Chapter 3: Child of Omelas


"Open the door."

The door slid open slowly.

Heavily painted eyes locked on Kakashi immediately. He met the gaze steadily, suppressing the urge to cover Naruto and Sasuke's eyes.

Not fat and old. Definitely not fat and old.

His eyes drifted downwards almost magnetically then immediately snapped back up to eyes that were definitely laughing now.

He cleared his throat professionally. "Ah. Milady, Team 7 is at your service."

Her gaze flitted over the genins once before returning to Kakashi almost immediately, her eyes doing her own exploration of his body now. "I see that." More eye-ravaging." I'm sure I'll have no fears on the journey with such a fine body of men guarding me."

Naruto's scrawny chest ballooned at the words. "Pretty lady, We'll do the best job guarding you've ever seen, believe it!"

"Oh, but I do, sir ninja, I do." She smiled slowly, not at the little ninja whose loyalty she'd won for the trip, but at the increasingly apprehensive Kakashi.

All ninja have a wisp of the prescience that comes to those sages who immerse themselves in the chakra of the world, and as the eye contact continued, Kakashi sensed a tremor that he recognized too well to ignore. They were in something big.


Or perhaps not.

"I thought we'd be doing a lot more." Naruto pouted as they walked alongside the carriage on the second day. They'd been trekking through the dappled woodlands of Konoha with no more than a stuck wheel for their troubles.

After a full day of monotonous staring into the trees, the initial apprehension of another Zabuza lurking in the trees had been fully replaced by the old eagerness to prove himself. Naruto went to relieve his boredom by throwing shuriken and kunai at nearby trees and retrieving them.

"Naruto! Stop!" Sakura slapped at the hand that was about to throw yet another shuriken into an unsuspecting birch. "Don't leave tracks!"

Naruto squinted at her. "You do realize that we're moving with like an army, right? A blind person could follow our tracks."

Sasuke sniffed from on top of the carriage. "That's different, dobe. You're telling any trackers that ninja are with the train."

"Teme, stop thinking you're so smart!"

Kakashi poked his head out from the other side of the carriage in a placating voice. "Now now, I'd have to agree with Naruto that it doesn't really matter right now. In fact, telling trackers ninja are in the company will probably warn off most of the smarter attackers. But yes, Naruto, that's not a good habit to start."

Grumbling, Naruto pocketed the shuriken. Sasuke sniggered. "Though you do need the target practice, dobe."

Naruto promptly threw himself at Sasuke, who easily flipped Naruto over himself in midflight, sending the hapless orange genin tumbling to the ground on the other side of the carriage. Kakashi just stepped over him, to all appearances already engrossed in his book again. Especially to the dark eye surveying him through a crack in the carriage door.


"Milady, some tea?" An elaborate tea set was laid out on the low table installed in the carriage.

"Hm? Ah, no, Kimiko, I'm…" Lady Hinogawa did not turn.

"Milady, now, really." Kimiko, younger than the lady by ten years but sounding much as if the age difference went the other way, drooped, her hair buns also seeming to express her exasperation. "Haven't you passed the age to be mooning after ninja?"

"One has found, Kimiko, that one is never past the age to be mooning after ninja." She closed the door sharply and turned to Kimiko. "And is that any way to be speaking to your mistress? "mooning"?"

"My apologies, milady." But Kimiko discreetly stuck out a socked foot to block the track of the door when Lady Hinogawa went to crack it open again. Lady Hinogawa shot her a glare but said nothing, choosing instead to throw herself back on to the pile of silken cushions behind her.

"Entertain me, Kimiko, or bring Kendao here."

Kimiko stood in a tangle of skirts to reach for the other wall of the carriage, where several stringed instruments hung, knowing her mistress would take the chance to open the door again. The immediate sliding noise told her she was right.

Kimiko turned with koto in hand to see her mistress reclined across her silken pillows, chin in her palm as she fixed her gaze on the shinobi that accompanied her carriage. The slit of brighter light from the outside played across her in a way that made Kimiko desperately jealous of the noblewoman's flawless skin. The bold clothes the lady favored showed quite a bit of it, unusual for a lady of her station.

The lady smiled suddenly, perhaps at a thought that played through her head or perhaps sensing Kimiko's thoughts.

Kimiko settled by the tea tray with her koto. She made no move to close the door again, resigned to the fact that her fate currently included playing accompaniment to her beautiful mistress's ogling of the tall, mysterious shinobi.

The first notes of Sun on the River rippled forth from the carriage.


Chakra varies from person to person, any Academy student knew that. And even civilians had some sense of this. The comfort that came from the unseen presence of a loved one, or the nervousness of the first day of school surrounded by new energies, awareness of killing intent, these came at least in part from the interactions of the chakra system with the chakra released from the people around them, concentrated in their voice and gaze and gestures.

Right now, Kakashi was being tickled from behind by a particularly persistent gaze. He rubbed the back of his head, used to stares from civilians, but not from Junko. The thought had popped into his head the moment he'd made eye contact. Dark eyes, dark hair, the lines of her neck so long and graceful it'd almost led his gaze right into the exposed valley underneath.

He wondered idly if many noblewomen would fit the description of the character Jiraiya had breathed so much life into. He didn't have much of a frame of reference, but by the sage if they all looked like that, he was taking a lot more of these missions.

The Great shinobi war had greatly reduced the number of C-ranks shinobi new recruits could be spared for, Kakashi least of all. Between fighting the war and serving in Anbu, there had been no time for leisurely strolls being flashy muscle for nobility. This was to be Kakashi's first noble escort mission and his first "official" visit to the Fire country capital. None of the other visits had left any time for sightseeing.

The tickling persisted. She was having no problems sightseeing. At least at this rate the return contract was a sure thing.

Maa, but the staring was starting to raise his hackles a bit. Kakashi made a decision.

He looked boredly over his shoulder to meet the eye of the woman that had been enthusiastically chakra molesting him for the past 40 minutes to the tune of a rather well-played koto. The eye looked right back, refusing to break away. The eye contact held briefly, until Kakashi turned away, gracefully turning the attempt at a voiceless reproach into a mere perfunctory glance at the carriage that was in his care.

Laughter behind him hit him with a bit of a shock. Was she laughing at him? He snapped Icha Icha open harder than the faithful tome deserved to engross himself in descriptions of the real Junko's charms. The attendant looked on from behind in disgust.

That is, until an arrow sprouted from his horse's neck. More followed.

Kakashi hit the ground. "Doton: doryuheki!" A wall erupted out of the road instantly.

He cursed himself for getting distracted enough by her gaze to forget to check for chakra signatures in their radius. Though the earth jutsu covered the entire carriage and most of the middle ranks, he couldn't afford to waste chakra making it larger, not when he hadn't had a chance to assess the threat. Should have trusted the hackles. Always trust the hackles.

Luckily, Sakura had been paying attention. She leapt towards him, landing silently, joined quickly by Sasuke and Naruto.

"Sensei, I sensed them but I didn't know they were going to attack us. They're too weak to be ninja."

He sensed them too now, so obvious he wanted to smack himself in the face. 17 men. Large, armed with plenty of steel that they seemed to wield with familiarity and ease. No danger here.

"Go to town, kids. Kawarimi out of any danger. I'll be very disappointed if you hurt yourselves."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Come on, dobe." But Naruto was already gone, yelling, "Let's go!"

The battle was quick and efficient, the worst casualties on their side being the horse and some flesh wounds on the part of three hapless foot soldiers near the supply carriage.

The would-be raiders were brought out to the road, thoroughly trussed in ninja wire. The thick kind, 300 ft of which Sasuke could have sworn he'd made Naruto throw away before they'd joined the Hinogawa party, but Naruto miraculously pulled the bundle out of his bulky jumper after the battle with a foxy grin.

The 17 now faced the ire of the old man, whose face was fixed in an expression that explained the hard, angry lines that were such a prominent feature of the old man's face. He'd been bent over his horse but rushed towards the men the moment they came into view, striking down the first he reached with an open palm.

"You dare—" he spat. "—attack the nobility, dare to steal from your betters the fruit of the hardworking people of this great country, you scum." Lighting fast, he unsheathed a sword that Kakashi had thought purely ceremonial in the scabbard, but now displayed a jagged, chipped blade. The sword of a melee fighter, or the more reckless breed of samurai.

"Your majesty, please, we only mea—" the man was interrupted by a brutal reverse-grip stab through his shoulder into the ground. He screamed.

Kakashi leant back against the wall he'd built instead of interfering. His client was acting more than a bit—crazy, nutso—erratic, but he didn't know if the old man held the keys to a return contract with the well-paying Hinogawas. A quick survey of his genin showed varying levels of horror on their faces, even Sasuke's eyes flickering briefly to his sensei's in wariness. So cute, so young. He counted. One… two…

"Hey! Hey! Old Man-san, you can't do that!" Naruto burst out. He ran to separate the old man from the defenseless captives. He held his arms out, his head barely coming up to the old man's heaving chest. "They're people too, you can't just kill them!"

A cold light shone in the old man's dark eyes. "Get out of the way, ninja brat, or I'll deal with you like I will the rest of the trash." Naruto's defiant stance didn't falter at this. The man started to brandish his sword.

The world blurred for the old man, who found himself on the ground with Kakashi standing over him, deflecting a kunai thrown by Sasuke into the bushes using the attendant's own sword. The old man hadn't even felt the sword leave his grip.

"I think we're all getting a bit too hasty. Shall we see to our lady?"

The attendant trembled with anger at the audacity of his hired ninja, but the reminder of his duties seemed be enough to allow the man to gather himself again. He, luckily, had no idea how badly it would have gone had he continued to try to assault any one of Kakashi's charges. Standing in a huff, he headed towards the carriage at a pace fueled by rage.

Kakashi was hardly impressed by the man's aggressive power walking, though he gave the attendant a berth as he followed. Naruto, still standing over the captives, gave the approaching Hinogawan guards a protective glare.

The attendant pounded on the carriage door.

"Hinogawa-sama, are you unharmed?"

The door opened on a carefully blank-faced Lady Hinogawa and Kimiko. Lady Hinogawa took in her attendant's bloody countenance, then her eyes, no laughter in them now, flicked to Kakashi, who still held the Hinogawan's sword.

"Hayao, I believe I should be the one asking that of you." She made to step out but the old man—Hayao—tried to usher her back in.

"This is no scene for you, my lady."

She waved him off with a delicate hand.

"Nonsense, Hayao, I want to see the faces of those that would attack me and mine."

He backed off, if only to keep her hands clear of his blood-spattered clothes. She approached the captive men. Naruto moved aside, trustingly.

"This is hardly enough men to threaten the Hinogawas with," Lady Hinogawa said, almost quizzically.

She bent down to speak to the man with the punctured shoulder, strands of dark hair threatening to brush the blood-soaked ground. "We wonder what could have driven you to do this?"

The question opened the floodgates to the man's babbling.

"L-Lady, Your Highness, please, please, we are all but humble farmers, we would not have dared commit such a crime against such nobility if only this year's crops had come in…We're not fighters, all we want is to feed our families, our poor starving children—"

Kakashi could see Naruto's face soften at his words. Sakura and Sasuke, on the other hand, exchanged quizzical glances. Those two understood.

He focused on the lady. Let's see if she does.

She smiled. "I understand, sir farmer." She rose to return to the carriage, where the attendant still was. Hayao was bent over his horse again, stroking its heaving side. He only rose when Lady Hinogawa was a few paces away, still facing the horse.

She regarded the old man and his horse with eyes Kakashi couldn't read. Those eyes turned to Kakashi. "Can you heal it?"

He shook his head. He'd learned basic healing jutsu, and after Obito's death had even tried to Sharingan-memorize what medic nin did on the field in case teammates became incapacitated.

But without the theory of how the body worked—knowing what was essential to bond and what one could leave to heal on its own—the healing jutsus he'd memorized had proven inadvisable to apply to a wound that wasn't precisely the wound he'd seen the jutsu performed on.

Unfortunate. It would have been an easy way to ingratiate himself with the client.

She echoed his thoughts. "Unfortunate." She passed by the attendant, placing a hand briefly on his arm as she did so. "You'd best make it quick, Hayao-san."

She entered the carriage as Kakashi returned the sword to the older man.

Sword now in hand, the old man growled, "Hatake, instruct your subordinates to tie the captives to the back of the supply train. We'll be taking them to the city." He turned away to squared up to the fallen horse which was now breathing shallowly.

From inside the carriage, the lady beckoned Kakashi closer. She was a very different creature now from the laughing-eyed vision of beauty she'd been their first meeting.

Her eyes flitted over when she heard the swish and thunk of Hayao's task. They returned to meet Kakashi's lone eye just as quickly. "I thank you for keeping us safe."

"Doing our duty, Lady Hinogawa." Kakashi was the one to maintain eye contact this time, wanting to see what she was thinking through those deep brown eyes. Was she just too timid to make a decision, or had she seen underneath? He probed it. "You're not letting these farmers go?"

Fine eyebrows immediately knit.

"You must think me a fool, Hatake-san, unless you yourself are one. Those weapons belong to no farmers."

She almost closed the door on him, before sliding it back open to say (in a tone that in a woman less refined would have been described as "miffed") "Besides, this area's crops this year were excellent. Hayao may do as he likes."

The door shut sharply, and Kakashi returned to where genin were guarding the pile of captives.

At his command, Sasuke and Sakura got to work. Naruto stood there in confusion. "Wait, wait! Didn't the lady let them go?" Oh Naruto.

"Dobe, they're not farmers, start helping." Sasuke grunted, trying to adjust the bindings so the prisoners—new slaves? Kakashi wondered—could walk. The men were protesting and kicking, which didn't make his job easier.

"Eh? What?" Blue eyes turned to him. Kakashi scratched his masked chin, wondering how to explain.

"Naruto, do you remember what I said the dangers were on this trip?"

Naruto scratched his head. "Ahhh…"

"Maa, Naruto-kun, if you keep ignoring what I say, I'm going to stop saying anything at all..." Naruto's face crinkled up at the teasing tone.

"Stop it, sensei, I pay attention!"

Kakashi continued. "Does it make sense for farmers to decide to attack a large, heavily armed noble cohort for food?"

He could actually see the blond digesting this through his expressive blue eyes.

Helpless though they'd been against the ninja, each bandit had hefted their decidedly non-farmer-like weapons with the ease of long practice.

The boy then wordlessly moved to help Sasuke, pulling precisely at parts of his handiwork so the ninja wire sprang loose.

The train moved on, leaving only a couple of blood stains behind.


The Hinogawans making camp was almost as much a spectacle as when they'd arrived at Takihishi. It wasn't so much camp as it was constructing a small town in a matter of a couple short hours.

The nin, who didn't require much in the way of sleeping arrangements, set up by the guard camp nearest the noblewoman's tent. After the first night, the guards had warmed up to them considerably, especially after Sasuke's Katon jutsu set the damp firewood they'd collected ablaze in seconds. The guards were almost as fast as they in settling down, and soon enough, the genin and guards sat around a campfire large enough to cook a horse. Which, of course, was what they were doing.

"I've never had horse before…" Sakura stared at the massive haunch being slowly turned on a spit by a young Hinogawan guard. The guards were much more at ease off duty, far from Hayao's yellow glare.

He winked at her. "My old da used to say it tastes like human meat." Naruto, who'd eagerly nabbed one of the first ribs off the fire, stopped mid-chew. Hooting laughter from the older men around them made them both flush.

A guard who'd taken his boots and socks off and completely laid down by the fire groaned. "I don't care if it tastes like people, it's the reason why I had to give my horse to old Stoneface. I'm going to eat it, and I'm going to like it."

The spit turner grinned. "Bet Stoneface tastes like horse, he loved this thing so much."

The platoon's sergeant admonished the spit turner with a carving knife he'd been using to serve up portions of the horse as it finished cooking. "Show some respect for Hayao-sama, Garu, or I'll cook you up and see if your old da was right." The younger guard ducked his head and kept turning, still grinning.

The sergeant passed Sakura a lightly sizzling slab of meat on a plate, "Don't listen to them, lass, nothing as good as horse meat after a long day of travelling!"

She took it and sniffed. It sat on the metal plate, rendered fat seeping out to pool around the ring.

Sakura gingerly passed it on to Sasuke. He, too, looked at it doubtfully. He took a bite though, too aware of the gigantic grins of the men around them to hesitate too long.

"See? We're eating better than the lady tonight!" The sergeant continued carving out the horse.

Feeling slightly sick, Sakura got up primly, reminded by that statement that the lady must be eating too. Surely she wouldn't be eating anything this fatty (or possibly tasting of human). And who would turn away a little girl looking for sustenance?

She trekked to where she knew Lady Hinogawa had been set up. It wasn't hard to find.

Lady Hinogawa's tent was a huge canopy that covered more ground than Sakura's bedroom at home. From the shadows cast from the lanterns in the tent, she could see the lady was working at a table. A table in a tent! Saucy smells were fading from the air already. She'd missed the lady's dinner time.

It looked like she was completely alone in there, the sound of rustling papers interrupted periodically by the scribbling of a pen. The bowed head of her shadow showed absolute concentration in what she was doing.

Probably not the best time for a hired ninja girl to barge in and demand food. It'd been a reach anyway. Crestfallen, Sakura petulantly kicked a pebble at the tent wall. The pebble made solid contact, and—to Sakura's horror—tore right through the canvas. No, not canvas. Silk.

The practical part of her fought through the horror to sneer at the pointlessness of having a silk tent, but was washed over by fresh horror from the even more practical part of her considering how much precisely it might cost to replace the silken wall. A year's worth of D-ranks? Three years worth of D-ranks?

The scribbling, of course, stopped. A sharp sound indicated Lady Hinogawa had snapped a scroll shut. Sakura stood there, fearing for her wallet and currently debt-free lifestyle.

"Kimiko? Is that you?" The lady's voice was sharp. The silhouette didn't turn away from the table.

"…Yes?" Sakura squeaked.

An exasperated sigh. "I'm not done yet, I told you I'd call for you. Go back, and if you disobey me again..."

Sakura didn't stick around long enough to find out what would happen if Kimiko disobeyed her again.

Horse meat it is…

Maybe Kakashi-sensei was eating something better?


Kakashi-sensei was not eating anything better. Kakashi-sensei in fact, had deepthroated a meal bar behind a tree immediately after making camp and was now lying at the base of said tree with Icha Icha over his face. No, he hadn't choked to death on the meal bar, though Rin, back in the day, would often warn him it would happen one day.

Ah. He'd wondered how long it would take today for his old ghosts to come back to hurt him again.

Even the noises of the guards teasing the two genin left at the campfire just thirty or so paces away weren't enough to fight off the oncoming gloom. It had been too long since he'd been to the memorial.

He lifted the book off his face, flicking idly through it in search of an illustration. Maybe that'd chase the image of Rin's wide bloodshot eyes away. Idly, he noted Sakura's return and her acceptance of a greasy chunk of horse leg. At least she's eating now.

Mood still foul, he smacked his head a bit against the rough bark of the tree. It didn't do anything but mess his tousled hair up even further. It was about time he had a haircut.

There was just never any time, between the genin and pacifying his ghosts, to do things like cutting his hair or showing up on time. Another year without, though, and he'd have to pull it into a ponytail like his father had. There it was, another ghost.

He lay there for longer than he cared to keep track. All the stars were out now, and the men behind him now were entertaining themselves with throwing knife contests.

From what he could tell, Naruto and Sasuke were getting in on the fun too. Sasuke, despite himself, was enjoying impressing the older men with his fire affinity, sending flaming shuriken into the sky then pinning them to tree trunks with well-aimed kunai. Itachi had been particularly good with shuriken as well.

Another chakra signature, one he'd been keeping a tab on the entire trip, now approached. He lazily drew himself up to lean more upright against the tree. A little respect was due their wealthy client, after all.

"Sitting alone?"

Kakashi shrugged and waved the book vaguely. "Reading doesn't really require company."

"Mmm. I hope you don't mind mine, I found my tent quite lonely."

She saw him look meaningfully towards the rowdy group by the campfire and shook her head, sinking down next to him, seemingly heedless of the dirt that would undoubtedly stain her satins.

"I am their lady and by virtue of being above them, not of them." She twisted her lip in a self-deprecating smile, saying more simply, "I'd ruin their fun."

She shifted to sit more comfortably, the motion bringing her even closer to him. Kakashi shifted politely away, giving her space. She noticed.

"We set ourselves apart in such rigid ways, don't we? The guards in turn are apart from our slaves. Everyone sits with their own. Except for us nobles, who do an even finer job of distinguishing between ourselves. The same and worse goes for Hayao, since he's such a grump." She gave him a sidelong glance. "I wonder what sets you apart from the guards."

She drew closer, the milky skin of her neck shining in the dim light.

"Tell me, Kakashi-san, what sets a ninja apart from mere men?" The last line was breathed out, the question more than a question. Surprising that a noblewoman would flirt so directly.

Kakashi wasn't in the mood to play, Rin was too fresh in his memory now. "I'm a grump too."

That took the wind out of her sails a bit. Seductress types were pretty easy to deflect once you'd dealt with them enough, and Kakashi found he much preferred them in text than in the flesh. She looked so crestfallen though that he offered his client a more friendly justification for his aloofness.

"I just wanted to read in peace. There's so little of it around, with the young ones."

To his dismay, she seemed to take this as an invitation to continue conversation.

"Your…subordinates?...are quite capable, you should be proud. They dealt with those bandits better than a platoon of my soldiers could have." She leant back more naturally against the tree now.

They faced the darkness of the woods almost side by side.

"I really am curious about you ninja, you know…" Her tone was more genuine now, the coquettishness gone, though it was difficult to be certain since her face was no longer visible.

He looked at her out of the corner of his eye. She fiddled with a leaf she picked up, the outline of it barely visible in what little light reached this far from the campfire. She balanced it on a fingertip, then flipped her hand. Instead of fluttering to the ground, the leaf stubbornly defied gravity and clung to the fingertip. Chakra.

Kakashi's eyes narrowed. No civilian outside of a hidden village should know how to manipulate chakra, least of all a noble. She noticed.

There was a smile in her voice as she spoke. "That's about all I know how to do—I had to bully one of the Twelve Guardian Ninja at the Daimyo's court into teaching me. It probably helped that I was ten, and cute." The leaf now fluttered to the ground.

"Can you teach me anymore, sensei?" The coquettishness was back.

He chuckled, more to dissipate the tension she was trying to build than any real humor in the situation.

"I think you already know more about ninja than you should."

"I've been told I know too much on many subjects." She paused. "It is true, though, that ninja have healing abilities?"

He looked up at the night sky. "Ah…" There was no point in lying, it was a commonly known fact.

"Yes, those with special training."

"Not you though." She seemed disappointed.

"Not me."

"You're just a fighter, then?"

He shrugged, a gesture she probably heard more than saw. Just was an understatement, but he didn't need to correct her now, did he? "Most ninja are."

"It must be wonderful though, in a Hidden village." She turned to him now, looking directly into his exposed eye. "Surrounded by people who can do things the rest of us could only imagine. I saw the little one, Naruto-kun, jump into the sky and turn into thirty people. You must live in such prosperity."

Her face was less guarded now, trusting in the darkness, not knowing Kakashi could see like it was day. Her eyes shone with longing…no, hunger.

He spoke slowly. "Konoha…is beautiful, yes. But I would be wary of any person who willingly buys into our life. They're usually either too foolish to realize the sacrifices that come with being a ninja or are chasing power for dangerous reasons."

The hunger in those eyes was unabated. If anything, Kakashi's engagement in the conversation seemed to grow it. Perhaps it was from having reflected on his past for the past some-odd hours, but he kept talking, wanting to wipe that hunger off her face.

"Fewer than a quarter of my yearmates made it to their fifteenth birthday. Our way requires discipline and strength, and even once you master that, every day is like balancing on a razor's edge. Skill alone often isn't enough to keep a stray shot from taking an eye."

This allusion to his eye at least seemed to pull her back at least a little bit.

But only for a moment.

She reached out slowly towards his headband, clearly looking to tilt it up for a look at the damage. He turned his face and deftly avoided the hand, feeling even more irritated at her presumption than before.

Sage save me from horny young noblewomen. She probably thought she could take the chance to pull down his mask for a kiss.

Textbook move, but he'd read the textbook cover to cover. Which reminds me.

He snapped Icha Icha open between them in one hand like it was the world's most unlikely talisman against succubi. Its author, a sage in his own right, would have desperately disapproved of this usage.

It worked, stopping her in her tracks.

"…Is this an…erotic novel?" Ah. There was enough light to read the cover by. His grip slackened, and she took the opportunity to push the book down so he had to face her again. He didn't have the heart to shove the cover of the porno in her slightly perturbed looking face again.

She pushed on with their previous topic of conversation.

"If being a ninja is so difficult, why do you stay a ninja? Surely with your abilities, you could go anywhere and be anyone."

He fingered the spine of the book, silent for a while.

When he spoke, the words he said were those he'd repeated to himself countless times before.

"Nin...to endure. Ninja literally means one who endures...and I know nothing else. I have a duty to my people and my village. Leaving those that depend on you is the worst kind of crime."

"What of your subordinates? Do they have a duty to the village? A duty that requires they lay down their lives if need be?"

His heart seized up at the thought. But…

"If need be."

"A village full of warriors willing to die for each other…it sounds like a dream."

"What I dream of is living in a world where we don't need warriors." He flipped Icha Icha open on his lap again, remembering another book by the author with considerably less nudity.

"You train the children to be fighters. They seem to enjoy it."

"Ah…It will take time for them to understand the ultimate goal of fighting." And a lot more loss.

He flipped a page idly, just to have something to do as he spoke that kept him from having to make eye contact with the pushy young woman.

She was quiet now, like she expected him to say more. He did.

"I've been on more S-ranks than I care to remember… if not for the duty I have to the village to raise our pups into the warriors we need them to be, D-ranks would be all my genin ever have to face."

There was silence now, one he didn't fill this time, turning back to Icha Icha. The silence grew until she folded her hands demurely in her lap, then spoke, thoughtfully.

"You remind me of a story."

His eye lifted from the book.

She took that slight indication as a cue to continue.

"In it, there's a village described as the happiest place on earth. The buildings reach the sky and shine like gold, no one goes hungry, no one goes sick. Laughter and love and long life is promised to everyone in this village, and the promise is kept. But there is a terrible condition to this village's happiness, one that every inhabitant knows."

His eye stayed on her, and she drew closer, clearly relishing the knowledge that she had his attention. He could now feel her body warmth offset the chill of the night air.

"To keep the village this way, they must keep a child in a cellar. Closer to a dungeon than a cellar. He must spend each day in absolute solitude, on the brink of starvation; he may never know love, or laughter or a sunny day. No inhabitant fully understands why, but they all know that to keep the village happy, and healthy, and wealthy, this child must be kept that way, and none may help him."

A slightly sad smile ghosted her lips. "The author tells us that not every inhabitant who learns this condition on their happiness chooses to learn to live with it as well. Some walk away, refusing to be complicit in the abuse of an innocent child. The question naturally posed to the reader is whether they could bear to live in such a society."

"Your answer?"

The smile became more definite, more sardonic than sad.

"I'm the one keeping the child in the cellar."

She reached out that hand again. He watched it settle on him and trail over the whirl on his upper sleeve.

"This is my first time considering that there are children who'd choose to stay in the cellar of their own will. Who would willingly endure."

Silence again hung in the air as the two regarded each other.

Naruto, the forsworn enemy of thoughtful silence, crashed in on the scene. "Sensei, Sasuke burnt my bedroll with his dumb shuriken!"

The two adults followed Naruto's indignant finger to see the accused genin stamping vigorously on the bedroll in question, surrounded by Hinogawan guards raucously laughing at the dark-haired boy's tomato red face. Even Sakura was grinning delightedly at the boys' expense, unaware of the horse grease staining her cheeks.

Kakashi ruffled a hand through his silver hair ruefully, letting Lady Hinogawa's hand slide off. "Ah… that's not good."

Naruto stamped his feet angrily as Kakashi got up to approach the scene of destruction. "Not good?! Senseiiii, where am I going to sleep?"

Kakashi's eye curved into a smile. "Don't worry, Naruto, you can sleep with sensei tonight!"

Naruto cringed back. "NEVER, Pervert-sensei!" He ran back towards the other genin again, half a retreat toward safety and half a demand that Kakashi follow and bring the wrath of an adult down on the teammate that had wronged him so.

Chuckling lightly, he left the lady where she sat so he could do as the orange blur commanded. He rubbed a hand over his neck.

She was still tickling him.


Author's Note: I'd...totally forgot about this fic

I'm working through the notes I had back then and trying to complete this so it's not just another project I abandon as soon as I start. The plan for this fic is 14 chapters. I'm probably going to go through one more time after I finish this fic to close any plot holes, adjust pacing and correct characterization. I feel like these first few chapters are a lot of groundwork laying which could easily be abridged.

So let me know if there are any parts you particularly like so I know what's working! I've yet to see a flame in the wild, so I don't know to be afraid of reviews yet.