No Longer Three

Setsuko smiled as she woke up. She turned over in her bed and sighed before getting up and changing into her usual clothing. When she wandered down stairs Yoko looked up, surprise.

"Yoko-chan, gomen. I shouldn't have lost my temper like that." Setsuko smiled as she sat down.

"It's alright. I'm just surprised that you are still here. I thought you would have left after the rain stopped." Setsuko shook her head as she poured some cereal into a bowl.

"Iie. I decided to stay in Konoha. Have to make sure nothing gets out of hand, you know." Setsuko ate her food with a softer look as Yoko stared at her.

"Did something happen?" Setsuko smiled and finished her breakfast before heading towards the door. She paused as she was about to leave and answered Yoko's question.

"Kakashi remembers." With that, she was gone as Yoko sat in her spot letting the information set in. Finally, when it did, Yoko had one response.

"Thank God!"


Setsuko hummed as she made her way to Kakashi's cabin. For the first time in a very, very long time she hummed a happy tune. She stopped when she saw a white carnation and knelt down to it.

". . . well, isn't this a treat." She smiled to herself as she plucked the flower and smelled it. She walked, holding the flower lightly, towards his small home again. Setsuko walked up the steps and knocked on the door. After waiting for several minutes the door was opened. Kakashi stepped back and smiled at her. She came in, smiling still. "Oy, I found this. Do you have a vase?" Kakashi, noticing the flower in her hand, took the carnation and motioned for her to come closer. When she did, Kakashi gently tucked it behind her ear. The Uindo Bensha backed away with a faint smile. "Are you sure you don't need the wheelchair anymore?"

"Nope. Tsunade-sama said I'm fine now."

"That good to hear-" She was cut off when he pulled her close and held her. Silence filled the cabin as Setsuko let herself melt into his embrace. Kakashi held her tight, refusing to let go.

"I missed you so much."

"I know." Setsuko whispered, feeling at peace for once.

"Promise me you won't leave again." Kakashi tightened the grip on her, burying his face in her hair.

"I won't. I won't leave you again. I'll stay as long as you want me to." Kakashi pulled her away from him slightly to look at her face. A gentle look rested on her face, love filled her eyes.

"Then stay forever." She stared at him as she tried to comprehend what he was talking about. Confusion was clearly written across her face.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't want you to leave. So stay." Setsuko looked even more confused and lost.

". . . but I am. I am staying."

"That's not what I mean."


"Orochimaru, for the crimes you have committed you have been sentenced to death." Tsunade's grave voice carried over the darkness as she announced this to her former teammate. She sat before a large council of Konoha.

"Kukukuku. Do you really believe you can kill me?" Orochimaru's cold sadistic laugh echoed off of the walls.

"Yes, Orochimaru. I do believe it. For the past three days we have been removing all evidence of jutsu from you. Even going as far as to cut off your hands." Orochimaru did not glance down at the bandages red from encasing his bloody wrists. "We removed the summoning tattoo from you arm." his left arm was completely wrapped in bandages. "We've hunted down any subordinate that you might have taught you immortality jutsu. Kakashi killed Kabuto two weeks ago. You have no chance to escape this fate. Once you are gone, all your curse seals will go with you."

"And what of Uzumaki Setsuko? She is as much a mass murderer as I am." Orochimaru smirked, feeling as though he caught his former teammate.

"This is not a trial for Uzumaki Setsuko, this is your trial. And you are a missing-nin. You have no say in what we do in Konoha. You gave up that right a long time ago."

"But she has committed genocide. Wiping out almost everyone she mets."

"Silence!" Tsunade boomed, her authority overpowering anyone in the room. However, there was no anger. She would not give him the satisfaction of knowing he provoked her. "Today, the Three Legendary Shinobi ends."


Yoko sat in front of a holy fire, praying for the lost souls they could not bring back. Her chants echoed through the shrine she sat in and the fire blazed. Her chants slowed as a presence made itself known in the shrine. She looked up to see no one.

"Arigatou." She whispered with a faint smile as the image of the third Hokage appeared in the fire. "Pushing me towards the idea of linking souls saved so many lives, Sanadaime." She watched his image fade and began to chant again, this time with a slight smile. However it was a different chant this time. With her eyes closed in concentration it didn't take long for the smile to drop. Her hands performed holy seals as she chanted. The wind picked up and the fire seemed to gain a new life, burning brighter and bigger than before. Yoko reached down beside her and grabbed a handful of ceremonial dried and crushed incense. She blew the dust into the fire, causing it to burn hotter and brighter. "Show me," She hissed. "Show me what I seek!" The ash rose up and danced in the air, almost as if taunting her, teasing her. "I command you! SHOW ME NOW!" The ash spun around and around the fire as Yoko chanted. It spun fast as her hands performed the holy seals. Sweet poured down Yoko's face, an effect due to the sheer force of will she had to use. The heat in the shrine was almost unbearable. Finally, after what seemed like ages, the ashes settled onto the ground and the fire died down to a reasonable size. Yoko stared at the word scrawled out. "Firefly . . . ?" She stared into the fire for few minutes before getting up and leaving.


"Ha!" Robin cried as she went for the kill. She suppressed a grimace as she was thrown back, up into the air. She flipped around and managed to land on her feet. She shot off towards him, her naginata trailing behind her. Once she came close she swung the weapon out towards him, startling him. He jumped into the air, losing a few strands of hair by her naginata.

"That's enough for the day." Robin smiled as Neji ended the spar. "Thank you for the training."

"I could say the same." She brushed some hair out of her eyes. ". . . . Orochimaru is being judged today. Tsunade-sama said she would announce what transpired later tonight." Neji stared at her with a thoughtful look on his face.

". . . . Robin . . . you said that you wouldn't hold it against me if I killed you . . ." Robin smiled and turned to him.

"Neji, you are one of my best friends. I knew that it wasn't really you I was fighting. So that's why I would have been ok with you killing me." A smirk made its way onto her face. "Gaara-kun, on the other hand . . . I think he might have taken it personal." Neji smiled.

"I am glad you and Gaara are happy."

"Yeah, so I am. I guess it's like you and Tenten. We just walked around in circles until we got pushed together, finally." Neji chuckled light at the thought and smirked.

"How did he react to you in a dress?" Robin sent him a wry glare but answered anyways.

"Said he was surprised but he thought I looked nice."


Thud.

She would never understand it. It was something she never learned. No one had been there to teach her. No one. That's the way she grew up.

Thud!

It was beyond her. It would always be beyond her. These things . . . she did not know. She might never have known even some of the feelings.

Thwak!

Setsuko let her bloody hand drop to her side as she stared down at the broken training log. She closed her eyes as the warm liquid dripped onto the ground. Already she could feel the wounds healing. She could feel the skin starting to repair itself. Setsuko opened her eyes and lifted her hand up to stare at the blood and watch it run down her arm. She wiped the blood off her knuckles, revealing fresh skin.

"Setsuko . . ." At the sound of his voice she spun around and stared at him. ". . . what's wrong?" She looked away, uncomfortable with the question. "Why won't you answer me?"

". . . because you are blind." Setsuko answered quietly in a whisper. "You are blind the fact that I am not able to give anything freely. You forget I belong to the wind. You forget I am a mass murderer, perhaps far worse than Orochimaru." She looked at him, no emotion breaking through her eyes. "What you ask might be wondrous for me, but it is disastrous for you."

"Dammit Setsuko, I don't care what you think you are, I love you!"

"And I love you. That is why I refuse."

"How can I get you to accept!" Setsuko sighed and looked at the ground.

". . . . I am a S-class criminal." She looked up at him. "I will not put you in danger. I cannot." Setsuko was going to say more when she heard the wind whisper to her and she looked over to her right. After a few seconds a bird flew down with a scroll tried to its foot. She let it land on her outstretched arm and took the scroll, causing the bird to fly off. She broke the seal and skimmed over the contents of the scroll.

"What does it say?" Setsuko looked up at, holding out the scroll to him so he could read it.

"We are to go to the Hokage and speak with her."


"It stings alittle." Anko rubbed her shoulder and looked up at the Hokage. "Nothing compared to when it was activated. Or when Yoko took it off three years ago." Tsunade nodded and let her pull up her jacket.

"Good."

"If there is any trouble I would like it if you told me." Yoko spoke quietly, but they knew how serious the priestess was. Now the matter of the cursed seals were in Yoko's territory. Beyond this check up Tsunade had no true idea of what to do. "Sasuke-san has agreed to do the same." Anko nodded and left the room.

"Yoko, do you think there will be any trouble?" Yoko sighed and looked towards the curtains. She twitched slightly and the curtains were pulled back, letting her stare out the window and at the village.

"No. However, with Orochimaru I would prefer to stay on top of it. But it seems that even with the mark removed for years, his death was still felt by him subordinates." Yoko was silent before looking back at Tsunade. "Why are you calling Kakashi-san and Setsuko-sama?"

"I have matters to attend to with Setsuko."

". . . you have used the crystal ball to spy on a personal matter, haven't you?" Tsunade coughed alittle before waving the thought off.

"I have to set the record straight."

"What did you spy on?" Tsunade looked at Yoko, sheepishly.

"Well . . . Kakashi . . . asked Setsuko . . ." A knock interrupted Tsunade, which was gladly excepted from the woman. "Come in." Setsuko and Kakashi entered the room, both sending a questioning glance to Yoko.

"Tsunade-sama, you wanted to meet us?" Setsuko sent another glance towards Yoko as she asked this.

"Hai. I wanted to speak on the matter of Setsuko's criminal record."

". . . I am ready to receive whatever punishment you deem worthy of my sins." Her voice was firm, void of her emotions. She had been awaiting this for a long time.

"Good. Because this was a difficult matter to deal with." Tsunade sat in her chair and took a breath, readying herself for the long explanation. "Setsuko, you have committed mass murder. I can't even began to tell you all the charges amounted against you. It has taken the past week to even sort out your mess." Tsunade rubbed her forehead in the memory of all the trouble she had to go through to even count all of the acts. "However, I learned that through horrid circumstances, the destruction of your village was in self defense. Also, you had no knowledge of Aka Yuki when she used a blood clone to attack them. So that charge is cleared. The others, while no where near as devastating, were in self defense. I put several of your attacks under temporary insanity. It took awhile, but you have been cleared of the charges that would put you in the bingo book." Setsuko stared at Tsunade, startled. "Due to Kakashi's encounter with Bensha three years ago, he became a witness to your past." Setsuko sent a sharp glare towards Kakashi before looking back at Tsunade.

"Setsuko-sama, even if you were charged, your birth village should have been the ones to charge you. Since they cannot, Konoha would be next. But that is impossible, seeing how you just saved Konoha you would not be given a proper trail. You are also the head of the Uzumaki clan so we can not put you on trail." Yoko quietly explained to the Uindo Bensha. "You are cleared of all charges because you have redeemed yourself." Tsunade nodded and stood up.

"Setsuko, it is because you have redeeming qualities and that you returned from your own self imposed exile to save Konoha that your own life has been spared. You are now free to live your life. But as a precaution, you are under Konoha law. You are under my law." Setsuko bowed.

"Hai, Tsunade-sama." Tsunade looked to Kakashi.

"Kakashi saved your life when he told me what he witnessed. I suggest you thank him." Tsunade sat back in her chair. "You are dismissed."


"Setsuko . . ." Setsuko looked back at him, angry. She turned around and moved quickly. Kakashi caught her wrist with her hand centimeters from his face.

"How dare you! It was one thing for you to see because of Bensha, that wasn't your fault! But to go tell Tsunade! You dare to ask me to marry you when you do something like that!" Setsuko yelled, her anger rising.

"It was to save your life!" Kakashi snapped.

"Did you think that telling them all about my life would make me happy!" She snarled, blinded by her rage. "Did you think I would want anyone to know all those things that happened!" She yanked her wrist out of Kakashi's grip and stepped back. Kakashi felt his anger fade as he realized what she anger was truly about. Setsuko was ashamed of her past. Ever bit of it. She blamed him for letting someone else know. Even if it had been to save her life, she would refuse to let anyone know all that had happened to her. Because she felt like she was to blame for it all.

"Setsuko . . ." He saw the rage in her eyes. He saw it flooding her system. Kakashi knew that it was bad when she lost herself in blind rage. She threw a punch at him, which he caught and managed to use the momentum to yank her forward and grab her from behind when she stumbled pass him. He held onto her, no matter how hard she tried to break free. "Calm down Setsuko. You're getting too worked up." Setsuko fought to break free, failing to do so.

"Let! Me! Go!"

"NO! Listen to me Setsuko, you may hate me right now but I don't care! I was able to save your life! You may hate your past, you may not want anyone to know about it, but I don't care! Saving you meant more to me than following through with my duty as a leaf-nin." Setsuko stopped fighting to get free. "Setsuko, you died for me once. You broke your heart and left to protect me from your enemies. You broke your own heart again when when fought to save Konoha from Orochimaru and thought I loved Kurenai. Why can't I do anything for you?" Setsuko was silent, not finding an answer to his question. Kakashi turned her around and held her by her upper arms, refusing to let her go. "Why not!" Setsuko looked up at him.

"Because I have sinned. I have deserved all the pain and heartache. You do not." This time Setsuko gently pulled away, breaking a stunned Kakashi's grip.

"Setsuko . . . that's not true." Kakashi pulled her into a hug. Setsuko returned the hug, sorrow overflowing her. After they broke them embrace Setsuko stepped back.

"Am I really worth the pain you go through?" Kakashi smiled.

"I'm only in pain when you're in pain." Setsuko reached out, slowly and hesitantly, before pulling down his mask. Her eyes traveled over his angelic face, memorizing it. After a moment she reached up and kissed him. She pulled back after a few seconds and stared at him.

"Kakashi . . . ."

"Please Setsuko, marry me."