Taisetsuna "Precious" - Version Two

by Aoikami Sarah

Chapter Three

.X.Flashback.X.

The sound of her laughter peeled through the empty streets.

"You are the loudest ninja I have ever met," 15 year old Hatake Kakashi groaned as he followed her to the meeting. This simply elicited more cackling, shimmering laughter from his girlfriend.

"You can be so uptight, sometimes!"

"Oururi, it's five in the morning, at least be respectful to the people trying to sleep."

To this she stuck out her tongue, but obeyed. They walked along to the meeting hall in silence. Kakashi sighed.

"Pfff," Oururi put her hands behind her head. "You sound like Iruka. What's wrong with you?"

"This job…" he mumbled.

"Oh, I'm sure you'll do fine!"

"It's not me I'm worried about…"

Oururi stopped walking and glared at him. She pushed her long, dark blue ponytail off of her shoulder. "If you can be Anbu, so can I!"

"I know you can. But being an assassin isn't like being a Chuunin captain or a Jounin leader. It's going to be… darker."

She laughed again. "You are so damn cute, Kakashi! I'll be fine, you'll be fine, we'll all be fine!"

He watched her skip down the road toward the meeting hall. 'I have a horrible feeling about this…'

.X.X.End Flashback.X.X.

Naruto and Sakura twitched slightly and let of their captives go.

"These kids…" Sakura began.

"…ARE YOURS!" Naruto shouted.

"It seems that way."

Sasuke raised a brow. "It would explain the hair and the fact that they became Chuunin so early. Weren't you six when you made Chuunin, Kakashi-sensei?"

Now Naruto had something else to stammer about. "S-s-s-s-s-SIX?"

"Mmmm…" Kakashi hummed. He stared at each girl in turn. "So to what do I owe this visit? Where's you mother?" he asked, anxiously.

All three glanced at each other and lowered their heads. Hikari started to speak, but her voice was too soft. Kakashi leaned in to hear her better. "Kaasan is…"

All three sobbed quietly, their tears falling on the dusty ground. Yume wiped the back of her hand across her face. "She's dead."

Kakashi remained in the same position. He closed his eye. 'Damn it.' Somewhere in the back of his mind, Oururi's laugh, like a more boisterous version of her daughters', echoed in the empty Leaf Village streets. 'Ten years ago,' he thought, his head bowed, 'I knew one day I would mourn you.'

Kakashi stood up, his eye still closed. "You guys are dismissed."

Wordlessly, the Genin walked slowly back toward the village. Sakura watched Kakashi's back over her shoulder for some time. The little girls were no longer crying, but still trained their eyes on the ground. "That's so sad," she whispered.

Naruto swallowed hard. "'S not so bad," he rubbed at a patch of dried blood on his cheek. "They still got their dad."

Sasuke remained silent as they entered the village proper and split up.