Thanks to all my reviewers! I love you! ♥

I don't own naruto. But I do own my oc, kanakyo yomei. (consider this the declaimer for the previous chapters, as I recently noticed none of them have disclaimers. Woops)

THROUGH BLIND EYES

Chapter 3- Sakura Trees

I woke up to someone prodding me.

"Stop…" I groaned, pulling the covers over my head.

"Wake up Yomei!"

"No…" I didn't really recognize the voice. Familiar as it was, I couldn't put a name with it.

The person ripped the covers back.

"Come on! Get up, or no breakfast for you!" He grabbed my wrists and pulled me right onto the floor, much to my displeasure. I climbed to my feet grumpily.

"I hate you…dude." I used dude, since I couldn't remember the name.

"Don't tell me you forgot who I am already."

"Um…yes?"

"It's Genma!"

I clapped my hands together in revelation.

"Oh yeah! But that doesn't stop me from hating you any less." I yawned, rubbing sleep from my eyes.

Genma sighed. "Well too bad for you." He grabbed my hand. "Come on, breakfast is downstairs."

I allowed him to lead me out of my room and down a hallway, using him as a crutch. The smell of sausage was wafting towards me.

I groaned as waves of hunger ripped through me.

"Hey, are you all right?" Genma wrapped an arm around me for support.

"Let's just go get food."

Slightly awkwardly, considering I was putting all of my weight on him so I wouldn't fall over from the pain in my ankle; we made it down the stairs.

"Oh, Genma-san, where'd she come from!" A mans voice.

"Can it, Nagi." He sat me in a chair, and I heard the man called Nagi leave.

"Need help eating, Yomei-chan?"

I waved Genma off. "Just put it in my lap" He did and I started eating ravenously.

"How is she, Genma?" Tsunade's voice said. Whoa, I didn't know she was there too! When the hell did she get here?

"Tsunade-sama!" Genma sounded just as shocked as I was, which meant she had probably just teleported here.

"Yeah, yeah, it's me. Hold out your ankle please Yomei." I did and continued to eat as Tsunade pulled off my sandal, which I hadn't bothered to remove yesterday.

"Ah good, the swelling had gone down a bit! I can heal this back to normal now." Something cold seemed to be seeping into my foot.

"Yikes, that's cold!" I gasped, fighting the instinct to pull my foot back.

"Relax, would you?" Abruptly the cold stopped. "Now try to stand."

Tsunade was lucky I had finished my food already, or I wouldn't have moved. As it were, I stood there like an idiot for a moment before jumping up and down a few times.

"Pain is all gone." I said. Wow, this lady was a really good medic Nin. Usually it took more than a couple seconds for a healing jutsu to take affect. No wonder she was Hokage.

"Good! Then I will be going. You know the plan, right Genma?" She didn't wait for an answer. "I'll send Kakashi right over."

"Sure."

There was a silence, and then Tsunade spoke again, though this time to me.

"I hear there was a complication yesterday. Still don't want him to know that you're blind? It might help make this whole situation a hell of a lot easier."

"Yes, I'm positive." I reassured her.

"Very well." Tsunade said, annoyed. I sensed her teleport out of the immediate area.

"So…." Genma started, a hint of amusement present in his voice. "You don't want Kakashi to know that you're blind, eh? What, afraid he wont go for a blind girl? Don't worry, he's not that shallow. I think." He said, his voice thick with mirth, which then turned to all out laughing.

I scowled at him. At least, I hoped I was scowling at him.

"So…what is this plan?" I asked, as a way to silence his gales of laughter.

"Me'n Kakashi are going to take you around the village." I could tell there was more to it than that, but I didn't push it. It was probably a ploy to try and casually pry information out of me.

Well, I would tell them all what the Organization planning, but not yet. I had to decide what I was going to do before I spilled the beans.

"Okay, so where are we going to meet Kakashi?"

"He's coming here, didn't you hear Tsunade? Actually, he should be here any minute. The man's always late, so Hokage told him to be here at 7 o'clock, which was…two hours ago."

I snorted into my orange juice. So he thinks he's two hours late, but he's actually right on time! Haha, what a sucker!

Just then there was a blast of chilly air from a door opening.

"Sorry I'm late, Yomei-chan." Kakashi's voice came from right by the door. But wait…Genma was coming too, wasn't he? So why'd he only address me…? "I was ambushed by a rabid cat…"

"You are such a liar." Genma said.

Kakashi laughed sheepishly.

All I wanted to say was 'Well, it's time to go'. Simple sentence, right? Except that all that came out of my mouth was air, and no sound! Grr! What was up with me lately? Why couldn't I speak when Kakashi was around! I sighed, and hid my embarrassment by taking hold of what I sincerely hoped was Genma's hand.

Silence.

"Um…Yomei-chan…I'm, um, flattered-" I let go with horror. That was Kakashi's voice! Oh shit! My cheeks were hot with embarrassment. This left me in quite a predicament. On the one hand, I needed a guiding hand, because the senses I frequently relied on to get me around were plugged;except nowIcouldn't go grab Genma's hand instead, or Kakashi might figure out that I was blind…and I just wasn't ready for that yet…

Someone intertwined their fingers with mine. The same hand I had just stupidly grabbed. Kakashi's hand. Wait, that could only mean one thing…did he think that I…liked him? The thought made my blood run cold with dread, but my face flamed even hotter, if that was possible. I had only just met him!

"Oh." Genma said, a tone of superiority in his voice; a tone I definitely did not like. "I know what this is." He patted me on the head.

"And what's that, Genma?" We were walking now, Kakashi on my right side, and Genma on my left. Kakashi had asked the question, and, dreading the answer,I suddenly felt sick to my stomach. Was Genma going to tell Kakashi that I was blind?

"Yomei is…" That's it; no way was I going to let him say it. I shook my hand free of Kakashi's and tackled Genma right to the ground, pinning him there by way of my knee in his chest. Genma was laughing, and there was silence from Kakashi.

"That was quite irrational, Yomei. All I was going to say was that you are…shy…of Kakashi!" Genma said, with some trouble, because I was desperately trying to cover up his mouth. Well, it could be worse. At least he hadn't said I was blind. But still…why'd he have to say that at all? I felt my face burning…again; and it hadn't even completely cooled from when I had grabbed the wrong hand!

"Shy of me?" Kakashi's voice was skeptical, as it should be. After all, I had just, of my own accord, been walking hand in hand with him. Albeit by mistake, but he didn't know that. I took special care to slyly knee Genma in the stomach as I stood and brushed myself off.

What had I done to deserve this? This whole thing never would have happened if the stupid Sakura trees didn't completely clog my sense of smell with their scents; or if the hustle and bustle of village life didn't completely wreck my hearing!

When I decided to flee here, I should have factored all of that in. I was snapped unpleasantly back to reality as Kakashi's hand landed on my shoulder, sending a shiver through my back.

"Are you really shy of me?" I scowled and brushed his hand off my shoulder. Damn Genma.

"Well, we don't have all year to figure this out. Come on, you two, it's time to keep moving!" Genma looped his arm through mine and steered me around a corner. It was very crafty of him, helping me to navigate without giving anything away to Kakashi…

KAKASHI POV

When she took his hand, his heart seemed to have stopped beating. He didn't know why, but when she had blushed and let go, all he wanted was to get her slender hand back in his. Without even meaning to, he had reached out and took it, and that frightened him; especially when he couldn't make himself let go. To his absolute horror, the fact that she didn't seem to want him to let go either had thrilled him. Absolutely thrilled him!

What frightened him even more than all of the above was when Genma had taken her arm, a flare of emotion ripped through him. An emotion he had never felt before: jealousy. It terrified him. A ninja was not supposed to feel these things! What was wrong with him!

YOMEI POV

"So, Yomei, what in our wonderful village would you like to go to first?" I noticed that he didn't use the word 'see' and wondered if he avoided it on purpose. Either way I appreciated it.

Reaching up deftly, I caught a petal of a Sakura blossom that had been floating through the air. Unbidden, a smile lit up my face. Hey, the simple things in life, right?

"Sakura trees?" Kakashi asked "Do you want to see more of them?" I flinched at the word 'see' but I don't think he noticed. "I know a place where they grow…and all together, in a sort of garden."

I nodded. Yeah, that sounded good…a cluster of those trees all together…how wonderful…how blissfully wonderful…was I starting to get obsessed with cherry trees? Probably.

"Right then, so you two follow me." Genma led me after Kakashi.

We must have walked for at least an hour before Genma finally stopped.

"Whoa…" Genma said.

I hesitantly took a sniff…and was almost overwhelmed by the smell. I swayed on my feet.

"Yomei?" Kakashi's voice. I felt his arm wrap loosely around my waist.

"Are you all right?" He asked, and I could actually hear concern in his voice. For some reason, that made feelextremely warm, despite the cold air. His hair must be slightly on the long side, because I could feel the tips of it brush on my cheek. Wait…wouldn't that mean he was leaning over me? AK! I felt heat in my cheeks.

"What's the matter Yomei-chan? Why are you blushing?" Genma said, with a chuckle.

I pushed away from Kakashi and ran for it, cheeks now burning so hot I wondered if my head was actually on fire. Hell, I think I've blushed more today than I have in my entire life.

"Hey Yomei, watch out!" Genma shouted.

On pure instinct, I jumped to my left. What was the danger! I strained my ears; trying to sense what is was I was watching out for.

"W-water!" I said to myself with horror. Where though? Left, right, back? It sucked not being able to see sometimes.

"C'mon, Yomei, didn't you notice the cliff?" Kakashi said, touching my hand.

Cliff? What cliff? Oh wait, I got it. The water was from a river running at the bottom of the cliff.

"Well, come on." He tugged on my hand. Man, this guy was starting to get on my nerves! What the hell was his problem? He was making me feel like a bloody liability, and that ticked me off! To top it all off, he was making me blush as easily as an infatuated teenager, which really pissed me off!

I pushed his hand away, but the force propelled me backward. On a normal day, I would have found my footing again with ease, but this was not a normal day. My senses were incredibly screwed up.

I tripped over Kakashi's foot and fell…into air.

"YOMEI!" Both the voices of Genma and Kakashi rang after me, but they were coming from above me now. Oh shit. That means I fell off the cliff! Damn senses! Damn Kakashi!

I hit very cold water headfirst; piercing the fast movingcurrent and slamming my head on the bottom. My consciousness lasted just long enough to know I was being swept downstream before I blacked out.

WHOA! I updated! Don't kill me for taking so long….I hate typing, so it usually takes me a while to update. And then I have to edit…. Well you get the picture.

Anyway, I really like this chapter. It's actually a lot different that what I originally had written, but I like this version so much better. Leave a review please! Pretty please! See you next time,

Fade