Ok, I don't know if it's just on my computer, but I'm losing my questoin marks. It is driving me insane. I tried to replace them but no, the dumb thing took them away again. So hopefully, next time I update it won't be like this.
Fading Away
"Tsunade-sama, I'm fine" Tsunade rolled her eyes at Kakashi.
"You think you're fine? You were out for a week"
"Yes, and now I think I should be put back on duty." Tsunade crossed her arms and shook her head stubbornly.
"Iie! That will not happen! You need some time to heal! Hell, you should be in a wheelchair for a week" A knock interrupted them, causing the two shinobi to look at the door. "Who is it" Tsunade snapped.
"Tsunade-sama, may I come in" The Hokage's feature's softened when she heard that voice.
"Hai." Kakashi shot her a confused glance as Tenshi walked in. "Tenshi." Tenshi smiled softly at Tsunade.
"Tsunade-sama, I have come here to speak with Hatake-kun." Tsunade looked regretful at the request.
"I'm sorry but Kakashi isn't-" She stopped when Tenshi got on her knees and bowed to Kakashi.
"Hatake Kakashi, a disastrous event has come to my attention. You are the only one to stop it from happening." She looked up, tears in her eyes. "Hatake Kakashi, please help the Uzumaki clan before we lose her once more." Tsunade looked at Tenshi, startled.
"Setsuko? She's leaving?" Tenshi nodded.
"Hai. Setsuko-sama will be leaving once Orochimaru has been dealt with."
"Why?" Tsunade demanded from the Uzumaki branch member.
"Setsuko-sama does not wish to interfere with Hatake-kun's life. She wishes for him to move on and she will let him by leaving Konoha again, this time for good." Kakashi looked at the two, confused at their actions.
"Why can't you just let her do as she wants?" Tsunade looked back at the forgotten Kakashi.
". . . what no one except Yoko, myself, and the two of you will ever know is the future of Setsuko should she leave." Tsunade felt her head spin as she looked at Tenshi sharply.
"Tenshi is Yoko able to see the future?" Tenshi nodded.
"Hai. Yoko is able to see the future using holy fire while she meditates. The future that she has seen if Setsuko leaves is dismal."
"How so?" The hokage demanded. Tenshi was silent, trying to pick the correct words for what she was going to say.
". . . Setsuko wants nothing more than to fade away. She will disappear from the world. She will turn her back on everything and fade away as much as she possibly can. Once Kakashi remembers he will leave, trying to find her. Only to spend the rest of his days wondering. Konoha will lose at least two powerful shinobi should Setsuko leave. And Yoko says that with the problems Konoha still faces, that will not be acceptable." Tenshi looked at Kakashi once more. "Please Kakashi-san, please do not let her leave."
A sorrowful humming filled the silence as Setsuko sat up high in a willow tree. She watched the long veils of leaves sway as the wind blew, trying to comfort her. In her arms, she hugged a gray worn out teddy bear. It held it close to her as she hummed.
"Sensei." She looked down to see Janghoon. "What are you doing here? It's been two days since Hatake Kakashi woke up."
". . . I am not your sensei. I have done nothing worthy of the tittle once you became a chuunin." Janghoon closed his eyes in thought as he sat at the base of the tree.
". . . you taught me how the real world is." Setsuko felt pain surge through her as she remembered Ai and his feelings for the young woman.
". . . . gomen." He looked up at her, startled.
"For what"
"I . . . I should not have murdered her. I knew your feelings but I threw them aside to fulfill my own desires. She was a relic of a life I wanted nothing more than to forget." Silence hung in the air. It was thick enough to taste. Janghoon sat there, saddened by the sudden reaction Setsuko had. She did not apologize to him often. And neither were ever willing to talk about the subject of Tsuki Ai before. It was painful for the two of them. Setsuko had broken Janghoon that day. She had lost control, scaring her and him. She had broken his trust and faith. Not only that, but he had lost a beloved that day. Setsuko had brutally murdered and had not shown remorse. After that day it took nearly a year for him to forgive her. It had been something both buried. Both shinobi hated that day. Setsuko hated it because that thing she kept inside of her had broken free. No. It had not broken free. Setsuko had let it out. She let out the thing she feared more than anything. Herself. She had lost all control on purpose and become a mindless murdering monster that was not fit to be in the daylight. Janghoon had seen that terrible monster that she had become. It was what she was deep down inside. And Janghoon lost the woman he loved. It must have been love. He had had crushes before. Fleeting as they were, they were enough to let him know that whatever he felt for Ai was for greater than a crush. It was over a year later that he asked Setsuko was love was like. It was then that he was able to name those butterflies in his stomach and that painful tightening in his chest whenever her face, masked as it may be, entered his mind.
"She would have killed you." Setsuko looked down at him, this time she was startled. She excepted Janghoon to blame her. She would have done the same. "Ai spent her entire life hunting you. She would not have stopped until she was dead or you were dead. If she did manage to kill you, I think she would have committed suicide, whether or not I was in her life." Setsuko felt her heart drop into her stomach. A sickening feeling overwhelmed her as she realized Janghoon was a better person than she could ever hope to be. Even if Kakashi didn't care for her and Janghoon killed him, she would never had been able to forgive the boy. She would have hunted him for the rest of his days. She would have turned into Ai. "While I . . . . while I loved her, she would not allow herself to feel such things. I was merely something to pass the time. I accept this." Setsuko felt her stunned feelings wear off. Her eyes softened as she looked down on her former student. He had grown far beyond her. She hated it and at the same time felt pride swell in her.
". . . you are a better person than I could ever be." He looked at her, confused. ". . . . I am jealous." She smiled sadly at him, upon which he stood up and jumped up to her branch. "But at the same time, I am very proud of you. You grew into a proud shinobi. You grew into a proud human." Janghoon stood there, too shocked to do anything. Setsuko looked away, breaking off the subject before anything more could happen. "Go see your sister. Tsunade-sama said that everyone should be waking up." Janghoon took a minute before nodding and leaving.
"Arigatou, sensei." She closed her eyes as silence washed over her. The only thing she could hear were her own thoughts. Thoughts that threatened to overwhelm her with memories. She opened her mouth again and began to sing.
"If you are lost in your way
deep in an awesome story
don't be in doubt and stray
cling to your lonesome folly
now you're too close to the pain
let all the rain go further
come back and kiss me in vain
mother oh do not bother
hear the chorus of pain
taking you back to proper ways
it's so easy to find
if you would remind me
now you are lost in your way
deep in an awesome story
so I will find you again
kiss you for lonesome folly." Setsuko let out a sigh once she finished and tilted her head back, drinking in the renewed silence.
"It was you." Her eyes snapped open and she looked down to see Kakashi. He was in a wheelchair and looking up at her with one lazy eye.
"Pardon?"
"You were the one singing while I was asleep." She looked away, embarrassed.
"Gomen, Hatake-san. It was not my place." Kakashi smiled up at her and his eyes landed on the bear in her arms. A searing pain shot through his head, causing him to clutch his head. "Kakashi" He looked up to see Setsuko kneeling in front of him, reaching out to help. She blinked, surprised at his sudden recovery before standing and backing away. "Gomen."
"For what" Asked a baffled leaf-nin.
". . . I should not have addressed you so informally." She turned to leave, only to be stopped by Kakashi. With ease he reached out and grabbed her wrist quickly. He stared at the bear she held in her other hand as she looked back at him, perplexed by his behavior. "Hatake-san"
"Kakashi." She blinked, confused.
"Nani?"
"Please, call me Kakashi. I prefer it to Hatake-san." Setsuko looked troubled as she reluctantly agreed.
"Hai." She looked down at her wrist that he held onto. "H-Kakashi . . . ." He followed her eyes and quickly let go of her wrist. She turned and faced him as he spoke again.
"Uzumaki-san, why?"
"Don't." Setsuko cut him off, smiling gently. "It makes me feel old." Kakashi's vision doubled for a minute. Two Setsuko stood before him. The other one wasn't even the same. The new one stood with her hands behind her back, smiling while her green hair up in a bun and her silk black gi swayed in the wind as she smiled. As fast as it appeared it was gone. ". . . ong?" Kakashi blinked and looked up at her.
"What?"
"I said, is something wrong?" Kakashi avoided the question.
"I want to know why you are leaving." Setsuko looked away.
". . . I no longer have a place here."
"What do you mean?" She shook her head.
"Iie. It does not matter."
"Tell me." She hesitated before speaking again.
"I am officially dead. Naruto is head of the Uzumaki. Team 28 has grown beyond me. Konoha does not need to be protected from Orochimaru anymore. And you . . ." Setsuko broke off shaking her head.
"What about me" Kakashi asked quietly.
"And you . . . you have fallen in love with Kurenai. You may not remember me but I remember you. So, for you to be happy, I will leave and never return." She stepped away, tears did not fill her eyes but her throat knotted. "Hatake Kakashi, you are destined for great things. You are destined to protect Konoha until you die. I am not. I am Uindo Bensha. I am destined to follow the wind. Our paths have crossed a few times, but I doubt they will cross again. I am destined to fade away from this world. My life must be like the wind." She bowed her head to him slightly before disappearing with a gust of wind.
"Setsuko-sensei . . ." Janghoon trailed off as he wandered into the clearing. He caught sight of Kakashi. "Kakashi-san" The famous ninja looked back at the chuunin.
"Hai?"
". . . did you see Setsuko-sensei?"
"Hai. She just left." Janghoon became quiet and nodded.
". . . . I see."
". . . . Janghoon-kun, you spent the last three years with Setsuko, correct" The young man nodded. ". . . . . can you tell me what happened?"
"So it's true, huh" Setsuko knelt in front of a stone. Hundreds of names were inscribed into it. She was looking down towards the end. ". . . . I thought it was another one of his lies. I thought that you would come through the gates of Konoha, arrogant as ever. But you won't." She traced a name slowly, feeling her throat knot once more. "Did I fail you? Did I fail to teach you to survive? Was I so worried about Seung and Janghoon that I failed to teach you to come back" She let her forehead press against the cool stone. Her fingers pressed against the name. "Riki . . . . I do not understand why you died. Have I lost my way so greatly that I can not even understand that simplest of things?"
"He died on a mission." Setsuko spun around to see Seung. The girl was pale and tired looking. Her clothes were crisp and clean and made her matted hair look foreign. "It was a simple mission. No more than Riki and I were needed. We were to retrieve a scroll from Hidden Rain and bring it back. We were ambushed on the way back. Two missing-nins attacked us. Uchiha Itachi and another man, from the Mist. I do no know his name. Those two took the scroll, killing Riki in the process. We both fought them, but I was left alive, barely, because I did not carry the scroll." Setsuko's eyes hardened.
"Akatsuki." She hissed. Her fist clenched as her rage flared. "I will crush them." Seung shook her head in horror.
"Setsuko-sensei, don't!" Setsuko looked back at her, surprised.
". . . . . you remember?" Seung nodded. " . . . the others?"
"Tsunade-sama said that people who had the jutsu placed on them stronger might take longer to remember. Because I was not so important to Orochimaru-teme I did not have it as strong." Setsuko nodded and looked away. "I'm sure Kakashi-san will remember soon enough." Setsuko smiled sadly at her.
"I can't be in the way. He loves another." Setsuko looked back at the stone and her anger rose up again. "Besides . . . I have business with the Akatsuki." Setsuko growled the name as if it left a vile taste in her mouth.
"Then you will have to stay with the Leaf." Setsuko turned to see Tsunade. "The Akatsuki is after your cousin. And you had a difficult time with Orochimaru. Itachi is more powerful and he isn't the strongest."
"So I am to sit on my hands while the murderers of my student wander free! I promised I would make them into strong and proud shinobi when I became their teacher. I failed that so the least I can do is to avenge my fallen student." Setsuko hissed, her temper rising fast. Tsunade shook her head in disagreement.
"Setsuko, you did not fail. Riki was a strong shinobi who died for Konoha. He died with honor. And you will not be sitting on your hands. If you stay I hope that you will be working to get stronger so we can fight the Akatsuki." Setsuko felt her temper die down as sorrow filled her heart.
" . . . . I would only be in the way. Kakashi and I can never be. I must let him go and I cannot do that if I have to stay." The hokage was silent for several minutes before speaking again.
". . . just stay a few more days." Setsuko shook her head.
"Iie. I will only stay until Orochimaru is dealt with. Then I will let the wind lead me once more. Then I will . . . ."
"Will what, Setsuko-sensei" Setsuko smiled with sadness overflowing.
"I will fade away from the world again."
