A/N: Hi!
Sorry that it took me so long for updating. I honestly don't know why it took me so much time to write this.
Chapter eight
Anko found herself back in Grass Country. Although the landscape ad changed it was definitely the place where she had been – what was it, a week? – a week ago. In front of her there was a smaller, maybe ten-year-old Anko standing. A small allusion that she was just dreaming. Her smaller version had the back to her and now she went into the cave. Anko followed her. The two went deeper and deeper down into the lingering darkness until they reached a dead end. Anko wondered whether she (the smaller she) knew where she was going. But the little Anko knew it because she knelt down, moved some stones and suddenly, with a dull rumbling, the stonewall in front of them slipped to the side revealing another yet again secret part of the cave. Her smaller version went into that new room and the older one followed her but froze right in her movement when she saw a shadow that looked pretty much like Orochimaru, lurking in a corner. Anko blinked. Maybe it was just a normal shadow. It became pretty cold in that cave. And an icy wind was blowing. Wait, wind – inside a cave? When the wind blew straight into her face she closed her eyes and then blinked, as the dark cave wasn't that dark anymore, in fact it turned out to be a rather white hospital room.
Anko shivered. Looking to the right she immediately knew why: the night had already fallen but the window was still open. Quickly she jumped out of her bed and went over to the window closing it. Then she turned around to go back but stopped. She just realized that Kakashi was still sitting in a chair next to her bed, sleeping, with his book still lying on his lap. Smiling she took a blanket from an empty bed and carefully laid it around him without waking her teammate. Then she climbed back into her bed falling asleep only a moment later.
Xxx
When she woke up the next morning Kakashi was gone, the blanket lying neatly folded on the chair. She stretched yawning before jumping out of the bed and getting dressed. Surely the nurses wouldn't be happy that Anko got up already but she never really had cared about things like that and since she was feeling all right anyway there was no reason for her to stay in bed. Also she had a strange feeling about the dream so she wanted to check whether it really just had been a dream or whether it had been a memory. Not bothering to leave a message that she was gone the special-jounin left immediately heading for Tsunade's office. Anko curtly knocked at the door before entering.
Godaime was currently doing some paperwork – most likely because Shizune, who was standing behind her, had forced her to. The Hokage looked up frowning.
"I thought you would be staying in the hospital for some more days, Anko." Godaime stated.
"Well I can't stay long on one place..." Anko answered with a sheepish smile.
"But you came for another reason, didn't you?" Tsunade asked folding her hands.
"Actually yes, I came here to ask for permission to go back to Akuma's hideout once more."
"There had already been an ANBU-squad investigating this so why would you want to go there?"
Anko scratched her head. "I've just remembered something but I'm not quite sure about it so I would like to go and check it."
Godaime sighed. "Fine, but I won't let you go alone and you'll inform me of whatever you've found out as soon as you're back, understood?"
Anko nodded.
"So with whom do you want to go?"
A surprising question coming from Tsunade and Anko was even more surprised when she heard herself answering.
"Kakashi."
Never thought she would ever ask to be teamed up with that pervert… although he was just reading perverted books and not doing things like Jiraiya so he wasn't a real pervert. Wait, what was she thinking? Hastily she thanked Godaime and left to look for her teammate.
He wasn't in his apartment. He was neither in the hospital nor at the bridge. Actually he was nowhere to be found. But then an idea came to her mind. Quickly she changed the direction and jumped over the roofs heading for a certain place. She had been right. There he was standing at the memorial stone. It was kinda funny. She was standing right where she had always been standing when she had watched him on those rainy days but today – although the sky was cloudy – it wasn't raining. Anko hesitated. She knew that she just had to go over to Kakashi, tell him of their new mission – but still she couldn't. Pretty stupid.
Why was it that she couldn't go? She shook her head. There was no reason. Shaking her head again slightly she slowly went to Kakashi stopping next to the copy-ninja.
"Already out of the hospital?" He asked turning his head into her direction.
Anko nodded.
"Well that's good to hear." Kakashi smiled warmly at her and although it was still somehow sad it was at least a real smile.
"This place is kinda depressing." He said with a shrug. "Shall we go and eat breakfast together, my treat?" He asked and Anko happily accepted his offer. They went to the Ichiraku because Kakashi didn't like sweets and Anko didn't like bitter or spicy foods. After they both got their bowls Anko took two chopsticks and started eating. The next time she glanced at Kakashi he was already done eating, his mask hiding the lower half of his face. Anko wondered whether he had been born with that mask. But before asking him that question she remembered that she still had to tell him something.
"Kakashi?"
He looked up. Anko started fumbling with her chopsticks unsure of how to say it. She just hoped that he would never find out that she had wanted to be teamed up with him.
"You know I've talked to Tsunade-sama… so that I – we – could go back to Grass Country because -" Anko stopped when Kakashi suddenly laid a finger on her lips saying
"You should eat your soup before it's cold. We'll have enough time for the details later, won't we?" Anko nodded and concentrated on her ramen to ignore the fact that she was blushed.
Xxx
About two hours later Anko was ready to leave and because she didn't want to leave for another two hours she went straight to Kakashi's apartment. Ignoring the existence of doors - just like Kakashi always did - she jumped through an open window. The room was slightly messy but not as bad as she had expected. "Hey Kakashi!" She called out but received no answer. She looked around in the room and just then her eyes fell on a blade that was lying on top of a small cupboard. It was white and there were no traces of blood on it. Though it had to be old it looked as good as new. There was only one thing wrong about it: it was broken. Anko wondered why Kakashi would keep a broken blade… Maybe it was important to him.
"Hey." The kunoichi almost jumped hearing Kakashi's voice right behind her. Realizing that he had startled her, the copy-ninja smiled sheepishly, scratching his head. "Sorry." He said and then added smirking. "Though I never really expected to catch you off-guard." Anko stuck her tongue out at Kakashi before smirking back. Then she turned back to the blade.
"Why do you keep it?" She asked.
Kakashi shrugged. "I guess because it's a memento of my father." A sad expression appeared on his face but immediately vanished so that Anko wasn't sure whether it really had been there. She looked back at the blade.
"It's broken…" she stated. "But not beyond repair – why don't you get it fixed?"
Kakashi sighed, not annoyed or irritated or whatever, he just sighed. "Well it wouldn't be the same blade afterwards. I know this sounds odd…" Anko shook her head. For some strange reason she totally understood what he meant. Drawing her attention away from the blade to what she originally had come for she questioned.
"Shall we go then?" Kakashi nodded. Soon they had left Konoha. This time however they were faster than before and in time they arrived at the cave in Grass Country.
TBC
A/N: So one chappy left. But maybe I'm going to write a sequel…
Anyway please review :D
Thanks to no name, samurikirby, fire.elve, ViolinRiddle, Ami, pikashoe, kitsune.ayame, arezal (who is lazy :D), DancingPickle101, Sayomi XD and Akanan for reviewing!
disappears in a poof of smoke