as soon as he could comprehend how to buy groceries. He is six. And now I know that-" She broke her eye contact with the Hokage, having to bite her tongue.

The Hokage nodded in understanding as he frowned, "You know then." She nodded, still refusing to look at him. "I am not upset that Iruka told you. Though it seems that the knowledge weighs heavily on your mind. Does it change your mind about Naruto?"

"No!" She said without hesitation, her head snapping up to look at him once again. "Even if he is the nine-tails, it doesn't change the boy I've come to know. It just disgusts me that everyone in this village treats him so harshly when Naruto doesn't even know what he is."

He nodded again, "Yes. It upsets me as well, how the villagers treat him." Hiruzen stood then and turned his back to her. He looked out the window up to the Hokage Monument. "Six years ago, Lord Fourth put down his life to protect this village. He is the one that sealed the tailed beast within Naruto's belly." Keiko recalled the marking she saw that morning. She walked up next to him and looked at the monument as well to the Fourth Hokage's depiction. She had heard stories of him, of what a great Hokage and Shinobi he was. "It is thanks to Naruto that the village still stands. For that reason, it was his dying wish that Naruto be hailed as a hero."

"It's obvious that he is the opposite of a hero to them." She recalled how one day they were walking along when Naruto wanted a mask, the shopkeeper saw him and literally pushed him onto the ground to get him away. Keiko stopped the incident from escalating but her disgust with the man for his behavior was overwhelming.

"The news of the Fourths death struck the village hard. Before I even realized, he had been labeled the reason for the Fourth's death." He looked at her from the side of his eye, "I imagine you know how hard it can be to change someone's mind when it is already made up." She didn't answer, knowing all too well. "Now, try it with an entire village. I did what I did to protect Naruto."

Keiko nodded in thought. "So, you know who his parents were. Why not let him know?" She recalled the few times Naruto would talk about what it could be like to have parents, and how he desperately wanted to know who his parents were.

Hiruzen himself recalled a conversation with Naruto. The boy certainly did want to know who his parents were. And, he would know, in time. "It is not important. Eventually he will know of his lineage, but for now it is for his own safety. If people knew who his parents were, there would be no telling who would come after him for revenge."

Keiko gave the man a look. Take revenge on a child?

Hiruzen saw the look on her face. "You have yet to see how cruel the world can be."

"Apparently so." Keiko began to understand the Hokage's thought process behind everything. Why he did what he did. "This still doesn't explain why he is allowed to live in such filth." She suppressed the shiver that attempted to run down her spin at the memory. She did not want to think of what she found in that apartment when she cleaned it. She taught him how to properly clean after that and stressed that it should never get that bad, ever.

He laughed, "I suppose I do not have an excuse for that. Forgive me." He looked at her then, "Keiko, I know I have not been forthcoming with you in regards to Naruto. But, I am happy he has you in his life. I began to worry for his future with so much hatred thrown his way." He smiled, "I am thankful to you for showing him the value of friendship."

Keiko nodded, sensing his sincerity. He really did care for Naruto. "I understand a bit better now. While I'm not happy about it, I understand."

Hiruzen nodded, "Yes, now I suggest you get going. Your mission awaits. And I hope to send you on many more upon your retrun."

Her brows again hit her hairline. A moment passed before a smile broke across her face, "Of course. Thank you, Lord Hokage."

Keiko made it to the gate where she found Guy doing a hand stand. When he saw her approaching, he easily flipped up onto his feet and greeted her. Keiko Didn't really pay attention to him as they traveled. It was a few days journey to their destination and she had a lot to think about. She hardly spoke to her teammates other than the regular pleasantries. Her mind was on Naruto and his future, and now, also his past.

Guy noticed the way his female team member guarded herself, only speaking when needed. He could easily tell that she had a lot weighing on her mind. It was all too familiar of a look. The second night of their journey Keiko took watch. Even though this was a mission of peace, you could never be too careful. Safety was a number one priority. Keiko took up her spot on a branch above their camp fire where she could see a decent distance in all directions.

She listened to the sound of night, the chirping of crickets, buzzing of bugs, scurrying of small animals and the breathing of her team as they slept. On that night, she started to feel like she was being watched. At first it put her on edge, she was used to feeling watched while in Konoha. For sometime now she was aware that she was being watched while in the village and she was used to it. Out in the middle of nowhere, it freaked her out. It wasn't until she looked down and saw Guy intently staring at her that she jumped and slapped a hand over her mouth to contain her scream.

Guy took that as his queue to get up and he easily appeared on the branch a few feet from her, taking a seat. Keiko had a hand to her chest, feeling how rapid her heart beat was. She resisted the urge to slap him, "Don't. Do. That!" She said through clenched teeth. After she calmed down a bit more she looked at him, "Do you always stare at people like that?"

"It's just that you remind me of him." Guy said easily, arms crossed over his chest as he straddled the branch.

She cocked an eyebrow, "Who?"

"My eternal rival, Kakashi Hatake." He looked at her and was surprised what there wasn't even a shadow of recognition in her gaze. Instead she just looked at him perplexed, as if he did not just say a famous ninja's name.

"Yeah, not sure who that is, sorry. Also not sure how I would remind you of anyone." Keiko didn't know of a lot of people in the village. There were many famous ninja, but because she was out of the loop on so many things she usually wasn't able to keep up to date on such things. Not to mention she couldn't think of anyone who strongly resembled her.

Guy waved her off dismissively, sensing what she meant, "No, not the way you look. It's that guarded expression. How you seem to have everything bottled up inside of you."

"Oh," She didn't know it was that obvious. "You know him well then?"

He nodded, "Well, of course! As my sworn rival it is my duty to know him better than he knows himself." Guy paused. "I know he has a lot on his mind too, just like you do. Maybe you should tell me, what's on your mind. You do seem troubled, does it have to do with Lord Hokage?"

Keiko laughed, "Are all Jonin so friendly?"

Guy shrugged, "I like to get to know my team mates. I've been around a block or two with Udeno and Kosuke. Though I know little about you."

"What do you know?" She asked curiously.

"Well, I happen to know you are originally from the Land of Iron, or so I've heard. Also that you tend to use your abilities in a very similar way to the Samurai of your homeland. Not to mention what everyone knows, that you are the caretaker of Naruto Uzumaki, though that is a more recent development, isn't it?"

Keiko eyed him, "For someone who claims to know little about me you seem to know a decent amount."

"Oh, but I believe that is just scratching the surface of your many layers!" He struck his signature thumbs up and grin pose.

Keiko didn't like the way that sounded, "Yeah, how about you don't say that again?" She laughed awkwardly. Guy seemed to be a nice man, but with some odd mannerisms. She didn't hold it against him.

Guy seemed to ignore her and leaned in, eyeing her intently. "So, tell me, why do you look like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders?"

Keiko sighed, "I just found out some information that I am coming to terms with." She paused, "I guess, I'm also just coming to terms with the fact that its likely the Village will never fully trust me. This is the first mission out of the village I've been on in..." She had to pause and think for a moment, "Nine... ten months? I don't get out a lot, and it's come to my attention it's because they think I'm a spy."

"Are you?" He asked bluntly.

"No!" She said appalled. "I've done everything I can think of to show my loyalties are to Konoha and yet I never get the chance to show my skill. I want to be treated as a true shinobi of Konoha. A true Kunoichi. That's all I've ever wanted."

Guy smiled, "I think you and I will get along beautifully. The fire of youth shines brightly within you! Perhaps through our collaboration I will finally gain some insight into my rival as well."

She gave him a quizzical look, "You're going to use me, who has never met this Kakashi guy, to get into his head?"

He rubbed the back of his head, "More or less, though I have my reasons." He gave her another thumbs up.

Keiko didn't completely understand his reasoning, but she shrugged. "You're gonna have to introduce me to this, Kakashi. Only fair if I'm being used to get into his head."

Thanks for reading guys!

Favorite, Follow, and Review!

Posted - 5/11/21