"So it's true." Asuka jolted upright from the uncomfortable bed she was trying to sleep on, and noticed Kakashi on the other side of the metal bars. So he had come back from his mission, good. He seemed ok. He was now leaning on the wall to his right, his arms crossed, and that mocking expression in his eyes. She knew he was going to tease her. "Fifteen and a jailbird. Now that would make a great headline for a newspaper." She sighed and raised her eyes. "Who told you I was here?" Kakashi shrugged. "Everybody's speaking about that. I was actually sent here by your father." He noticed her questioning look. "He asked me to convince you to apologize." She groaned. "Then you're wasting your time. And he's wasting his breath." At that moment, a young genin entered the room; he had a scar across his nose, black hair pulled back in a ponytail, and an insecure air as he walked to the cell where Asuka was, carrying a tray with a soup and some bread. "I'm not going to apologize to that haughty sack of bullshit," she said, watching the boy place the tray on the little table of the cell and stand beside it, his arms behind his back. He had been ordered to watch over her while eating. He was working there at Konoha Prison, under the direct orders of the Uchiha clan, as apparently one of them was his sensei. Not that a genin could actually do something, should a jounin decide to evade, but Asuka was trusted enough to not try to escape from prison. Her status as the Hokage's daughter had earned her some privileges, like a not-so-tight guard and a fairly livable cell, alone.
Asuka had still not sat down at the table. It was so out of character of her to not eat her food, and also to go against something the Third had said. "You always lecture others on how important it is to follow the Hokage's orders, and now you're the one opposing it." She looked at him with narrowed eyes. "That was not an order. The Third gave me a choice: either apologize to the Hyuga haughty bastard, or spend the rest of the week here. And this is my decision," she concluded, raising her hand to point at the cell, then she sat at the table and started eating her soup, making loud slurping noises. Kakashi sighed. "What did he do? I heard you punched him, but I'm not informed on the details." She stopped eating and placed the spoon down beside her plate. 'It must be important,' Kakashi thought. "He slapped Naruto and made him cry. Do you know how hard it is to make him cry? Last week I accidentally dropped him from the table, and he was laughing his ass off!" The boy sighed, pondering it was better not to tease her about how irresponsible she was. "I'm sure there was a reason for it…"Asuka slammed her hand on the table, making the genin beside her jolt. "His arrogance is the only reason, for fuck's sake! It was Naruto's birthday, Kakashi, two years old! What could a child that age possibly do? The bastard's daughter only wanted to play with him! And you should have seen how he almost dislocated her shoulder to yank her away from Naruto, then insulted him, calling him a monster, and slapped him hard. And I am the one who's ended up in jail." Kakashi clenched his jaw. Asuka was very sensitive on that topic. He understood her feelings, although even he couldn't help but think of Naruto as the jinchuuriki of the monster that had taken his teacher's life. "Two years, Kakashi! That child should be praised as a hero for saving the village, instead he's considered a monster, hated and shunned by everyone!" She concluded her speech stomping her foot on the ground, and cursing. "H-H-How…" Both Kakashi and Asuka turned to the stuttering genin. "H-How can you blame them, Asuka-san? The Kyuubi killed so many people that night… I… even my parents, they were awesome ninja, yet… they died… Now when I look at the boy, I see the demon…" The girl bit her lip and stood up, standing in front of the genin. She was taller than him, so he needed to raise his head to look her in the eye. "What's your name?" The boy stiffened. "I-Iruka, ma'am." She leaned forward. "Listen, Iruka, I'm very sorry your parents died. But here we're talking about two separate things. One, the Kyuubi. The nine-tailed demon that attacked the village and took many lives. Even my teacher died by its hands; and yes, I hate it so much, I wish it were dead. Two, Naruto. A two-year-old child who was chosen by the dying Fourth to carry the responsibility of being the host of a monster. I'm sure he wouldn't have done it if he had not believed in him. Minato-sama sacrificed himself, his wife and his son to protect Konoha. And now, instead of being thankful for that, we are ostracizing the legacy he left behind. But, I'm asking you," she said, looking seriously at Iruka. "What good could possibly come from hate? If you just show that child hate or indifference, he will grow up as a resentful adult, and who knows what he could possibly do with that power inside of him. And that would be our fault alone. I'm convinced it will all be fine if we show him affection. He's a great child, you know?" She concluded, smiling at the genin. He was blushing hard, and excused himself before hastily leaving.
"I bet he pissed his pants," Kakashi said, smirking. "You were pretty menacing." She scoffed, and resumed eating. "Nah, I'm sure he's fallen for me. I bet I'll be in his first wet dream." She burst out laughing. Kakashi looked at her, happily ending her dinner. Iruka wouldn't be the only one having steamy dreams about her, that night, he already knew. (A little more than a month later, they would kiss for the first time.)
"I'm leaving. Do you want me to bring you oranges, tomorrow?" Kakashi asked. "A cake filled with a file would be better, thank you," she replied, giggling. When he got out of the door, he noticed a presence beside him. "I couldn't convince her, Third. But, to be honest, I think it's best this way." The Hokage nodded, but remained silent. "How long have you been here?" Kakashi said. "Long enough to know that the will of the Fourth still lives on." He was so proud of his daughter. Even though she had broken the law by using violence on a member of a noble clan, she had done so to keep faith to her beliefs. "You have a kind-hearted daughter, Third. Stubborn and impulsive, but kind." Kakashi said, then left.
When Kakashi entered the Hokage's office, that morning, he was surprised to see Asuka standing there, as well, in her Anbu attire. More than standing, though, she was pacing back and forth behind the Third's desk. He wondered what could possibly have happened. The night before, she was pleasantly moaning his name on his sofa. Casting such thoughts aside, he focused on the old man in front of him.
"You called, Third?" The man sighed. "Yes, Kakashi. During the night, Naruto was kidnapped. The maid who was with him is now dead. I'm sure you understand the severity of the issue." The shinobi nodded. If someone had entered Konoha and the Hokage's residence without any resistance, that meant that he or she knew the code to the village barrier, and how to crack Asuka's barrier around her house, too. Furthermore, kidnapping the Kyuubi child only meant trouble. "I want you to gather Team Ro and hunt down whomever is responsible; discover their plan and why they want the Kyuubi." Kakashi nodded. "Aye, sir." The Hokage then continued. "You'll take Saru with you as well. Whoever entered Konoha and my residence must be expert at fuuinjutsu. She will be of help." Asuka nodded at the boy, and he acknowledged her back.
"Unless the circumstances require for drastic measures, this is not an assassination mission. I know gathering information and hostage retrieval is not your usual task, Kakashi, but as the only remaining person in the village with a Sharingan, you have the power to control the Nine-tail." The boy swallowed the lump in his throat. How could he even begin to control that monster with his eye? It's not like some jutsu you learn on a scroll, or copy. "I won't fail you, Third," he responded.
"You'll split into the usual groups of three, while I'll go with Saru," Kakashi instructed the members of Team Ro, pointing at Asuka as he said her nickname. "I'll summon my dogs and have them track Naruto's scent; each group will go with one. Hopefully they haven't gone too far. Karasu, you'll use your ravens to take a look from the sky," he continued, giving a direct order to a skinny man with a crow mask. "Whenever one of you has any info, you are to immediately inform me. Don't do anything reckless on your own, don't take initiatives. The point here is to retrieve the child." Kakashi's teammates nodded. The captain then proceeded to control his teammates' equipment. "All set. We move," he declared, and the ninjas set out.
Asuka was feeling sick. She had been the one to discover the dead body of Sanda and Naruto's disappearance, that morning, and had immediately rushed to her father.
When she had come back, the night before, the woman was still alive. Asuka had been fooling around with Kakashi at his house and hadn't kept track of the time; it was already four in the morning when she had tried to sneak into her room. "Have you just come back, Asuka-sama?" She stiffened, feeling an idiot for being caught red-handed ('You're a ninja, for fuck's sake! You should know stealth!') Her father would have killed her if he had known she had been out this late. And for the reason she had been out, in particular. "Uhm… No… I… just needed to go to the toilet!" She lied, knowing exactly that she was fully clothed and that nobody could ever believe such a lie. Sanda smirked and gave her a knowing look. "Oh, yes, the toilet," she said, then added, whispering, "I've been young and in love, too, Asuka-sama. I won't tell anything to your father," she giggled, winking at her. Asuka was glad it was dark, or the woman would have seen her furious blush at the mention of the L word. It was not that she didn't feel love for Kakashi, but they had never talked about that. And also, she thought that love could not even begin to describe what she felt towards him. It was so complicated that she preferred not to think about it, as long as she and Kakashi were on the same page. She sprinted to her room, her heart beating fast.
Only three hours later, Sanda was lying on the floor, her head bent at an unnatural angle, her neck broken.
"Are you ok?" Kakashi's words beside her served to bring her back to reality. She focused on the path in front of her and nodded. Kakashi went ahead of her to use his sense of smell and track Naruto.
The boy could not help but think that Asuka was strangely silent, but he could somewhat understand she was worried over the child's well-being. However, he also could not help but feel a little excited for his first mission with the girl. Maybe a little too excited, actually, but as he was used to hide his emotions, no trace of said excitement was showing on his face or behavior. And what came first was their mission. He couldn't afford to fail. He almost missed Asuka's words, as she was practically whispering. "There's indeed something that's bothering me, taichou." Kakashi stopped his run and turned towards her, encouraging her to continue. "I know I'm probably mistaken, I do hope so, but… I was thinking about ways to elude my barrier." The boy frowned. "What do you mean?" Asuka looked down. "I know you're not used to treating with ghosts and spirits, but that is what I usually do. I fear it might have been one, as a spirit wouldn't leave a chakra signature similar to that of a human being. That would explain why the barriers haven't detected any infractions. Another hypothesis, even if unlikely… it could have been the Kyuubi itself." Her last words then settled in his head. "The Kyuubi? Has the seal on Naruto weakened?" Asuka shook her head. "I checked it yesterday, and it was fine. I'm probably just considering the worst hypothesis." The last thing she wanted was to fight and injure Naruto. She had developed her new sealing jutsu, but she was not sure she could experiment it on such a powerful demon. Moreover, if the Kyuubi were to be extracted by his body, Naruto would die. She would not allow that. "Then I think we can rule out the Kyuubi as the perpetrator," Kakashi said, putting a hand on Asuka's shoulder. "Don't overthink it. Let's consider more likely hypothesis for the time being, ok? And we need to focus on getting Naruto back, too. Me must not waste time." Asuka nodded. "You're right. The barrier around my house… it could also be eluded with space-time ninjutsu. There are not many people able to do that, but if someone could, say, teleport from outside the village to my living room, then the barrier would be ineffective, as it wouldn't be technically bridged." Kakashi realized the implications behind her words. "But that would mean that said person would need to know the exact location of your living room, ain't it right?" Asuka nodded. "That means that, in that case, the culprit could be someone you know; maybe someone from Konoha, maybe someone you trust as an ally," he concluded. Asuka's green eyes were staring at him through her monkey mask. "Either way, this is going to be a huge pain in the ass," she commented; Kakashi wondered if she was joking, but her tone was dead serious.
They had been running for hours, and still Kakashi hadn't tracked Naruto's scent. They decided to briefly stop by a river to rest for a moment and have some water, and just as they were about to set out again, something on the ground at the other side of the river caught Kakashi's attention. "What's that?" he asked to himself as he jumped on the opposite bank and picked up a little black package from the ground. He brought it to Asuka, who looked at it questioningly. Kakashi shrugged. "This thing has no smell," he mumbled. "I thought it was suspicious." Asuka took the package from Kakashi's hands and inspected it, then her eyebrow raised. "There's a barrier around it. It's called a sensory barrier, in that it blocks what's inside from being seen, heard, smelled, tasted or touched. It's difficult to build a barrier like that, and it is generally very effective, but… if you know the trick… It's fairly easy to erase it." She brought a hand in front of the object and made a release sign. "Kai," she said. Suddenly, the object revealed to be a stuffed fox. Asuka gasped. "That's Naruto's favorite toy…" As soon as he saw the toy, Kakashi could also smell the child's scent on it. It was the same as the one on the little t-shirt Asuka had provided him with, which belonged to the jinchuuriki. It was a delicate scent, which smelled of food, and dirt, and of Asuka. He glanced at her. Her lightly floral scent was filling his nostrils. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. "We should keep moving," he said. "My nose is useless right now; it's likely that they are all inside such a barrier." Asuka thought about it, then her head snapped towards Kakashi. "Wait. It's true that this barrier blocks the outside world from its content, but the same applies to what's inside. Whoever is inside the barrier can neither feel nor communicate with the outside, so..." Kakashi looked at the girl. "So, they must have someone outside the barrier who's keeping guard," Kakashi concluded, and Asuka nodded. He extended his hand towards her. "Hand that to me," he said, as he raised his mask on his forehead. He brought the toy to his nose, closed his eyes and breathed in strongly. He tried to search for another scent that lingered on it. 'Focus. There must be something, even if it's feeble…' Yes. A metallic scent that was not present on Naruto's shirt was instead on the toy. Hopefully he could trace that scent… "There. It comes from that direction," he said, pointing to his right and setting his mask back on his face. "Let's go."
As they were running, they heard a raven cawing above them. Kakashi raised a hand and the two stopped. The raven flew towards Kakashi, who extended his arm so that the bird could perch on it. "Nice to see you, Kakashi-san," it said, "I was on my way back to Karasu when I saw you. There is something suspicious up ahead, about three kilometers north-west from here." Kakashi looked intently at the bird. "What did you see?" He asked. "That's where the Kumari Cave should be, however the entrance, the clearing in front of it and the mountain behind are all black. I couldn't hear any sound coming from it, either." Kakashi nodded. They were on the right path. "Good job, thank you very much. Please return to Karasu and inform his team, too. And if you see anyone else from team Ro, please tell them to meet at the Cave. Saru and I will be going ahead." The raven cawed and flew away.
"The crow was right," Asuka whispered, looking at the black mass ahead of them. She and Kakashi were hidden on a tree near the entrance to the Kumari Cave, but all they could see was a black screen around it. Kakashi had his sharingan open and was scanning their surroundings to control the potential presence of guards around them. He raised two fingers at Asuka, then pointed at two different directions. She nodded and silently sprinted to her right, while Kakashi jumped in the opposite direction.
Kakashi returned to the tree he and Asuka were on only a few minutes before. It had been relatively easy to eliminate the guard, he hadn't even had to use Raikiri, just his sword swung through the man's heart. Just as he was about to wonder if Asuka was ok, the girl landed on the branch beside him. On her white mask was a single, circular spot of blood. "Let's go check that thing out," she prompted. Her tone was so cold that Kakashi felt a bead of sweat roll down his back. "Are you ok?" he asked her. "I'm angry," she simply replied. The boy pondered her answer. A ninja should hold back his or her emotions, as they may get in the way of the mission. If Asuka was indeed angry, would that feeling hinder her reasoning? She had been useful up until then with her knowledge on barriers, but she was also personally involved in their mission, what with her relationship with Naruto. Would it be better to stay put and wait for the other members of Team Ro? On the other side, her being emotionally involved in all that could also spur her to do her best. She seemed fairly determined, indeed.
It was not that he didn't trust her, far from it. But two things were bothering him.
The first one was that they had never been on a mission together, and while Asuka was greatly skilled and not one to discuss orders, Kakashi was the captain; their relationship had never been that unbalanced, and they still needed to get used to it. It was still a new experience for both of them.
Second thing, he knew her well. Bright and warm, but also rash and impulsive. Would she be able to keep her impetuous temperament at bay? 'I'll go with her for the time being and evaluate her reactions as we take action. Hopefully the others will arrive soon,' Kakashi concluded, casting a sideways glance at the kunoichi. She seemed to be waiting for his order. "Let's go."
Kakashi and Asuka landed just in front of the barrier. As expected, their senses could not perceive what was inside. Asuka put a hand on the barrier and sighed. It would take a good amount of chakra to release it. As she focused her chakra in her palms, Kakashi prepared to counterattack any enemy they might encounter. "Kai!"
The barrier disappeared, revealing a green clearing and the entrance to a big rocky cave. No person was there. The two Shinobi exchanged a glance. "Do you feel anything weird?" Asuka asked, and Kakashi shook his head. "It seems all very normal to me. Maybe they are way deep into the ground," he said, pointing at the path that extended ahead of them. "Or maybe it's a trap. It seems all too easy to be good," he concluded, and heard Asuka click her tongue in annoyance. She sighed, then proceeded to do a brief seal sequence with her hands. In a puff of smoke, another Asuka was standing beside the original, but… "What the… a shadow clone?" The girl nodded, and Kakashi frowned. "I thought it was a forbidden jutsu." Asuka turned her head the other way. "Let's just say that I found the scroll by accident in my father's office, ok? Anyway, I'll have it go ahead and see what's going on. When it's released, all its memories and experiences will come back to me." Kakashi snorted. That was clever, indeed. He then repeated the sequence she had done, and after a moment, another Kakashi was staring back at him. "Heh, your 'copy-ninja' nickname is well earned, I see." Asuka commented, and he shrugged. The rumours that he could copy a jutsu only looking at the seals once were indeed true.
"What the hell was that?" Kakashi mumbled, as his clone's memories appeared in his mind. Deep inside the cave, in a huge natural hall, there were easily two hundred people, and most of them seemed to be ninja. In the middle of the hall a tall stalagmite rose from the ground, and the body of a child seemed to be impaled on its tip. All along the stalagmite walls were bloodied inscriptions. All the people in the cave were looking at the body on the stalagmite and chanting what seemed like a mantra. Next to Naruto, a man in a black cloak – was he flying? – had his right hand on the child's stomach, and in his left hand he was carrying a golden dagger. The situation was extremely serious. Kakashi registered Asuka taking off her mask, beside him. She seemed to be having trouble breathing, and she was trembling. As soon as he put his hand on her back, she stood up and glared at him. Her green eyes had never been so hard, her furious expression a far cry from her usual cheerful persona. "I'm going to take Naruto back and, I swear on whichever God is listening now, I'm going to kill them all." She then stormed deep into the cave. 'Fuck! She can't barge in there like that… She's gonna get herself killed!' Kakashi immediately followed after her. Too bad she was one of the fastest ninjas he knew.
"Kakashi!" The boy looked behind his shoulder and saw that Pakkun was right behind him. Thank God, reinforcements. "Where are Karasu and the others?" he asked. "They are keeping guard at the entrance, we were ambushed on our way here." Kakashi nodded. So there were others? "Is everyone ok?" The dog grumbled. "Yeah, they were small fries. But I smell a lot of blood coming from this direction." Kakashi looked ahead, seeing Asuka's hair disappear behind a curve on their path. He sped up his pace, and managed to get a hold on her wrist, effectively halting her. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!" he scolded her, putting her mask back on her face. She wiggled her arm free, but stayed there with him, nonetheless. "You've seen what they did to Naruto! We can't waste any time!" Asuka's voice had become higher pitched than usual. Kakashi was fighting hard to keep his calm, too. Seeing Asuka like that was affecting him. "I know, but we need a plan before acting. There's a lot of ninjas there." He stopped her by grabbing her wrist, before she could stand up and leave. An impatient grunt escaped her lips, but Kakashi spoke first. "I've already thought about something. Hear me out."
Asuka honestly wouldn't have ever expected something like that could be possible. Kakashi had perfectly planned everything in advance, but even he could not know that the people they had to fight would be almost immortal, for fuck's sake. From what she understood, the man in the cloak was a priest, and a sort of black wizard, and he had infused all the ninjas there with some fucking black power that had turned them into zombies… they wouldn't feel any pain and would keep on hunting them down, even if hit or injured. And what was more, unlike zombies, these fucking ninjas had retained all their abilities. She leaned back, relieved to feel Kakashi's back against hers. Luckily all of Team Ro had managed to reach the cave and come help them, even though the enemies were still at a huge advantage. Each one of the Leaf shinobi had to fight almost twenty people, to say the least. A three-person squad was now running back to Konoha with Naruto. At least, they had managed to get him to a safe place. Who would have ever thought that a simple substitution jutsu would have done the trick? Kakashi had switched places with the child right before the man in the black cloak could stab him. Again. A rush of hatred flowed through her body, thinking about the injuries on Naruto.
"Kakashi, I have an idea," she said, dodging a blow from above her. He grunted in reply, slashing yet another ninja with his sword. "Better than staying here and eventually dying, I hope." How could he even find time to joke in their predicament, he didn't know that himself. She didn't like to resort to it, as it was so hard to control, but she figured it was a now-or-never situation. "I'm about to perform a summoning. As soon as I complete it, make all of Team Ro retreat. You too." Kakashi's head shot to her. "What the fuck are you saying? Are you planning on staying here all by yourself?" He couldn't, he just couldn't leave her there. He saw her eyes through the holes on her mask. They were calmer than before, more confident, and that glint of madness seemed gone. "I'm not planning on dying. You can watch over me, if you want, but you need to be far from my reach. Go back to where we came from," she said, pointing at the hole in the rock above them on their right. She then lifted her mask just above her mouth and bit her finger, then crouched down, brushing her finger on the ground. "Go, now!" she ordered. Kakashi cursed, but complied, nevertheless. "Retreat!" he yelled to his teammates. The ninjas managed to take shelter just as a huge skeleton ghost appeared, looming above the enemies.
"It's been a while, Asuka-sama… You look even more appetizing than usual… Have you grown?" the skeleton hissed, lowering his gigantic head so that it was in front of the girl. Kakashi felt a chill run down his spine. "What the fuck is that?" he heard Karasu, on his left, say. Kakashi himself had never seen the real Gashadokuro, only the version made by Tano, Asuka's tanuki spirit she usually summoned. But this pressure, this evil chakra was on a whole different level. The enemies, there, were obviously feeling it, too, seeing how they started squirming and run away. The man in the black cloth was staring excitedly at it. "Gashadokuro, hear me out." The tone Asuka had used to speak with the spirit made Kakashi's flesh crawl. It was low, cold, deadly. Her usual musical voice was nowhere to be heard. The skeleton, though, seemed to appreciate it. "Oooh, Asuka-sama, finally some good hatred in your soul. I had almost resigned myself to having a peace-loving summoner." Its laughter echoed through the cave. "I guess I'll do as you say today…" he conceded.
"Gashadokuro is the scariest and most evil monsters Asuka-sama has in her arsenal." Kakashi's head turned to his right. "Tano-san? What are you doing here?" The tanuki looked at the boy. "I came here of my own free will. I was worried for my master." Kakashi remembered what Asuka had told him about it; her contract with the spirits had been passed down from her grandmother, to her mother, to her, but she had become true friend with Tano, to the point where she would summon it even when she only felt alone and needed someone to talk to. As years passed by, he got able to appear even if not summoned. "Gashadokuro gets stronger the more hatred its master feels," Tano explained. "I've never seen Asuka-sama so out of her mind. She did right, telling you to take shelter." Kakashi looked at the tanuki. "Will she be alright?" He frowned, seeing how the spirit's lips tightened.
"I bet you're hungry," Asuka said, the skeleton's mouth glinting with saliva. "I always am, Asuka-sama." "Then, please, Gashadokuro, just leave the man in the black cloak for last, I want to speak with him first. And don't you dare touch my companions." The skeleton looked at the Leaf Shinobi. "Oh, I see, Kakashi-boy is there too." Kakashi heard his teammates gasp in fear as Gashadokuro's eye sockets settled on them. "The rest, eat to your heart's content." Hearing those words, the ghost turned and emitted a satisfied growl. "As you wish, Asuka-sama." In a split second, three men dropped on the ground, their heads bitten off.
Kakashi fought the wave of sickness that threatened to make him vomit just like some of his companions had already done. The stench of blood in his nostrils was overwhelming, and the scene before his eyes was gruesome, to say the least. Dozens of headless bodies were scattered on the ground, and Gashadokuro was flying contently, laughing wildly as he flung on those still standing to eat their heads. Asuka was fighting with the man in the black cloak, her anbu sword against his golden dagger, his black chakra against her earth release. Even in that carnage, Kakashi couldn't help but admire Asuka's movements; her sword fighting style was impeccable and she moved gracefully and effortlessly as if she were dancing. However, that lightness in her movements strongly contrasted with her image. There wasn't a white spot on her mask anymore, the monkey face was instead fully red with blood. Her wavy hair was drenched with the red viscous fluid and stuck to her head, and her uniform was completely soaked in blood to the point it was dripping. In his mind, Kakashi compared her to a war goddess, and his stomach clenched. That was not her. She was not a ruthless assassin, she was a caring person, she was bright and warm, not dark and cold. He needed to stop her. He bit his lips and stood up, but was stopped by Tano's paw on his arm. "I'll tell you when," the Tanuki told him.
She needed to end the fight quickly. Summoning and controlling Gashadokuro was taking a huge toll on her chakra reserves, and fighting that man was proving to be harder than she had anticipated. That black chakra was harming her just by close proximity, it was like a poisonous gas. Her vision was already blurred. "Was it you who entered the Hokage's house, last night? What did you want to do with the child?" She asked, trying to distract the man, hoping he would show an opening. He ignored her questions, though, and instead attacked her. As his dagger contacted with her sword, he spoke. "Why do you have such an amazing demon, you insignificant insect? I should be his master!" Asuka struggled to get the man off of her; as he stumbled back, she jolted backwards and crouched to the ground, trying to catch her breath. She glanced at Gashadokuro and saw him throwing himself to yet another bunch of screaming shinobi. Then she heard the man's rant. "I had almost gotten the Kyuubi, one of the most powerful demons of all times, and you useless trash just had to ruin everything!"
'Yes, speak, you idiotic freak,' Asuka thought. That gave her time to rest for a second. "And now this beautiful, splendid death-bringer," he continued, pointing at the skeleton. "You're just a worthless scum, you don't deserve such a powerful being. I want it. I will finally be able to fulfil Jasshin's will with it." "Umph. Who is ths Jasshin you're talking about? Some kind of crazy fucker like you? And by the way, what are you, a demon otaku?" A part of her thought that was a definition that could be easily applied to herself, and almost chuckled at that. "Maybe we're alike, after all. Two insignificant insects playing with spirits above their control."
Her words seemed to anger him. His chakra became smoke and he suddenly threw himself at her, the black smoke quickly wrapping around her neck, strangling her. "You worthless piece of shit, your filthy mouth is not worthy of uttering Jasshin-sama's name so easily!" The pressure around her neck was steadily increasing. This could be the cause of Sanda's death. Too bad she had discovered it just at the worst of times. "You filthy wench cannot even begin to imagine the wonders Jasshin-sama can do!" She stuck her nails on the smoke around her neck, but the pressure did not decrease. For a second, she hoped that someone – a certain silver-haired jounin would have been her first choice – would come to her rescue. It would have been good to feel like a damsel in distress, saved by her prince charming. But then again, she was a ninja, not a weak girl. She focused the last of her chakra to call Gashadokuro there and have that man killed by the same creature he so much admired.
Fuck.
Gashadokuro had disappeared, much like her last chakra. She couldn't move anymore, she was fighting hard to breathe, and her eyelids felt heavier and heavier. Maybe she truly was a worthless piece of shit, after all. As she felt her senses abandon her, Asuka's eyes caught a glimpse of silver, and her ears were filled with the chirping sound of the Raikiri. She smiled. Her prince charming had arrived.
As she came to her senses, Asuka looked around herself. She guessed she had passed out only for a brief moment, as Kakashi was still there, his Raikiri through the man's chest. Suddenly, the smell of blood hit her. She took a better look around herself, and her heart froze. She was literally in a sea of blood and dead bodies. She started shivering just as Kakashi extracted his arms from the man's corpse. She took off her mask and threw up on the floor. "Are you ok, Asuka-sama?" The kunoichi looked at her right. Tano was there, his paw on her back. She couldn't speak, though, all she could do was shiver. She felt every bead of sweat that was trailing down her forehead, mixing with the dry blood on her face. What had gotten into her? She had ordered Gashadokuro to kill all those people, out of pure hatred. And what was worse, she had felt good seeing that carnage taking place. Her shivering increased, and her stomach churned. She threw up again, and a green pool of bile formed on the ground. Kakashi's hands closed around her knees and back, and Asuka felt herself lifted. Even though her shivering had somehow dimmed, she couldn't lift her arms to his neck. "Let's go home," she heard his voice through his mask, then passed out again.
Neither of the two shinobi noticed the black chakra flowing out of the dead man's body and deep into the ground.
It was already past ten at night when they arrived at Konoha. Asuka had come to in the meantime, and had proceeded on her own feet, but she still hadn't said a word. Kakashi had noticed how his teammates were keeping their distance from her. The show she had provided earlier that day had been enough to scare the hell out of them. Once they passed through the gate, Kakashi dismissed the rest of Team Ro and headed to the Hokage's building to report, followed by Asuka. He knew the Third would still be there.
The lights in the Hokage's office were indeed still on. As he knocked and waited for permission to enter, he glanced briefly at Asuka, and his jaw clenched. She was the ghost of herself, and what was most disheartening to him, was the fact that he didn't know what to tell her to comfort her. She had put her mask back on during their trip back, and she still hadn't talked. He heard the Hokage telling him to come in, and he opened the door. He noticed the old man's eyes widen at their entrance and his jaw drop, and Kakashi couldn't say he wasn't expecting that kind of reaction.
"Good job on retrieving Naruto," the Hokage started, then looked at Asuka, his frown getting deeper. "He's at the hospital now. He was severely injured, but his wounds are already healing. That's the power of the Kyuubi for you, I guess. You'll be able to visit him tomorrow morning, if you want to, Asuka." He had directly addressed her daughter, yet she hadn't moved nor uttered a word. The man looked at her for a while before turning his attention back to Kakashi. "I heard from the team that brought back Naruto that the situation was pretty dire. Are our forces all right?" Kakashi clicked his heels together. "Yes, sir. All of Team Ro has managed to come back to Konoha unscathed," he said, then his lips tightened as his head slowly turned towards Asuka, his brows furrowing. Before he could give his report, the Hokage spoke. "Asuka, you're dismissed. I need to talk to Kakashi alone." The kunoichi said nothing but slowly turned and headed towards the door, closing it behind her.
"We found ourselves in the middle of a crazy religious sect rite. From what I understood they were trying to extract the Kyuubi from the child to use it to bring destruction. There was this priest, I think he was somehow controlling all the people there. We managed to stop them, but I'm sorry I really don't have any more info about that. They attacked us but didn't seem like they knew what they were doing; they were like puppets, and we were greatly outnumbered. We couldn't help but defend ourselves," Kakashi explained, not waiting for the man to ask what had happened. "I see. Guess there was no other solution other than killing them," the Hokage commented, taking a drag from his pipe. "Has Asuka summoned Gashadokuro?" His question came to Kakashi unexpectedly, and he lowered his gaze. "Yes." The Third sighed. "The first time I had seen it, I almost peed my pants. I was a teenager, at that time. Asuka's mother had summoned it. We were against lots of enemies, and in a split second, they were all gone. What was left behind was my future wife in the same state Asuka is in right now. From what I understood, that spirit corrupts your mind when you summon it." Kakashi's throat clenched. "Will she recover?"
The Hokage looked at Kakashi. He knew that he and Asuka were together, but he had never mentioned anything about that. Unless it hindered their job as ninjas, that was none of his business. Yes, being a father, his insides churned at the thought of her daughter having an intimate relationship with anyone, but yet again, if she was old enough to fight and kill people, then she was old enough to have a romantic relationship in which he would not meddle. If anything, he was happy for the both of them. Despite the rumors about his coldness, Kakashi was a brilliant and kind person, and probably the best ninja in the village, now that the Sannin had gone. Her daughter seemed to have lightened him up a bit, while she had become less impulsive and more honest.
"She needs to process what happened." The Hokage replied, thinking about his late wife and what she had gone through. "Please, stand by her." Kakashi nodded, and the man leaned back on his chair. "I want you to give me a written report of the mission by the end of the week, but for the moment Team Ro can take a couple of days off." Kakashi bowed lightly, thanking the Hokage. He then excused himself and got out of the building. Asuka was nowhere to be seen.
Kakashi had been trying to sleep for a while, now, but he would only keep on tossing and turning in his bed. He had searched for Asuka around the village, but she had concealed her chakra signature. This meant she wanted to be left alone. He was so worried. He stared exasperatedly at the ceiling, sighing loudly, when he heard a sound. He jolted upright. It had seemed like a knock on the door, but it had been so light he wasn't sure if he had just imagined it. Was it her? He hoped so. He sprinted to the door and opened it. It was indeed her, but Kakashi's chest was still heavy with worry. She was still wearing her anbu uniform, her monkey mask, with all the blood dried on her. She wasn't saying anything, she was just staring at him through her mask. His shoulders slumped a little with sadness. He couldn't bear to see her like that. He grabbed her hand and gently pulled her inside his house. She didn't offer any resistance. The Hokage's words replayed in his mind. 'Please, stand by her.' He would.
With her hand in his, Kakashi led Asuka to his bathroom. He took off the metal guards and gloves from her arms, dropping them on the floor. He then crouched down and took off her sandals, pants and underwear, then carefully proceeded to unwrap the bandages around her legs, from her knees to her ankles.
After he had exposed her legs, he stood up, unfastened her flak jacket and took that off, too. Under it, she was wearing a black sleeveless top, with a zipper running down the front. Kakashi unzipped it and peeled it off her arms. He undid the bandages around her chest, too. He glanced at her naked figure. The blood that had passed through her clothes and dried on her body made her skin brick-red in color, with some areas more vividly stained than others. He then gently took off her mask and stared into her green eyes, now expressionless. Her hair stuck to her forehead and cheeks.
He moved to the shower and started the water, then went back to Asuka, who had not moved from her spot. He took off his pajamas and underwear, too, then took the girl by the hand, leading her into the shower. He grabbed the showerhead and held it in his hand, testing the water temperature. When he deemed it was hot enough to be soothing, but not scorching, he passed the showerhead above her head, gently soaking her hair. He then let go of the showerhead, grabbed his shampoo and started massaging her scalp. The shampoo created a white foam that soon turned red as the blood was slowly washed away. He repeated the process a couple more times, until her hair was clean, then he grabbed the soap bar and rubbed it in his hands, then used the foam it created to gently wash her face. She kept her eyes closed as he did that. Kakashi then proceeded to rub the soap bar on her body, carefully removing every trace of blood. As he did so, he was desperately searching for words of comfort inside his head, but he couldn't find any. Then, she was the one who broke the silence.
"I enjoyed seeing them die." She had whispered, but he had heard her well. He raised his eyes from her arm to her face. Her expression was sad. "I felt so good," she continued, her voice a feeble sound. "You were not in your right mind. Gashadokuro…" She interrupted him. "I am its summoner. I should control it. Instead, I let myself be controlled. I'm a failure," she concluded, biting her lip. Kakashi stood and looked her in the eye. "We managed to save Naruto, you heard your father, he's ok now. Those people… they were enemies. They kidnapped a child and would have killed him and us all, if you hadn't summoned Gashadokuro. You're not a failure." She sighed, looking down, and did not reply. Kakashi stood there for a minute, then resumed washing her body. As he was rubbing her stomach with the soap bar, he spoke again, voicing thoughts he would have never thought he would tell her.
"I know it sounds corny, but… To me… You're like the sun. You're always so warm, so bright, you make people want to stay around you, bathing in your light. Sometimes, you remind me of the Fourth. You're kind, and caring, and you truly love the village." His eyes never left her stomach. His hands slid down her thigh, soaping the skin of her left leg. "Our experiences… we both know darkness." He closed his eyes, as Rin's dying face came to his mind. "I believe you have the power to rise above that suffering. They say the darkest moment of the night is just before dawn." He moved to her other leg, passing the soap bar from her thigh down to her foot. "I… have never risen from the dark. I'm still there, and it feels so uncomfortable. It's so cold, so lonely." His fingertips pressed behind her leg. "Don't stay here. Please… let me see the sun again."
Asuka stood there, watching the last drops of blood fall at her feet and be carried down the drain. Kakashi had thoroughly washed her, but he hadn't said anything anymore, and he was carefully avoiding her eyes. He stopped the water in the shower and opened the shower door. He stepped out and hastily passed a towel upon himself to quickly dry himself, then grabbed a bathrobe and held it open for her to put it on. She slid her arms into the sleeves, and Kakashi tied the belt around her waist. He quickly put his pajamas back on, grabbed the towel he had used for himself and wiped her feet with it, then he took another towel and blotted her hair, all the while avoiding all form of eye contact. He mumbled something unintelligible, then quickly got out of the bathroom. Asuka heard the sound of a drawer opening, and after a moment he was back with one of his t-shirts in his hand. He untied the belt of the bathrobe and took it off of her, carefully checking if there were any wet areas he had left behind, then slipped his t-shirt on her. It was a plain, grey t-shirt, but the fabric was very soft, and it had Kakashi's scent on it.
"I'll sleep on the couch," Kakashi said. He was feeling such a dork for what he had said to her in the shower. He had been an idiot, asking her to be strong for his sake when she clearly was on the verge of breaking down. Instead of comforting her, he had probably just aggravated her depression. What kind of idiot would voice those thoughts out loud? He was so embarrassed. And what was worse, Asuka hadn't even replied. She must be so pissed at him. Suddenly, he felt her hand closing around his fingers, and he instinctively looked at her face. Her sad expression was still there, but she seemed more alive then before. She didn't say anything, instead she just tugged at his hand and led him to his bedroom, in the darkness. She laid down on the bed and made him lay down, too. They remained at a certain distance from one another, but they were still laying face to face.
She didn't know how much time had passed. Kakashi had seemingly fallen asleep. His breath was calm and steady. Asuka was replaying his words in her mind. It must have been so hard for him to say those thoughts out loud. He had never been afraid to speak his mind, but when he had spoken to her in the shower it had felt as if he had bared his soul to her. There were some topics that Kakashi just would not broach. Feelings were among them. She remembered how uncomfortable he had gotten about her grandmother's suicide. Her chest ached with a heavy sensation. Kakashi was still struggling with his past; he had just turned eighteen, yet he had collected so many sad experiences that would be enough for three lives, to say the least. How much was he still suffering? She hadn't been lucky in her life, either, but she still had a lot to be happy about. Her father, her brothers, and her sister-in-law had just recently announced her pregnancy; she would soon be an aunt. She had Naruto. She had her music, and her friends.
What did Kakashi have? She brought a hand to his face and caressed his cheek. His breath faltered, but immediately steadied. He opened his eyes to look at her. His red sharingan was glistening in the dark. Her. He had her. She slid closer to him. "I want to be the sun for you," she whispered, as her left arm closed around his neck. She laid her right hand on his chest, and felt his heart pacing up its rhythm. "But tonight, let me stay in the dark with you." Her lips gracefully kissed his mouth. "We'll warm it up together." As Kakashi kissed her back, slowly, sweetly, he couldn't tell if the moisture he felt on his cheek was due to Asuka's or his own tears.
They had never made love like that before. They had always connected on the sexual level, they knew what made the other experience pure bliss, and they always liked to experiment, but they had never been so intimate. They were in total darkness, yet it felt as though they were under the daylight, as if their mutual feelings were out in the open for everyone to see. Asuka had crawled on top of Kakashi; they moved slowly, Asuka's hips rocking on top of Kakashi's, his left hand anchored at her thigh and his right on her breast, while she kept one of her hands on the headboard for support, and the other tangled in the boy's hair. Their mouths had never interrupted their kiss, except for brief seconds in which they would catch their breaths. They both felt the tension build up and release at the same moment, and it was more powerful than they had ever experienced.