Chapter 16

Kindred Spirits

We haven't had enough Kakashi in this series. Here's a little bit of him being kinda nice for a change. This is a turning point for the two. He might have some issues and push people away because of a vicious case of PTSD, but he's not a horrible person. You just have to figure out how he ticks and be determined, which is what Arashi is all about: determination and loyalty.

As always, thank you to everyone who reads this monster. I started this thing years ago and life happened, so I stopped working on it, but it continued to live rent free in my head the entire time. I've decided I need to complete it to find a measure of peace. Lol If you have any suggestions or would like to share your opinion of the story or characters so far, please leave it in a review. I do respond to them and they motivate me since I'm a people pleasure.

Seeing the disqualified teams out of Konoha had been simple. They did not resist or argue. It was what was expected, and she was thankful that nothing came up that complicated the process. They were done seeing them off early enough that she was able to return home for dinner with her family. Now, all she had to do was be aware if any of those signatures came back into the village.

That night, she stayed up late working on an addition to some of her scrolls.

Trapping Kazika had proven more effective than she expected. While she had designed it and tested it on clones with the intent of using it in that manner, she had not gotten to use it in an actual pinch. Now she saw that it was useful and had room for improvement. Knowing that there was not only the Kyuubi but also Shukaku around had her nervous. If something happened and the hosts lost control, then they would need someone to contain them. The initial part would immobilize a target while the second part that she was adding would seal the target away.

Each stroke on the paper in front of her was a hope that she would be able to step up if that situation happened. As much as she wanted to believe her seal would be capable of holding a demon, she was unsure. Unless everything played out perfectly, it would be a death sentence. Her best bet would be acting before the Jinchuuriki completely lost control. This required vigilance.

Arashi sighed and rubbed at her eyes. It was late. She would have several hours in the morning for her own disposal before she needed to report for duty. Still, she gathered everything together and put her supplies away. The rest was needed.

That morning, she woke with a strange feeling. Her eyes fell on the scroll with the new addition and pride swelled in her chest. This was one of the few things she knew she was good at beyond medical ninjutsu. She just wished she had someone to share her projects with. The person she confided in and shared notes with for advice was gone and no one had come close to filling his place. It left an ache in her chest.

She rolled from her side to her back and stared up at the ceiling. Akio was busy and fuinjutsu was far from his specialty. Daisuke treated her like a mad scientist. Ibiki was busier than Akio. Her father would not fill that void, and neither could her brother. Her thoughts drifted until they landed on Kakashi. He was still carrying some of her work in his body without knowing it. If she could see proof that it was effective in increasing his chakra pool, she decided she would tell him about it.

I doubt he'll trust me that much after finding out I did that to him without permission, but…

She huffed.

Maybe…

She rolled back to her side and chewed on her lips.

Maybe he wouldn't mind a visit? I'm sure he'll be curious about how his team is doing. I could offer to show him.

A smile spread across her face. That should get her in the door and then she could try to find more common ground with the Jounin. If anything, at least she could try to enjoy his signature for a while before she went in for her next shift.

Arashi entered the kitchen and took a seat with her family. It was early enough that her father was still home and Kazika had not left for the Academy. It was earlier than she preferred, but she had limited time for what she wanted to do that day. She listened as her brother chattered away about things going on with his classes to their father. Despite the bags under his eyes, Ookami listened and responded dutifully. He did not care for mornings, either.

The kunoichi must have seemed more cheerful because it drew the attention of her mother. Naomi pursed her lips as she peered over at her daughter from across the kitchen. She was trying to wash the remaining dishes but still be involved. "You seem like you're in a good mood."

"I'm excited to be helping out with things today." She shrugged. "It's something different to do."

"Mhm." The older woman searched her face. It was obvious that Naomi did not believe that answer. Civilian or not, she was perceptive. "If you want to keep secrets, I'll let you, but you have to tell me later if it's a boy that has you so happy, okay?"

Arashi groaned and her father looked scandalized.

"C'mon, Mom," Kazika interjected. "I don't know if anyone's going to want to take her on. I'm surprised she hasn't started moving cats in."

Arashi glowered at him. "And here I've been helping you train. I might just have to stop that."

"No!" He squawked. "I'm making progress!"

She huffed at him. "Maybe Dad can help you later."

Ookami took a pointed drink from his tea. He had a full schedule. They all knew he did.

Kazika relented through his teeth, "Fine, I'm sorry."

"Glad to see you come around so fast." She replied. With Ookami purposefully not meeting anyone's eye, Arashi winked at her mother who began beaming. "Anyway, let me help you finish those and then I need to go."

Arashi made good time getting to Kakashi's apartment. As she expected, he was still there, and his movements inside informed her that he was awake. His tendency to be a morning person made her not feel guilty about showing up early. She knocked on his door with three brisk taps and waited a moment for him to answer.

"Hello there, Kakashi-san!" She greeted as soon as the door opened. "I thought I'd stop by to say hi."

He blinked down at her. "Uhh, hi? Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong." She replied.

"Oh, well, that's good." He began to close the door.

She blocked it with her foot and even pretended to not notice when he sighed in mock defeat. "Now that that's out of the way, do you have plans for this morning?"

"Hmm, I thought I would relax for a while, get caught up on reading, and then train since I have free time." He drawled. Suspicion radiated from him. "Why do you ask?"

"Well," she leaned against his doorframe. "What would you say to finding out how your team is doing?"

His eyebrow rose. His signature shifted from suspicious to skeptical. "Have you heard any news? Are they already disqualified?"

"The second part hasn't even started yet!" She grinned and produced a crystal ball. "But, when it does, we can find out."

"You know Sandaime's scrying jutsu?" He quickly caught on. She assumed he had seen it many times.

"Yes, I do." She peered up at him. "Care to let me inside?"

The Jounin stepped back and she triumphantly walked inside. He motioned to a small table where she sat the crystal ball down and then took a seat. He sat across from her and watched with thinly veiled curiosity.

I'm kinda surprised he was so receptive. She thought to herself. I guess he does care about those kids in his own way.

Arashi concentrated on Naruto's signature and within seconds, an image of him with his teammates appeared. Kakashi leaned forward to get a better look. They watched them in silence for several moments as the Genin gathered together to register for the next part of the exam.

"They might have some tough competition." She observed.

He hummed in agreement. They lapsed into silence for several moments before he spoke. "This jutsu is a convenient way to keep up with Naruto."

"It is." She replied. "I'll be using it to keep tabs on them through this. Once I leave here, I'll probably be stuck at the tower to heal the injured, as needed, or doing other tasks until this is over. If you'd like, I could send a clone to give you some updates?"

His eye closed in a smile. "I would like that."

"Good." She released the jutsu and sat back. "It's kinda surreal to be helping my Sensei with some of this exam. Everything has been so organized and meticulous."

"Do you find it suffocating?"

She tilted her head to one side. "Suffocating?"

"You've been accustomed to a lot more freedom to pursue your own interests, haven't you?"

She hesitated. "I have."

"But?"

I lost myself along the way and I'm only now trying to find my way back, was what she wanted to say. Instead, she chose, "It's mostly just been different ways to distract myself.

The look he gave her was understanding. She got the impression that he caught what she meant. Where she might have expected judgment or ridicule, there was none. "We all have our struggles and vices."

"I guess so." She thought about his question for a moment. "I don't find it suffocating. At least not yet. I consider myself to be the failure out of my Sensei's students. This has given me a taste of what could have been if I had stayed as dedicated as I was in the beginning."

"The Third wouldn't have trusted you on this mission if you were a failure." Kakashi pointed out.

She snorted. "I'd hope not, you know. He's been more accommodating than I've deserved, with little to show for it up to this point. Being put on standby for the Kyuubi is the least I could do." It felt strange to say it out loud. When she was first given access to the Hokage's library and things that were forbidden for most people in her experience range, she had wanted to see it as a sign that she was well on her way to renown for her medical prowess and fuinjutsu. Now it was clear that anything she managed on her own would be a side benefit – she was there to act as a safeguard to keep a demon in check if its Jinchuuriki failed. She changed the subject. "You were considered a prodigy, weren't you?"

"Mahh." His expression became distant. "I suppose so."

She detected a hint of discomfort in his signature. It piqued her interest. Young prodigies had benefits of being treated differently than other students or shinobi. They were given better Sensei, more challenging opportunities, and they were showered with attention – whether that was adoration from their colleagues or hate from their adversaries – but in the long run, they seemed to either die young, break under the pressure, or fade into the ranks as other shinobi reached their level. She wondered where he fell, but caution kept her from asking. "You shouldn't act like you're struggling to remember. You're not that old."

"That?" He repeated.

"Oh, stop clutching your pearls, Kakashi-san."

He chuckled deep in his chest. The sound of it warmed her heart. There was something companionable in the quiet that settled into the room. She glanced over at a clock hanging on his wall and made a mental note that she still had time. Kakashi did not feel as closed off to her that day, which left her in no rush to leave. The more familiar she became with him, his moods, and his reactivity, the better she could read him. With how closed off he was as a person, she needed all the hints she could get.

"I'll be dropping in on your team from time to time until they're done, but I don't think anything that exciting is going to happen while we're watching this morning. I do have something else I'd like to run by you, though, if you don't mind?"

Her skin tingled as a hint of interest flared in his signature. "Sure."

Arashi scooped her crystal ball up and stowed it away before pulling out a copy of the scroll she had been working on. "It might be a little big for this table." She murmured while opening it to the first portion. "This part is a trap to hold a target in place while the next is meant to seal them into the scroll right here," she tapped an empty space, surrounded by her writing.

He leaned forward and smoothed the paper out with one hand, while running the fingers of his other hand across the writing. He scanned over it with his eye and hummed to himself.

"My handwriting is kinda bad." She admitted, nervous that he might have a harder time deciphering it. It was a silly fear. She knew he was able to read her reports.

"It's fine." He replied. "Just give me a few minutes to look over this."

He was interested. She was flabbergasted. She had hoped that he would be receptive to taking a look at her work, but she had expected him to either refuse or act put out by it. This left her unsure of what to do with herself. It left her agonizing over what his opinion would be. He was intelligent and she doubted he would be as prone to overlook a bad or sloppy formula. She had to admit, she liked his wit and his skill. She took in the way his brow furrowed as he concentrated, the way that his signature hummed below the surface of his skin, and the vague impression of his mouth through his mask.

I like more about him than his intelligence. She distracted herself by picking at the end of her scarf.

"This is good work." He commented once he was done. "You're very thorough. It looks like both parts would be considerably strong with the right person using it."

She nodded. "Yes. It's surprising how sealing relies on the strength or skill of the person using the technique. You would think that just being designed well would be what matters, but that's not always the case. Trying to contain something powerful like a chakra beast is a whole different endeavor. They fight back. They can resist being pulled in and locked away."

"The same concept applies to a Jinchuuriki. The seals holding the demons within them aren't perfect and their strength relies on the resiliency of the host."

"You know, Naruto's extremely resilient. Maybe once he's figured a few things out, I won't feel so on edge, but with the number of times I've heard the kid call chakra catra, I'm not holding my breath."

He rubbed his temples. "Please tell me he's not still saying that. I had Sakura explain chakra to him while we were still in the Land of Waves."

She barked out a laugh. "It's been a minute since he's said it around me, so that might have fixed him. He's more likely to listen to her than us, anyway. Young love is so," she paused to search for the word. "Obnoxious."

"They'll grow out of it." He replied.

"You better hope they do." She teased. "Speaking of your kunoichi, you know she probably has no skillset beyond what she got from the Academy, right?"

"Great chakra control and an aptitude to understand genjutsu." Was his response as he pulled out one of his Icha Icha books to read.

She eyed it for a second, convinced that it was a way for him to disassociate. "Yeah, but beyond yelling at her teammates that something looks fishy and being better at conserving chakra, what does that get her?"

He hummed in thought for a moment. "Why don't you teach her medical ninjutsu?"

"Do I look like a Sensei to you?" She retorted.

"I wouldn't mind you stepping in to help her learn new jutsu and possibly guiding her to something she'll be good at. If she takes to it, another Iryo would be more than welcome, I'm sure."

She considered it. High intelligence and excellent chakra control were the attributes sought after for medical shinobi. Sakura appeared to have both. "So, if I snatch one of your students away, you wouldn't be bothered?"

"I wouldn't consider it snatching. More like tutoring. I'm not a medic and I don't know how to teach that ninjutsu effectively."

It also takes time and a lot of personal effort to master. Arashi mulled it over. "Alright. After this exam, I'll see what I can do with Sakura-san."

He gave her one of his eye smiles. "Don't you have somewhere to be?"

"I do." She glanced at the clock. "But I have a little bit of time." She turned back to him. "Keep that scroll. It might be useful if I'm not around. I have a few other copies."

She watched him roll it up and tuck it into a slot on his jacket. "Thanks."

"No problem. I'll see you soon, I guess." She stumbled over her words. "With an update on Team 7."

Arashi did not want to leave. This visit had felt natural. Without the barbs and passive aggression that she had come to associate with Kakashi, he was easy for her to talk with. More than even that, when she focused long enough on his signature, it numbed the ache in her chest. She pulled her thoughts away from that subject. She could not pinpoint when or why he had stopped pushing back as vehemently as he did before, but she was thankful for it.

"Have a nice day, Kakashi-san."

"You, too."

As she walked away from his door, she considered him as a person: no significant other, no children, a small apartment with nothing but a plant and books to keep him company. Was that the life he envisioned for himself early in his career? Was this all that a child prodigy had to look forward to? How was this any different than the life she would have lived if she had no family?

She paused mid-step.

It wouldn't be.

Arashi turned and stared in the direction of his signature. In that moment she was certain of two things: they were kindred spirits, and they were most definitely friends.

I know this isn't a long chapter, but I figured I wanted it to be a positive one. The next one won't be as gentle, since Orochimaru is around. I'm hoping to have the next chapter complete and posted by sometime Sunday evening.