Desperado (II)

Desperado, why don't you come to your senses?
Come down from your fences, open the gate
It may be rainin', but there's a rainbow above you
You better let somebody love you
Before it's too late

The Eagles

I'm glad he can still cry, Kasumi thought to herself. She didn't think she would be able to, and from talking to Temari she knew that Gaara never did.

There you go, whining again, Ryuu returned, though without any real rancor.

"Don't worry, Naruto-kun. You'll see me again."

"But what if I don't?" he sniffled.

She laid gentle fingers under his chin and lifted his face so that he met her eyes. "Naruto-kun, I am not ready to die yet. We all have to have a goal, if we want to protect those we care about." She smiled at him, trying to encourage him to be strong. "You showed me that. There are other jinchuriki out there, and I have to find them if we are going to stop Akatsuki."

"But they know what you are, now," he protested. "Shouldn't you stay here with us so we can help you?"

"You have your own work to do, Naruto-kun, and I have mine. None of us is entirely safe." Not even me. Her back was still sore from the black fires of Itachi's jutsu.

"Kasumi…"

"I told you, Little Uchiha. He isn't dead. Ryuu broke most of his skin cells and the ends of his capillaries, but he didn't kill him. He'll be in a lot of pain for a long time, but he is still alive."

"What if… what if I fail?" His voice was so quiet, Kasumi was sure none of the others heard.

She kept her own voice as low when she answered. "The Uchiha clan will not go un-avenged," she promised him. "But you won't fail. I'll see you in three years, when he is dead." She raised her voice, and looked at Sakura. "You are already a strong kunoichi, Sakura." And you care about these boys, even if you're sometimes very foolish. "Take care of my boys."

"I will," Sakura said firmly, although Kasumi thought she detected a hint of a tremor in the girl's voice.

"Tsunade-sama." Kasumi turned to the Hokage who had come with the genin to see her off. "Thank you for all your care." She offered a tentative bow.

The woman smiled in return. "We'll miss you until you come back, Kasumi-chan," was her reply. Kasumi ruffled Naruto's hair, gave Sasuke's ear a playful tug, and Sakura a hug, and then she turned and walked away from the village. She had thought Kakashi would come see her off, but he had never shown up, and she couldn't delay her departure any longer.

I wish I could cry, she thought sadly as she walked away from Konoha. It would be appropriate.

It would be nonsense, Ryuu said tartly.

Even before she rounded the corner in the path that took her into the forest, Kasumi sensed the person waiting for her. She kept her head down, unwilling to say anymore goodbyes than she already had. Kakashi hadn't come, and if she had to say goodbye to any more of the friends she had made in Konoha, they would find out if she really could cry.

"Yo." She looked up, startled. He was leaning against a tree, apparently completely at his ease. "Sorry I'm late. I…"

"Got lost on the road of life?" she teased.

"Wanted to catch you alone," Kakashi said, and she could hear the smile in his voice. She ran to him, and he caught her up in a fierce hug, which she returned.

"Oh! I have something for you," she said, remembering. She dug in her bag, and pulled out the kunoichi scarf, which she looped lightly around his neck. The final purpose of the kunoichi scarf, she thought with an inward smile, remembering her lessons from when she was younger. To catch a man and tie him to you forever.

He reached into his pocket and drew something out. "A forehead protector?" she asked, as he delicately brushed the hair out of the way to tie it around her neck like a necklace, much the way Temari wore it.

"It's mine," he mumbled, and despite the mask she could see his blush. "I haven't worn it since I became a jonin." She looked up at him, understanding the significance of that to him. It had been a mark of his coming of age, just as her scarf had been for her, but he hadn't worn it since his best friend had died. Just as I haven't worn the scarf since I left the village.

She tried to smile at him, but somehow the emotions she felt were too much for that. Instead, she reached up and drew down his mask, and kissed him as soundly as she could. He held her tightly to him, until they each drew back.

"Goodbye, Kakashi," she told him quietly, not able to meet his eyes. She wasn't sure, but she thought she felt tears in her own.

She turned away from him with her head down, so intent on not crying that she almost missed his final words, spoken under his breath. "I love you."

Fin! A massive upload following another round of editing, and I'm ready to move on, hopefully with more speed. Hope you enjoyed it!