Authors Note: I'm not sure where I'm going to go with this one, but I'll try hard to make it work. I really like this story! So let's go.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but I own Kiana and the my world that I live in. "It's population one, and you can't come"-John Mayer.
Chapter 3: What a Soul Remembers and Eyes Tell
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"Kakashi!" Kiana said excitedly. The name fell off her lips like a kiss and infected each part of her with simultaneous jolts in her stomach.
Kakashi had to look at her for a long while before stepping down onto the steps, still one step up from her, making the height difference very significant. Kiana stared up with him with those grey clouded eyes that had plagued him for fifteen years but that he had blocked from his Jonin mind.
His eyes scanned her face, seeming to memorize every feature that he had become so accustomed to a long time ago. Memorizing, as if she was a dream and would disappear at any moment like she had all those years ago.
But after a few more breaths he realized she was real, solidified and she wasn't going anywhere, yet. Finally he spoke,
"What are you doing here?" it was the first thing that had crossed his mind, but after a moment a thousand more questions flooded his mind and fought for a place upon his mouth to be spoken.
Luckily, she spoke before he had a chance to blurt out any more questions to make the situation awkward.
"I…came back," she shrugged some and smiled as if this wasn't a big deal, as if life had just blown her away for about five minutes to get a cup of Ramen and she had finally re-emerged.
He stared at her again, thinking that answer was less than filling and finally realized the cold night air,
"Come in, come in," he ushered her into the warmth of his home. She smiled and looked around the home, it lacked materialistic things, but you could still tell there was someone inhabiting the home. She clasped her hands together and looked around at the different things that hung from the bare walls until her eyes were drawn to a small table where two pictures sat comfortably and seemed to fit in the home. She walked over them to look more closely at the photos.
She picked the first one up and smiled at the group in the picture, it was Kakashi, Kiana and their teammates beaming from the glass covered frame as if nothing was going to go wrong only a few years from that moment. It was taken in their younger years, only one year after they had been announced to be teammates.
Yet they were beaming with cuts and bruises seen under clothes and on healthy cheeks from a months worth of fresh training. Her smile spread from ear to ear. That was when Kakashi and she had been just friends, very good friends with more in common than they ever believed. They probably still didn't believe that they had so much in common. But the day that that picture was taken also defined a moment in Kiana and Kakashi's close forming relationship, she remembered it well.
Flashback
"Kiana! Will you please hurry up," a boy called from the top of the tree, several cuts adorning his smooth face.
"Yeah, hurry, we're waaaaitiiing little GIRL," another said swinging upside down from the tree branch, a fresh rip to his pants.
The girl grunted with frustration and looked determinedly at the tree.
'Why can't I do this? It's…it's so simple,' she thought to herself.
Her red hair had fallen from her blue ribbon and messy curls hung around her face. She took a running stance and bolted for the tree trunk ahead. Finally when she reached the tree her feet collided and she ran several steps up until crashing back to the grassy ground below.
With a shout she landed on her back, curls interlacing with the poking grass. Laughter was heard from almost every tree top. The trees were laughing at her. Well, that and her teammates were as well.
"Come on, Genu Sensei said we all had to get up the tree before we could eat lunch!" Ibiki shouted from his tree top.
"Yeah, we're hungry," came another distant call from the leaves.
Another disgruntled murmur of hatred spread across her lips before a shadow flooded over her face blocking the bright sunlight that had been plaguing her eyes. She tilted her head back farther and saw a sallow faced boy with his hands in his pockets. He had a slight grin on his face and he walked to her side and nudged her with this ninja-shoe covered foot.
"Not now, I'm wallowing," she said softly more to the leaves above her than the handsome face of a young man only about fourteen.
"Get up," he said without much enthusiasm, nudging her again with his shoe as if the incessant prodding would rouse her from her wallowing squander on the prickly ground. Kiana's eyes seemed to glaze over, grey clouding the pupils. She refused to cry, to show weakness.
"Get up!" he said again, this time more forceful. She obeyed with much resentment and didn't accept the partially gloved hand. Kakashi quickly placed the untouched hand behind his head and sighed saying, "What seems to be the problem?"
"The tree is getting in the way of my climbing," Kiana said disgruntled giving a swift kick to the tree bark and then turning away wincing in pain.
"That's a very common problem," Kakashi concluded as if this was mere child's logic. "Alright, so let's fix this problem. Close your eyes." He commanded glaring at the treetops with one visible eye at the continuous jeers from above.
Once the red headed beauty had closed her eyes he prepared himself to speak when a loud voice from an unidentifiable tree top shouted,
"Are you gonna kiss her!" Kakashi sighed and continued on with his lesson,
"Now focus all of your charka to your feet."
"Uh, already tried that, didn't work," Kiana said a bit discouraged.
"Well try again, concentrate harder," he said. Kiana tried to concentrate, the dense heat around her seemed to dissipate and focus to her feet, the laughter from above dispersed and broke into a thousand pieces resting at her feet only to be sucked in as alternate energy.
When her eyes opened she noticed the gaze of Kakashi upon her with diligence. Her eyes were once again glazed over in utter concentration.
"Now face the tree and reach the branches above," with this last comment he turned and walked off towards another tree walking casually up the bark sidewalk as if it was an extension of land.
Kiana turned and carefully placed a foot upon the barked tree trunk and gazed up towards the leaves, stone faced. Her heart plummeted as her other foot halted her horizontal as she swiftly walked up the tree trunk as the boy had.
She had done it.
Once she reached the highest branch, her gaze returned and she reveled in complete success shouting and stirring the birds of her tree.
"SUCCESS!" she shouted to the sky.
Shut up!" another called from a distant tree.
"Took you long enough!" the next tree over said in an exaggerated tone.
"Can we eat lunch now?" then a high pitch scream emitted the air as a tousle of leaves were sent to the wind and a soft thud of Ibiki landed on the ground.
The remaining treetops laughed, including her.
End Flashback.
Kiana straightened and smiled around the room with much approval. Kakashi remained frozen in his spot by the door, the light flooding over his half revealed face. She turned and smiled to him in that innocent way she always had in their childhood.
"Kiana," Kakashi said slowly as if she had just appeared, "What do you mean, you just came back?" his heart hammered some, the extraordinary Jonin that had captured his heart when they were too young to care was standing before him, not much different but still a mystery.
Kiana's soft hands twitched nervously, "Ahh," she let out a soft noise that couldn't be determined, "I just came back."
"Yes, but where have you been all these years? Why have you just showed up now? Why did you leave in the first place? Was this some sort of test? Or a mission? Did Genu Sensei set you up to do-,"
"Kakashi, stop. I came back, I was gone, and now I'm back." She sighed solemnly. Well of course she'd have to tell him where she'd been the conditions under which she left but tonight was draining on her. Her face flushed some and she looked at him almost weakly. She approached him, but every step she took towards him, he took one back as if everything was a trick.
Her brow arched to him as she said slowly, "What?"
"Why?" he said forcefully arms crossed, face emotionless. She was the enemy, she suspected. She had left and he had crumbled to the ground. How he stood before her she did not know for she was about to collapse herself in seeing him again.
"That's a very broad question," she said placidly placing her hands on her hips.
"You don't give answers anways," he said stiffly. Kiana's head fell downward as she glanced at the woodworked floor.
"Is this going to be a fight?" she said wearily, "Because I really don't have the strength right now Kashi'," she spoke softly.
"Not a fight," his one visible eye narrowed some, "You're gone and then all of the sudden you show up. That's not natural, where have you been?" he paused, "Tell me."
Kiana sighed and collapsed onto the couch putting a hand to her forehead. Better tell him now rather than later. Later could cost her.
"I was sent for by the ANBU," she winced with her words and looked over at him.
"You were seventeen, that society didn't exist to a world so young," he said aggressively not convinced.
"They did to me. I was sent on a suicide mission, it's too bad I didn't die," she yawned some and placed her hand behind her head. "That's what they had counted on, then that nine tailed fox demon appeared in the Leaf Village almost a year after I left and they sent me to patrol the perimeters of several hidden countries- Kashi I don't wan to explain tonight, I don't think I'm making much sense to you," she sighed.
"You know about Naruto?" he inquired.
"That's his name?" her grey eyes faded and the light around her dimmed. Kakashi walked over carefully and crouched down in front of her looking up into her face.
"You left for different reasons, one of your own accord didn't you?" he breathed. She reached out and put a hand over his hair and stroked the spiky locks tenderly.
"Yes," she whispered her eyes not all there. He leaned up to her gently and stroked her face. Anger didn't run deep inside of him with her, not since the day she left him. Yet she was real before him now, with the same heat placed on her lips. He felt his mask come down some revealing softened lips hidden from sunlight and damage.
"Kakashi," she whispered almost to the dimmed room around her. He sighed and his lips met hers and bridged the 15 years apart.
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Authors Note: Filler? Maybe, it's taken me awhile to write this but I hope it was worth it. I personally enjoy the flashbacks and you might as well get used to it because you will be seeing more of them.
Review if there's time! K Thanks! Xo- softeyesxX