NOTE: I do not own Naruto and anything that affiliates with the show.
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Recap:
"I've had this dream before." Yukiko replied looking away and down at her hands. "And many other strange dreams…of me with other people that I do not remember. I believe that these dreams are the keys to my past. My memories that have been forgotten. I have come to you for help, Hatake Kakashi."
Chapter 4
"How do you know my name?" Kakashi asked.
"I've seen you in my dreams." Yukiko answered, looking up at him.
Kakashi stared at the girl with his impassive eyes, but was quite interested in her statement. Before Kakashi could question her again, Tsunade stepped into the room and observed Yukiko from the doorway. Likewise, Yukiko did the same. Both women were curious of the other. Yukiko watched as the woman in the doorway stepped closer to the bed. Her soft, light colored blonde hair was different from her own bold and vibrant blonde hair. In the middle of her forehead, Yukiko took notice of the blue diamond shaped pendant. The woman looked young, but something about her was strange.
"You are not what you appear to be." Yukiko managed to muster up out of her confusion.
Tsunade smiled and introduced herself, "I am Tsunade, the fifth Hokage."
Yukiko did not know what a Hokage was, but she believed that it was important and realized how impolite she was. "How rude of me, Tsunade-sama, I am Yukiko." she smiled pleasantly towards a pair of friendly brown eyes.
"Hokage is the strongest ninja in each village. " Kakashi replied.
Yukiko looked at Kakashi in surprise, wondering how he knew. Tsunade continued on the conversation, "What business do you have here in Konoha?" Yukiko tore her attention away from the windswept, silver hair Jounin and focused her attention on Tsunade. She thought to herself for a moment, trying to lay out her current situation in her mind before explaining.
"I am on a journey to find my past." Yukiko replied confidently.
"And how do you know that you will find it here?" Tsunade inquired.
"He is the reason I am here." Yukiko looked at Kakashi.
"Why did you attack him?" Tsunade asked curiously.
"MATE!" a short and loud, noisy boy with electric blonde hair barged into the recovery room. Kakashi and Tsunade looked towards the boy with irritation. The boy, however, was busy searching the room and under the bed to notice that Tsunade was scowling at him.
"Naruto! What are you doing here?" Tsunade asked.
"What are YOU doing here, old lady, Tsunade?" Naruto smirks deviously and then turns to Kakashi; Oblivious to the fact that Yukiko was studying him from the recovery bed. "Kakashi-sensei, where is the person who attacked you?" he looked around curiously in confusion.
"You look a lot like the other man in my dream…" Yukiko pointed to the boy. "Only smaller."
"Nani!" Naruto yelled, finally noticing the girl lying on the bed. "Who are you?"
Tsunade burst into a fit of laughter at Yukiko's innocent remark. She then regained her composure because Naruto glared at her, making his whisker marks on his cheeks more visible and then proceeded to clearing her throat, "What are YOU doing here, Naruto?"
"To challenge Kakashi's attacker." Naruto smirked. "I will prove to everyone that I am the best ninja in Konoha!" Naruto tapped his forehead protector that had the leaf symbol engraved on the metal plate.
"I wasn't attacking Hatake." Yukiko's face began to burn bright red. She was very timid compared to Naruto. "You see…I was merely testing his skills…to see if he is the Copy Ninja, but his skills far exceed my own."
"Judging by Kakashi's report, you must have had some type of injury before to have had your shoulder blade broken easily by Kakashi's light blow."
"She attacked you, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto demanded, still confused as to who the girl was and what she was doing here and why she attacked his sensei. "What is going on here?"
Tsunade's eye twitched at the sound of Naruto's obnoxious questions. Just as she was about to smack Naruto on the head to keep him silent for a few more minutes Yukiko stepped in between them. She was quick but not fast like Kakashi. However, her sudden movement was a surprise and unexpected with her still broken shoulder blade.
Yukiko knelt before the boy at a very close distance. Their noses were almost touching and both could feel one another's breaths on their skin. Naruto blinked several times in confusion before taking a step back to widen the uncomfortable distance between them. Yukiko straightened her form and stood before Naruto and smiled.
"You are very funny." Yukiko smiled. "Naruto-kun, is it?"
Naruto seized this opportunity to introduce himself once more in his cheerful and deafening voice, "I am Uzumaki Naruto! What I like is RAMEN! What's even better is when Iruka-sensei treats me to ramen at my favorite noodle bar! My dream is to one day be the greatest ninja in Konoha and to become the greatest Hokage! Then the villagers will have to acknowledge my existence!" Naruto gave her Lee's nice-guy pose and showed her a tumbs up sign.
Yukiko smiled and introduced herself again, "My name is Yukiko, but you can call me Yuki."
Naruto was overwhelmed with joy by how much attention Yukiko gave him and considered her as a friend. "Now you must tell me more about yourself, Yuki-chan. I've never seen you before. What clan are you from?" The other two stood and observed how well the two interacted and got along. Tsunade was wondering why Yukiko was so interested in Naruto. Many people just ignore him or become very impatient with Naruto. Being the carrier of the Kuybi didn't make it any easier for him. Kakashi on the other hand noticed something familiar about the girl. He recognized Yukiko, but couldn't remember where.
"I do not know much about myself, Naruto-kun." Yukiko smiled at Naruto's baffled reaction and explained herself. "You see…I've lost a lot of my memories and I need his help."
Everyone turned to look at Kakashi. He stood there firmly with his arms folded across his chest. Naruto eye's turned white with dark rings around his eyes and his mouth hung open in disbelief. His Yuki-chan was seeking help from his perverted sensei and not him. Upon noticing Naruto's reaction, Yukiko let out a little laugh and said, "I would like your help too, Naruto-kun."
"You can count on me, Yuki-chan!" Naruto cried out, pointing his thumb at his chest. "I will help you no matter what! That is my way of the ninja! Those who do not take –
"Care of their companions are worse than trash." Yukiko said, reciting the quote in unison with Naruto. Naruto looked at her once more with confusion. Kakashi was taken by surprise by what Yukiko had said. They looked each other in the eye, waiting for the other to speak up, while memories began to fill their minds. Naruto and Tsunade watched with nervousness, not wanting to disturb what was going on between the two. It was evident, that the two had a history.
"Why do you look so sad?" a short, bright haired girl bounced onto a rock next to Kakashi. She let her foot hang over the side of the rock and into the cool water. It was strangely warm that day, because the weather was usually chilly.
He was so engrossed in his own grief that he did not even care to hide the pained look in his eyes when his new friend sat next to him. It was only Yukiko. Somehow, her presence did not disturb him or make him feel embarrassed. It was as if it was okay for her to see him express his emotions. Even though it had been a week now since he and his sensei had their conversation after the Battle of the Kanabi Bridge, Kakashi still regretted being the one who lived. Kakashi smiled weakly at her through his mask.
He didn't answer her question, though. They sat there observing the flow of the water, while listening to the lulling rhythm. Fishes, the size of Kakashi's lean forearm, poked at the surface of the water, causing multiple ripples to form around their toes.
"A friends' dream shouldn't go to waste." Yukiko said, to no one in particular. "Their life, their goals, their personalities, and their gifts…are a part of us and ours to keep and to carry on."
What she said shattered something within Kakashi's heart. How could her simple words, strike his heart into a million pieces, by making him realize that he shouldn't be grieving over his friend. He sat their stunned, not knowing what to say. For the first time in weeks, he began to feel in control. She was right, Kakashi realized, Obito's dreams are now his to carry out.
"Those who do not take care of their companions are worse than trash…" Kakashi replied in a whisper that was barely audible, but Yukiko heard it perfectly and remembered it.
She jumped from the rock and into the water, soaking Kakashi from head to toe. He remembered her trying to stand on the tip of her toes with her nose just barely above the water. Yukiko didn't realize that the water was that deep. Kakashi slid into the water and stood next to her. He was much taller than her and therefore the water only went up past his chest a little.
"I'll teach you how to swim, Yuki-chan." Kakashi smirked under his mask, something he hadn't done in a long time.
Kakashi stared hard at the young girl before him. He observed her once more and began to see the resemblance of the girl he met long ago. There was only one way to determine that she was the Yukiko he knew from the past.
Without warning, Kakashi appeared behind Yukiko and locked her good arm firmly, without hurting her, to keep her from struggling away from him. However, she did not try to struggle and allowed him to unlace the back part of her shirt to reveal her injured shoulder blade. She knew what he was looking for.
"NANI!" Naruto yelled, ready to take out his sensei for molesting his new friend. "I won't let you-
Tsunade was about to punch Kakashi, with brute force, into the wall, until she saw what Naruto saw. It was the shape of a metal Konoha Leaf head protector what was burned into her upper left shoulder. Tsunade cringed at the thought of how much pain she must have felt, not to mention if there were any blood. Naruto, as usual, was confused as to why there was a Konoha leaf symbol burned onto her shoulder.
"You've changed, Yuki-chan." Kakashi smirked from beneath his mask.
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Note From The Author:
Hey guys:D Thanks for reading again:D I am TERRIBLY sorry that I haven't updated in a LONG time:D Things kept coming up and studies have been piling up. :D I tried to make up for it by making this chapter longer than my other posts. :D There's actually more that I wanted to fit in here, but that would mean another week for an update:D hehe and I didn't want you guys to forget about me.:D Anyway, I am getting a lot of ideas and I have an idea of what this story will be like. :D I don't know if you will like it or not, I have no clue. :D I'll try to update soon, but Exams are coming up REAL soon:D Good luck with your stories and studies as well! Hopefully, this chapter wasn't so bad. :D Have an awesome week and Happy Chinese New Years:D (February 9th)
A big THANKS to my Reviewers: "You guys are AWESOME!" :D
Sky Spade – OooOOo I'll definitely be tuning into TNT for reruns:D hehe I'm so glad that you understand what I'm trying to do :D I'm so sorry that I made you wait sooo long for this chapter. I hope you like it :D hehhee You were my very first reviewer:D hehe So you could say that you're a big part of why I'm going to keep up with this story. :D anway, I'm worried I didn't make it interesting enough. If I had more time, my chapters would be longer, but I'll just have to do it piece by piece.:D oh well, hope you enjoyed it:D Have fun this week:D Thank you soooo much:D
Jemiul – Thanks for your review:D I hope you enjoyed this chapter:D hehee It took a while to get out just because I've been busy, but hopefully it's not that bad.:D hehe Thanks a bunch:D Please Keep reading on:D
whiterose03 – Oh thank you bunches:D hehee I'm glad you like my story so far. :D I convince myself a lot that my story sucks.:D Which I am happy to get such wonderful reviews from everyone:D hehehe I only hope I can keep up with you guys and keep making the story interesting.:D I've kinda introduced Yukiko and Kakashi's past in this chapter. :D I already have my ideas set for Yukiko's past and her connection with Kakashi. :D So it's up to me to get it out and posted:D I can't share anymore:D hehe otherwise I would ruin my story:D hehe Thanks so much for reading! I hope you keep reading:D
