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Legacy
kakashi(underscore)lvr(at)yahoo(dot)com
doesn't allow underlines/underscores for some awful reason.

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Chapter 4

Kie breathed in deeply as she was escorted out of the small tavern. She turned her head slightly, toward the sound of the inn keeper thanking them for their patronage. She smiled to herself, feeling the effects of sharing 10 bottles of sake between the four of them.

"I haven't stayed out this late in a long time," Genma noted cheerily. "Kie, did you need help getting back to your apartment?"

"I'll take her back," Kakashi stated as he turned to him. "You should be getting back to the hospital before Takai-sensei comes hunting for you."

Genma rolled his eyes but turned to head down the path that would lead him back to the hospital. "That guy is too caught up in his work," he said. "But I must endure otherwise, he'll get the notion to take me off active duty for an indeterminate amount of time."

"Goodnight, Genma," Kie offered with a smile toward him.

Kakashi watched as Genma and Asuma head down the paved path. He breathed in deeply before stepping close to Kie, lightly touching her elbow, then taking her by the arm.

"If you ever come here at night, this is the fastest way back to the aparment, even if you are drunk," he offered.

Kie smiled as he lead the way, mostly in silence. She navigated the roads easily enough and then climbed the stairs that would take her to her apartment. Standing before her door, she slowly pulled out the key that would open it, and inserted it into the lock. She then turned to him, and smiled.

"I had a great time tonite," she said. "I've never felt so welcomed in a different place, like this before. Most just tend to shy away from me because they think that I'd be offended if they offered help."

"The unknown is what makes them cautious," Kakashi offered. "You are stranger, and a shinobi at that."

She nodded. "Can't be helped?"

"Once they get to know you, they will treat you as you should be treated," Kakashi said. "Kie, there's been something I've been meaning..."

She raised her hand in front of her, taking a step toward him as she slowly removed the gloves she wore.

"May I?" she asked.

"You're not going to feel much."

"Just to satisfy my curiosity."

He watched as her hands slowly reached toward him. Her left hand touched the exposed his face, her fingers lightly rested on four points; her index at his temple, her middle just to the side of his eye, ring edging at the mask he wore and her little finger just to the side of his cloth covered mouth. She did the same with her right hand, though her first two fingers rested against the cold metal of the hitai-ate he wore.

He watched as a smile danced on her features, seemingly amused by what her touch was allowing her to discover. Her fingers lingered a moment at their points, but reacted when her fingers tried to push under the forehead protector that covered his left eye. Grabbing her hand, she breathed in deeply.

"Please?" she asked in a whisper. "I will not remove it."

Releasing her wrist, she slipped two fingers under the protector, closing his eye against them, marveling at how cool they felt against his skin. As he opened his exposed eye, he watched as her expression changed, then her lips parted as she breathed in through her mouth, almost surprised by what she was feeling.

Slowly slipping her fingers free, her left hand then dance along his face as she light brushed her fingers over his features, tracing teh line of his nose and then linger slightly over his cloth covered mouth.

She then leaned into him, breathing in as her hand then traveled over the line of his jaw.

"Very similar," she whispered, her breath dancing over his mask.

The feeling of her hands leaving his face suddenly made him aware of the chakra engery around him. Where her fingers had felt cool against his skin, now seemed hot. He then realized that he could suddenly sense her presence before him. The touch had been explorative, though at the same time, almost sensual, but she had used her Chakra to do so.

As she stepped back from him, a smile danced upon her face as she slowly put her gloves back on.

"Yes, very similar," she echoed what she had just said earlier.

Now, the chakra that he had felt was gone, and he could no longer feel her presence.

"Similar? he asked.

"You're very much your father's son," she stated. "I owe your father for saving my life all those years ago. He could not help those who were in the caravan, but his kindness to risk his life to save a baby, on the verge of death; that is something I know that I can never repay. If it's all the same, Hatake-san, he is an honored hero in my life. I have to apologize for not being forthcoming with all the details of my life, but I've learned that I have to be guarded with what I tell people."

As she turned away from him, he reached out and grabbed her hand, holding it as he placed his own gloved one against it.

"You control your chakra through your hands?" he asked.

Slowly nodding she felt him trace her fingers.

"It's the way I am able to see," she said. "Touching, feeling; the way I can envision what is before me. Through training, I was able to feel what was around me, without touching through the use of my own Chakra energy. Without the gloves, my senses would be on overload."

"Then you've seen more than most people, Kie," he said.

She nodded as she leaned against the door of her apartment, her hand going to her back to grab ahold of the doorknob.

"I've wanted to meet you for a long while now," she said quietly. "Your father visited one more time when I was four, to deliver news to my father, of which, I didn't get to hear. However, he did speak to me one last time, telling me of his son, you, and how he was proud of the fact that you were following in his footsteps. He wished for the same for me."

She then tilted her head down for a moment. "He wished the same for me," she repeated. "It could only mean that your father found out who I really was; who my family was that was killed in the attack. For whatever reason he had to protect me from whatever harm that was brought against me, he had the answers that I was looking for.

"Im not entirely sure why I was summoned here by your Hokage, but its more than likely due to what your father had done for me," she said. "Maybe soon, we will find out what that is."

Kakashi slowly nodded as he shoved his hands into his pockets. "Get some rest," he offered. "I'll meet you at the training grounds tomorrow."

Kie nodded, knowing that this would be the end of their conversation tonite. She slowly opened the door behind her, stepping in, she closed the door, leaning her head against it, as she locked it.

She breathed in deeply, still sensing his presence on the opposite side as she let her hand slowly go to the front of her shirt, and reach in pulling out the small pendant she wore.

'Keep this safe, Kie,' she could remember hearing Sakumo's voice. 'You may not understand what it means, but remember; memorize this symbol, as it will be the key to finding out where you came from.'

She fingered the small pendant before taking it off and placing it on the kitchen table to her side.

"Sakumo, I already know," she said to herself. With that she headed toward her bedroom and disappeared into it.

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It had been three days since that night, and Kakashi found himself wondering more about the young woman. However, a small mission he took kept him away from Konoha, while the Chuunin Exams went into their 2nd task. He was not required to take Sakura on his latest mission, so this gave the young Chuunin the opportunity to spend some time with Kie, to acquaint her with Konoha's Hospital.

"I have another mission for you," Tsunade stated as he stood before her, on return from his latest mission. "This time, I want you to take Sakura and Kie along."

"What kind of mission?" he asked simply.

"Delivery of a special document to the Hidden Village of Grass," she said. "C-Class. Simple. You should be back in a couple of days. I want you to watch Kie to see how she fares."

"When do we leave?"

"Tomorrow afternoon," she said. "I'll also be assigning Neji to join your team for this mission."

"Is there something I should know about?"

Tsunade quickly shook her head, crossing her arms as she stood. "I just want another opinion," she said.

"Or do you want him to study how she controls her chakra?"

Tsunade met his dark gaze and breathed in deeply. "So you know about her ability to hide her presence from others?"

"Did you honestly think that would not be noticed by me?"

Tsunade smiled a bit. "No, I should have realized that it wouldn't," she said. "Yes, I want Neji along to see if he can sense anything of her that would require her to keep her presence hidden. And I want to confirm my suspicions about her."

"Suspicions?"

"Ones, that I cannot disclose at this point in time," she said.

Kakashi looked at her before shoving his hands into his pockets. "If there is something that you are keeping from me; my team, and if something happens, I will hold you responsible."

Tsunade nodded. "I will fully accept any responsibility should anything happen, outside the scope of this mission," she said simply.

Breathing in deeply, he then turned heading toward the door of the small office they were in. "If this has anything to do with my father, Hokage-sama, it would be wise to let me know what is going on," he said turning to her one last time.

"You know as much as I do, Kakashi," she said. "That she was found by your father, and brought to Rain where she was raised."

With a nod, Kakashi then turned and left the office, closing the door behind him. Tsunade let out her breath as she seated herself at her desk.

"Im sorry Kakashi, you will have to get your answers from her."

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A quick visit to the hospital and Kakashi was surprised that both Sakura and Kie were not there. He then made his way through the town, quieter than normal since the 2nd part of the Chuunin Exam had started that day. That would mean a majority of all the visiting and resident genins were now in the Forest of Death, making their way toward the center to deliver their scrolls.

Inquiring around, he made his way toward the small training ground just at the edge of the village; the same place he had brought his small genin team to do the bells test. As he neared the small clearing, he could feel a strong presence of chakra energy.

Peering into the area, he watched as Sakura stood in the clearing, with Kie standing next to her. The older woman was standing still in a stance and Sakura tried to imitate her positioning. The woman then moved from Sakura's side and stood behind her, placing a hand at the small of young girl's back. He could see Kie smiling as she placed her hand on Sakura's shoulder and slowly pushed the hand on the girl's back, but Saklura then lost her balance.

Sakura landed on the cool grass with a loud yelp then the clearing filled with the two women's laughters. It was at this time he decided to make his presence known as he walked toward them, as they came to kneel on the grass, and Sakura began pulling grass blades from her hair.

"With a little more practice, you'll be able to control the way your Chakra flows through different areas," Kie said as she slowly got to her feet. "Its almost the same as your tree climbing exercises, but you will focus your energy instead on areas that are more vital."

"Is that the kind of skills they taught you at Rain?"

Sakura looked up to see her Kakashi coming toward them. "Kakashi-sensei!" she exclaimed as she quickly stood, dusting herself off in the process. "Im so sorry, we were supposed to meet with Tsunade-sama, weren't we?"

Kakashi smiled under his mask, raising his hand as he looked down at the young girl. "It's alright, Sakura-chan," he said. "You didn't have to be there today, but we did receive a mission that we must complete."

"A mission?" Sakura asked. "But Naruto is still taking the Chuunin exam."

Kakashi slowly nodded. "Neji will be joining us," he said then looked where Kie was standing. "And this time, Kie will be going on her first mission with us."

Sakura's eyes widened as she turned to the young woman who stood beside her. Reaching for her staff, Kie smiled and breathed in deeply as she leaned on it.

"Looks to me that the Hokage wants to see if I was worth coming here for?" she asked. "What kind of mission?"

"Delivery of an important document to Grass," he said.

"And she couldn't have one of the Grass Jounins do this for her?" Kie asked, a hint of mocking touched her voice. "After all, there are four Grass teams here for the Chuunin exams."

At the mention of the Grass teams, Kakashi found himself thinking back to the three Grass Jounins he had seen at the inn the couple of nights ago. He wasn't able to find out more about the three who were there, but the feeling that they were up to no good, was something he couldn't shake.

"Im sure the documents in question are needed to handled by us," Kakashi offered. "We leave a little after noon tomorrow. Pack lightly. We will only be gone a couple of days. In time to see Naruto and his team finish the 2nd part of the Chuunin exam."

Sakura slowly nodded then turned toward Kie. "I thank you for your time today, Hashiba-sensei," Sakura stated. "I have some things that I need to take care of before we leave on our mission tomorrow. If you will excuse me."

Kie slowly nodded as she offered her goodbye to Kakashi then walked off toward the village. She then reached into the pouch she wore, taking out her gloves and slowly put them on.

"Do you think its wise to teach her that technique?"

Kakashi's question caught her by surprise, but she only smiled to herself. "As a medic-nin, Im surprised its not a technique that is taught to them," she said as she tilted her head in his direction. "The Chakra Shield is useful to the medic-nins both in battle and in healing."

"But to someone who can't control their chakra energy well enough, you could put that person into danger," Kakashi mentioned. "Sakura has good control, but she is still far too inexperienced to be using jutsus of that nature."

Kie nodded. "That is why Im working with her," she said. "I can control her chakra usage while she learns it."

Kakashi could only stare at her. He had only seen the Chakra Shield used once, while he was serving as an ANBU, and the poor jounin who attempted it, nearly killed himself. Yet he was able to witness this woman use it as if she had been the one who created the technique.

"Please run any advanced jutsus by me before attempting to teach them to my students," Kakashi said simply.

Kie turned to him, noting the slight anger hinted in his voice.

"Its a techinique that the Hokage has asked me to teach her, Hatake-san," she said sternly. "If you are against it, then take it up with her."

Without another word, the young woman turned, using her staff as she made her way back to the village. Kakashi could only let out a sigh as he watched her leave.

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The next morning, Sakura had arrived at the main gate to Konoha, and resting there as she went through her pack one last time, making sure she had what she needed for the trip. Not long after, Kie appeared before her, followed by Neji.

"I just received the documents from the Hokage," the young Hyuuga stated. He packed away the scroll he had in his hand into the small pack he carried. "Where is your sensei?"

"Here."

The three turned just as Kakashi approached them, his pack on his back as he came to stand before them.

"This should be a straightforward mission," he stated. "Sakura, Neji, you both take the lead; Kie will follow behind and I will take the back."

"Taka will help me through the forest," Kie stated. "He will also alert us to anything unusual."

"Keep no more than 20 paces from each other," Kakashi added. "We will travel for 4 hours then stop to rest, then continue on until we reach the borders. There is a small creek that we can use to camp at and continue in the morning."

Sakura and Neji nodded. With one last instruction from Kakashi, Kie took out the small device she used to communicate with Taka and quickly blew into it. Two long whistles followed by a short one, the falcon flew above them and headed into the forest beyond the gate.

"Let's go."

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The travel was mostly done in silence. Taka, Kie's falcon, made no signal to say that there were any trouble ahead of them. And as Kakashi had stated, after four hours of traveling, the team took a small break in a clearing, refilling their water cannisters at a nearby stream. Kakashi was perched on a nearby branch, looking across the tree tops and forest canopy to guage the distance they will travel until the sun set in a couple of hours. He then watched his team gather together, as Kie handed Sakura a small pouch.

"What is this?" the young girl asked as Kie slipped on her backpack.

"Its a type of jerky," Kie stated as she placed her staff back into its holster on her back. "Try it."

Sakura eyed it a bit and took a sniff. She winced at the odor it eminated then looked toward Kie.

"Yes, its not the most pleasant of smells, but its delicious." the woman stated with a smile.

Sakura slowly nodded as she took a bite from the jerky. Kie could only smile to herself, imagining the expression the young girl was probably going through after that first bite.

"Hmm, Hashiba-sensei, what is in this?"

Kie kneeled down the girl and smiled. "It's a special herb and rabbit meat combination I developed for our wounded and sick while I served at Rain," she said. "Its to help keep the patient's strength up, and a couple of these strips can be a meal replacement."

Sakura slowly nodded as she placed the jerky in her mouth and chewed on it, while slipping on her own pack. Reaching for the dried piece of meat, she looked at it once more before eating the rest of it.

"Is this one of the items that the Hokage would like you to share with us?" Sakura asked.

Kie slowly nodded as she stood. "One of the many things Im required to share," Kie stated. "Im surprised that none of your medic-nins developed something similar."

Sakura slowly nodded. "We have supplements that we give out to the different teams, but nothing on the sort of this level," she said. "Rabbit meat?"

Kie nodded. "They are abundant in Rain, and Im sure in these parts as well."

"It is delicious, Hashiba-sensei," Sakura stated. "But the smell.."

Kie smiled. "Yes, I know," she said. "Its the herbs that give it that smell."

Kakashi had dropped down to the forest floor, picking up his pack as Neji came to join him. "Four Grass Jounins are about 2 hours behind us," the young Hyuuga noted. "They aren't even bothering to disguise that they are following us."

Kakashi nodded. "I've set up some traps along the way, to throw their tracking off," Kakashi stated. "But, they will be quick to figure out that they are heading in the wrong direction soon after. We'll have to put as much distance between us tonite."

Neji nodded. "So, the Hokage was right to suspect that we may be followed."

"She told you as much?"

Neji nodded. "And that Kie is not at all that I would expect her to be," he added.

Kakashi turned to him. "What do you see?"

"In all honesty, sensei, absolutely nothing."

"What?"

Kakashi stared at the white-eyed chuunin beside him, seeing that he was using his special Byakugan to study the woman.

"Whatever technique she is using to hide her flow of Chakra, its even defeating my Byakugan," Neji stated. "Its as if she doesn't exist."

"Impossible," Kakashi noted to himself. He then looked at Neji. "What is it?"

"I remember my uncle stating that there was a technique, used a long time ago, that allowed a shinobi to hide their flow of chakra for long periods of time," he said as he returned his eyes to normal, facing the older jounin. "That only one with a special advanced bloodline would allow someone to control their chakra so well, that even our advanced bloodline couldn't detect them."

"Advanced Bloodline?"

Neji then shook his head as he closed his eyes. "However, its impossible, as you said," he commented. "Because even an advanced bloodline user would be susceptible to it weakening them."

"Of which we haven't seen in Kie," Kakashi stated.

"I haven't detected any fatigue within her," the young hyuuga responded as he dropped to one knee, watching as Kie helped Sakura with her pack. "This is no simple shinobi, sensei. I fear, that whoever she is, she is definitely an elite shinobi."

"Elite?" Kakashi asked as he crossed his arms. "But her Chuunin exam scores were, poor. She isn't a strong shinobi, and not even one of the best medic nins from her own village."

Neji looked up at him. "All the more reason to hide behind," he stated. "Being average to poor in her daily duties, the best way to disguise your real skills. Using it as a cover so that she doesn't attract attention."

Kakashi slowly nodded. It was all beginning to make sense. Tsunade must have known about her skills, but if Kie was from an advanced bloodline, who was she in reality? Was that the reason why she was left for dead as a baby? Were the hired ninja assassins after her bloodline?

"We should leave soon, the Grass Jounins are closing in," Neji stated as he stood.

Kakashi nodded. "We'll take the norther route to the borders," Kakashi stated. He then pulled out a scroll from his vest pocket and quickly summoned one of his dogs, Pakkun.

"We need you to provide us with a diversion, Pakkun," Kakashi stated as he kneeled down to the little dog. "We need to have the jounins following us, think we took another route to the Grass Village."

The little pug dog sniffed the air for a moment. "I sense four of them," the hound stated. "It will take a while, but I believe I can divert them for a half day's travel."

Kakashi nodded. "Give us at least a 6 hour lead," he said.

"Will do."

With that the small pug jumped into the branches of the nearest tree. Kakashi then signaled to Kie and Sakura that they were leaving, and without a moment's hesitation, the four left the small clearing.

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Night quickly fell on the four, but Kakashi wanted them to travel a little longer to put as much distance between them and the four jounins following behind them. With a signal from Neji, he knew that they had at least enough time and distance to warrant them to settle down for the evening.

Kakashi chose an area that was near a stream, and Sakura was quick to get a small fire started. Neji took a point to scan the area and when he reported back that they were safe, Kakashi went off to get some food.

The evening was spent mostly in silence, with small talk between the four. Sakura was first to fall asleep, and Kie moved to keep her comfortable. Neji volunteered to take first watch of the evening and Kakashi, kept to the outskirts of the small encampment.

It was some time later, that he found himself waking from a light slumber, to the sound of a persistent humming. It was a soft, barely audible, but it was enough to notice. The small fire had burned itself out, and Neji had taken this opportunity to get some sleep. He quickly looked around and saw that Kie was missing.

Quickly getting to his feet, he looked around to see where she had gone. The camp was not disturbed, so he knew that she must have went out on her own.

Suddenly, a nut flew toward him, and he quickly caught it in his gloved hand. Looking in the direction of where it came from, he saw that Kie's falcon, Taka, was perched in a nearby tree. The bird eyed him for a moment before crouching a bit and spread its wings to turn itself around. Throwing the nut to the ground, he quickly jumped into the tree near the bird and watched as it flew toward another tree.

"So where are you going?"

Looking back, he felt that Sakura and Neji were safe enough and quickly followed the small bird. He didn't fly far as Kakashi came to kneel on a tree not far from the small camp as the bird landed on the branch next to him. Then in a flutter, Taka flew into the forest canopy above and before Kakashi could react, someone had pushed him up against the tree and a dark green cloak came around him.

"Wha--"

Before he could say a word, a hand came to cover his cloth covered mouth.

"Thirty yards," the whisper came.

"Kie?" he whispered.

He felt her nod and she then opened the cloak a bit. "To your right, fifth tree, the branch highest on it."

Kakashi slowly let his gaze follow the direction she had mentioned. He breathed in deeply when he saw the glint of silver reflect from the moonlight above. He understood.

"They are not from Grass," Kie stated in a whisper as she pushed herself up against him, reaching for something on her back. "They wear the protectors of Grass, but they are not Grass jounins."

"How do you know?"

"I can smell them," she said as she slowly turned her back toward him. "Are Neji and Sakura asleep?"

Kakashi nodded. "What are you doing?"

"Its just two of them," she said. "I dont know if the other two followed the path your summoned dog took, but they somehow detected our path here as well."

"You knew about them?"

She nodded. "Since we left," she said. "We can't have them on our tales for the rest of this mission, so we'll have to take that chance that the other 2 are not nearby."

Kakashi could only breathe in deeply.

"They're after me, that much is certain," Kie stated. "I'll serve as bait, that will lure at least one of them, out. You go after the second one."

"Kie, why are they after you?"

She breathed in deeply as she slowly removed the gloves she wore. "For that, your father is the only who knew."

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TBC

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Author's Note:
Sorry it took so long to update. A little bit of "real life" got in the way. And Halloween is coming up, and I had to design and make four costumes this year (me, and my three friends). Naruto group (Im going as Shikamaru, my roommate is Jiraiya and my other two friends are going as ZAbusa (pre and during bridge arc). Busy Busy Busy. Enjoy.