Hello everybody, once again thank you for reading this story. I'm sorry it's been a while from the last chapter, but I hope I'll make up with this long chapter. Enjoy and, if you'd like, read and leave a review!
"Hey, roomie!"
Kakashi was greeted by a beaming face when his alarm clock went off.
"Hey…" He slurred, still half asleep, welcoming Asuka's body into his arms. How nice it was to wake up to her. He could easily see himself start off his days with a boost.
"I'm sorry I can't cook you breakfast, but I've thought of a way to make up for it…" she said to his ear.
He gasped as he felt her mouth close around his semi-erected member, and he closed his eyes, resting his head back on the pillow, reveling in a half-conscious euphoric state. He could definitely see himself waking up to this every day.
Kakashi exited the bathroom and eyed the woman in his living room doing gym, her eyes closed.
"Is that yoga?" He asked.
Asuka nodded, and continued with her routine. Kakashi started preparing breakfast, every now and then looking at the woman. He admired her movements and her grace. She made it seem so effortless and easy. Even when she used to practice taijutsu, she was like that. Carefully studied postures, not even a movement that was either superfluous or out-of-place. Just like a dance.
Asuka liked dancing. She had never taken any classes, which was proven by the fact that she didn't know much about actual steps and moves, but there was a natural, graceful aura around her being when she did dance, that made it a pleasure to look at her. When they were kids, even before being together, Kakashi and Asuka had spent much time together at his house, her dancing around with her headphones on, him reading a book on the sofa, casting furtive glances at the girl and smirking to himself.
Asuka ended her routine standing up, her hands joined together in front of her heart as if she were praying, then she opened her eyes and looked at Kakashi, smiling.
"Surya Namaskara. Sun Salutation. B taught it to me… it keeps me centered and maintains my chakra balanced," she explained. The man nodded, trying to remove from his head the image of B doing that routine. That was frankly revolting.
It was still early in the morning, the sky was still pink in color, but Kakashi liked to arrive at his office before anyone else, which was quite out-of-character for him. But that was the only time he was able to work in peace for a while.
"Do you have any plans for this morning?" He asked, finishing his rice bowl. Asuka nodded, while chewing on a piece of grilled fish.
"I think I'll visit the graveyard, then maybe go to the Hida and Sarutobi neighborhoods." What remained of them, at least.
Kakashi hummed. "Be sure to come to the Hokage Tower at 15."
Asuka looked at him, surprised yet smiling. "My first mission after so long?!"
Kakashi shook his head. "I thought you read the file I gave you yesterday," he commented.
Asuka huffed, blushing a little. "Skimmed through it. Too much kanji." Her blushing intensified under the man's curious gaze. She had never had problems reading kanji. Sandaime was very strict with his children in that matter. "Don't look at me like that! The Western Continent has totally different languages, you know. I had to forget kanji in order to make room for those in my brain. Adaptation for survival."
"A.k.a. functional illiteracy." Kakashi looked amusedly at Asuka's glare. "Well, basically, what was written there is that you still need to be evaluated, Asuka," he stated.
"Excuse me?" She said, incredulously.
"Yup. We still need to figure out which rank to put you in. You were a jounin, part of the anbu division. Think you'd still be there?"
Asuka's hand balled into a fist that she waved proudly in front of her confidently-smiling face.
"Of course! I bet I could even kick your sorry ass after my training, you know?"
Kakashi smirked at the woman's arrogant statement. "At least, your cockiness is jounin-level," he said, nudging the arm she was still wailing in front of her, and effectively causing her fist to smack on her own face. "We'll see about the rest."
He laughed at the hurt look in Asuka's eyes. She was massaging the spot on her forehead where her own punch had landed, frowning and pouting.
"You'll be kneeling in front of me, tonight, begging for your life," she menaced, finding it hard to hide her smile.
Kakashi stood up, trying to stop picturing himself kneeling in front of Asuka and actually have her beg him. He walked around the table and leaned over the woman, kissing her lightly on her forehead. "Does it still hurt, my little Asuka-chan?" He asked, teasing her with a honeyed voice. She swatted his head away with her hand. "Just go and let me cry my pain out alone," she replied, smirking.
"I'll see you later," he greeted, squeezing her shoulder.
It was a nice, sunny morning. Cold, but pleasant. Asuka strolled around the village, observing the buildings and the people around her. Some of them had recognized her, even among civilians, and she had stopped by each time to have a little conversation with them. It was such a great feeling to finally be home, so great that Asuka could not keep herself from smiling. She was doing a decent job, too, ignoring the other great feeling spreading into her stomach, which was everything but good and comforting. She felt it intensify each step she took towards the graveyard.
Her last stop before that place was the Yamanaka flower shop. Her arrival was announced by a little bell ringing as the door opened.
"Hello," Asuka greeted, upon entering, recognizing Ino in a corner, talking to someone who had apparently just bought a baby tree and was now carrying it in their arms just like a baby. Even though baby, it was still quite big, actually.
"Hello! Oh, is that you, Sarutobi-san?" At the mention of Asuka's surname, a head popped out from behind the tree trunk, and the woman immediately recognized the other girl.
"Sakura! Do you need help? That thing seems… heavy!" She inquired, hearing Ino huff.
"Oh, don't worry, Sarutobi-san, this one here's got enormous strength. Just like her forehead." Sakura screeched, trying to kick her friend, but in the meantime she had already approached Asuka, who was still looking at Sakura, a dubious look in her eyes.
"Uhm, ok…" she conceded, noticing the ease with which the pink-haired girl put the tree down and strolled towards her. 'Note to self. Don't anger Sakura.'
Her speculations on the herculean strength of the kunoichi were interrupted by the playful giggle that escaped Ino's lips. Asuka turned her head to her and blushed a little. "I was staring, wasn't I?" She asked, making Ino's giggle intensify.
"I told you not to worry, Sarutobi-san! By the way… Would it be ok with you if I called you by your first name?" Asuka raised an eyebrow, then waved a hand in front of herself. "Of course! No need to be formal! I'm neither famous nor old," she replied, chuckling.
The blonde girl smiled, then eyed the woman and sighed. "I really like your style, Asuka-san. It gives you a very… cosmopolitan look." Beside her, Sakura nodded vehemently. "That's true! You look like a movie star!"
Asuka shrugged, looking at her clothes. Her omnipresent furry mustard coat, a high-necked, cropped, red sweater, a pair of high-waisted, straight-legged jeans and combat boots. She felt quite casual, actually. Those were pretty basic, standard clothes in Ita. "Thanks, I guess… it's just that I don't have Konoha clothes anymore, so I might be standing out for some time. I'll buy more ordinary stuff as soon as I earn some money."
Ino shook her head. "No, you don't have to! You're so beautiful like that!" Asuka felt her cheeks warm up, and she smiled lightly, a little embarrassed.
"Can I help you with something, Asuka-san?" Ino then asked.
"Yeah. I need some flowers…"
'Duh. That's why you're in a flower shop, idiot.' Amanozako commented.
"Sure! What kind of flowers were you thinking about?" Asuka raised an eyebrow. She didn't know anything about plants.
"Uhm… I mean… I'm not an expert… I'm heading to the graveyard and…"
Ino interruppted the woman. "Don't say anything more. I know what you need." She hurried to a corner of the shop, and Asuka just stood there, waiting for her. She could feel Sakura's eyes on her. Was she studying her?
"What are you going to do with that tree?" Asuka asked, nodding at the plant beside the girl. Sakura briefly looked at it and then back at the woman, smiling.
"It's for the kids at the hospital. I promised them we would start a private garden in the premises, and they all asked for a cherry tree. We are going to plant it this afternoon," she concluded.
"That's a beautiful initiative," Asuka commented with a smile. Just then, Ino came back with a bunch of colorful flowers.
"Pink gerbera daisies," the girl explained, pointing at one type. "They stand for love and affection." What a coincidence. Those were her favorite flowers, even though she preferred the orange ones.
"Asuma's favorites," Ino added, lowering her voice. A fond smile spread on her face, while Asuka's eyebrows shot upwards.
"Yeah, I know, sensei was not the type of guy who seemed to like flowers, but actually he told me that gerbera daisies were his favorite," Ino continued. "Then, we have white chrysanthemums. Many people associate those with death, but they are actually a symbol for life and rebirth."
Asuka nodded, fascinated by the girl's explanation. She accepted the bunch Ino handed her and paid.
"Oh, Asuka-san, now I remember!" Sakura suddenly exclaimed. "Today's your birthday, isn't it?"
The woman seemed taken aback. She wasn't expecting the girl to remember. She nodded, smiling. "Don't remind me I getting old," she joked.
"Happy Birthday!" Sakura beamed, promptly followed by Ino. Asuka tilted her head to the side and smiled at the two girls, thanking them.
"Please, Asuka-san, accept this as a present, then!"
Asuka looked at the pot in Ino's hand. It seemed as though a color bomb had just exploded in her hands. Orange, red and yellow flowers, some almost spherical in shape, with several layers of petals.
"They're zinnias. Low-maintenance, simple flowers, but very strong. I think they suit you, Asuka-san."
Asuka blushed a little at the description. Ino had read her mind, and had probably seen a lot about her. Maybe she felt as if she knew her, and it was probably true. She had never had much to hide. She smiled warmly and thanked Ino for her present, then waved Ino and Sakura goodbye, and exited.
She quickly jumped through rooftops to reach Kakashi's house – no, our home – to leave the zinnias there, and no more than ten minutes later, she was at the entrance to the graveyard.
Her legs felt like jelly.
Her stomach felt like a whirlwind.
Her chest felt like it was being clutched in a vise.
And her mind was blank yet frantic, light and heavy at the same time.
Each step she took, she pondered over turning around and running away. She was not ready to face reality.
Not that frightening, disheartening reality.
The graveyard was bigger than she remembered. How many people had died in those fourteen years?
She wandered through the tombstones, leaving flowers on those bearing names she recognized, telling a silent prayer for everyone, until she came across Toshiro's and Mira's graves. They were like the others, a simple gravestone with their names on it and the symbol of the village underneath. They had been buried next to each other. As Asuka crouched down and gently wiped the gravestones with a tissue, to clean them from dirt and dust, her mind flew back to years before.
"Hi Toshiro, Mira. I… I've finally come back. I'm so sorry it took so long, and that I couldn't be with you when you had your son. I still haven't met him, but Kakashi told me that Konohamaru has been growing and maturing into a fine ninja. I'm not surprised by that… the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, after all. You were one hell of a ninja couple, I did look up to you, you know." She wiped a tear from the corner of her eye and inhaled. "I swear I'll do my best. I've been lost for so many years, but now I'm finally here. I'll help protect Konoha, and your legacy, just like you did when you were alive. You have my word."
Asuka gently placed some flowers on top of their graves, then stood up. She dried the cold sweat on the palms of her hands on her coat and proceeded along the tombs. She was still feeling horribly, but she could make it.
Asuka visited her grandparents' graves before heading to her mother's and praying there some more. She still hadn't found Asuma's grave, so she headed to the monument in the middle of the graveyard. The mausoleum where all of the Hokage were buried. She sat in front of it and placed a hand on her father's name, engraved in the stone.
"Hi dad… I've accomplished my mission. It took some time, but I'm here. I… I…" Words were stuck in her throat, she couldn't make them come out. She bit her lip as she felt sobs starting interrupting the flow of her breath. Tears freely fell from her eyes, and she just stayed there, her eyes fixed on her father's name, crying silently.
She didn't know how much time had passed, but after a while, she stopped crying. Her finger traced her father's name as she smiled sweetly. "Your village is still beautiful, dad. You did a great job as the Hokage. And you were an awesome dad, too."
Only Asuma's grave remained. Asuka started walking to her left. After a few minutes of wandering, she read her brother's name. The clutch in her heart returned as powerful as before, as she approached the tombstone and kneeled in front of it. There were already some flowers on the stone, however they had been severely damaged by the storms during the past days. Asuka carefully replaced them with the flowers she had.
"Your favorite, uh? And here I was, thinking that 'men who like flowers are pussies.' You were truly an idiot, Asuma." She clenched her teeth and inhaled. "I saw the picture of your team. In the end you managed to grow yourself a beard that didn't look totally ridiculous, and even seemed almost a responsible adult there. Congratulations on that. I also met Shikamaru and Ino; they are very good kids, and skillful shinobi. It's a mystery how they could have turned out like that knowing you were their teacher. Oh, by the way, Shikamaru took up your hideous habit and started smoking. A lot. That kid's a little smokestack."
Asuka's legs felt weaker and weaker, and she plopped down onto the ground in front of the grave.
"In the end, you even managed to get into Kurenai's panties, uh? I seriously thought that would never happen. I mean, she was way out of your league. You must have had some hidden talents that I was not aware of."
Asuka took in a slow breath and let the air fill her lungs.
"You used to always take things lightly, used to always look down on responsibilities. I know dad was especially hard on you, I know he had big plans for your future, but you only felt like running away. I always thought you'd freak out and give up on being a ninja, some day or another. You just didn't feel like giving your all into something like that. A true lazy bum."
She thought she had run out of tears. Instead, they had started flowing again down her face.
"Then why, why did you have to grow up and become a strong and respected shinobi? Why did you have to die like that? Never getting to know your own daughter, leaving everybody behind… I really thought you'd be here when I came back. I…"
"I miss you so much…"
Asuka hit the tombstone with her fist.
"Idiot!"
A gentle breeze rose. Asuka leaned her head backwards, closed her eyes and welcomed the cold gusts on her face, cooling the temperature of her cheeks and drying her tears.
"Yeah, I know. The will of fire. You really did learn that lesson from dad."
A small smile formed on her lips. "I love you, big brother," she whispered.
"Miss, are you ok?"
Asuka gave a start as she heard a voice behind her. In her frenzied state, she hadn't noticed anyone approaching. She stood up and turned around.
"Uh, no, thanks, I was jus-" Her words died in her throat as she looked at the person in front of her.
Kurenai hadn't changed a bit. Maybe her face was less round than Asuka remembered, but that was it. She noticed the kunoichi's expression shift from doubt, then confusion, and lastly surprise, as her eyes widened in recognition.
"You've got to be kidding me," she uttered.
Kurenai had overheard people, that morning, gossiping about someone who had reappeared in the village. She hadn't given those rumors much credit, as she frankly didn't care. But if she had known it was Asuka they were talking about, she would have paid more attention.
She had almost forgotten about Asuka, to tell the truth. They were not friends back then, they simply knew each other because Kurenai used to hang out with Asuma, and Asuka was his sister. The black-haired kunoichi did not like Asuka that much, either. Apart from the fact that she was in the black ops, meaning she was potentially very dangerous, she was also cocky and insolent, and foul-mouthed to the core. Asuma would always complain about her and, well, given Kurenai's crush on the boy, whatever he said was irrefutable truth.
The strangest thing about Asuka was her relationship with Kakashi. The coldest, emotionless person Kurenai knew, was always accompanied by the loudest and most obnoxious kunoichi in the village. That fact alone was enough to make Asuka very disliked among many girls in Konoha, who would have gladly given a limb or two to spend time with the silver-haired boy. Kurenai was not among them, but even she couldn't really understand how Kakashi could stand her presence. She seemed to incarnate everything he hated and usually avoided, yet they were always together.
Probably, Kurenai thought, weirdos did get along with each other.
Then came the fateful night when Asuka disappeared. Nobody knew what had happened, she just wasn't there anymore. Had she died? But no funeral service had been organized. Had she been kidnapped? But no rescue party had ever been created to trace her. Had she become a missing nin? But her name had never appeared in their bingo books.
She had just disappeared from the village, leaving no trace behind. Little by little, then, everyone had moved on with their lives, and the memory of the kunoichi had faded.
Asuma left, too. Years later, he would explain his reasons to Kurenai, his growing contempt for the Hokage, his father, for his apparent indifference towards his own daughter's fate. Asuma had chosen to serve the one person he deemed was the most important for the country, the Fire Daimyo. He had become one of his guards, and had stayed away from Konoha for seven years. When he came back, shortly after his brother's death, the tension between him and his father was still there, but it seemed as he had somehow matured.
He had never mentioned Asuka again until a few days before his death. Kurenai had given him the news of her pregnancy a couple of days prior.
"I hope it's twins," Asuma said, hugging Kurenai's naked body under the blanket. His other arm reached for his cigarettes on the nightstand, but then he shook his head lightly and gave up his action. He wouldn't smoke around Kurenai anymore. Not while she was carrying his child. And not even after that, when that child would be around.
"I told you… Doctor says it's only one," she replied, sweetly. "And I don't think I can get more pregnant than this," she giggled, while Asuma squeezed her body and nuzzled her neck.
"That's a pity. Guess we'll have to make at least another one, then."
Kurenai turned around and looked at Asuma. "I was an only child, so I don't know what it's like to have a big family. But I remember you were always complaining about your siblings," she stated.
"Yeah, I did, but it's something siblings always do, you know? After all, it's not like you choose them, but you're basically forced to live together and love them, because that's what society imposes, while at times you'd just want to beat the shit out of them."
Kurenai laughed. "You're not making it seem as thrilling as I thought."
Asuma planted a kiss on her forehead. "I know. But… there's something. A sensation, a gut feeling. Something that tells you that, no matter what, they will be there for you, and you'll be there for them. It's something that makes you feel united. It's hard to describe."
"How were they?" Kurenai asked, her fingers intertwining with his. "I don't remember them that well," she said.
Asuma sighed and turned on his back, looking at the ceiling. "Toshiro was a genius. He was, like, the perfect man on earth. Serious, responsible, intelligent and fun. Also, very loved by the ladies, even though he only had eyes for Mira. A bit like Minato-sensei. Grandma and dad would always take him as an example of what, they thought, my sister and I should become. I'm convinced he would be Hokage by now, if he hadn't died. He was much older than me and Asuka, so he sometimes acted as a parent more than a brother, but he was great. I wish Konohamaru had gotten to know him a little better."
Kurenai placed a hand on Asuma's chest, and the man squeezed it.
"Asuka… was unique. One moment she did something so stupid you wondered if she'd lost her mind, the next moment she was skillfully fighting for the village. Her personality was amazing. Yeah, she was arrogant, and she knew how to be a true bitch. We argued and fought a lot; once, when we were kids, we fought over some toy: I was left with a broken nose, three cracked ribs and a sprained ankle, while she ended up with a concussion and a broken wrist. When mom found us, she first spanked the shit out of us, then she rushed us to the hospital."
Kurenai giggled. "Talk about brotherly love."
Asuma chuckled. "Yet, she was one of the most sensitive people I've ever met. You should have seen her look after Naruto. After he was born, father ordered that he should be put into an orphanage. Asuka opposed that decision – the brat was her teacher's son, after all – and convinced him to bring the baby back to our house. He stayed there until Asuka left, then he was brought to his own house, guarded by anbu members 24/7. Asuka would have punched dad if she had known that, no doubt about it. There were just some things that she took to heart and she gave her all for. Take Kakashi, for example." Asuma read the confused expression on his partner's face. "I don't know how she did it, but she managed to get under his skin. I think that Gai is the only other person who has managed to do that."
Asuma's lips tightened into a smile. "She was so dedicated to her village, so devoted."
"What happened to her?" Kurenai asked, in a whisper.
Asuma shrugged. "I don't know. Her file is apparently confidential. Only the Hokage can have access to it."
"I don't understand," Kurenai said. "She was still your sister and the Hokage's daughter. Hasn't he ever told you anything?"
The man sighed heavily. How he wanted a smoke. "Mira was part of the team that had supported Asuka's cell that night. She told me Asuka was clearly injured and upset. Her chakra was a mess. Father told us that he had to send her away because there was nobody that could help her in Konoha, but that she would be back."
His hand balled into a fist. "Bullshit."
If it hadn't been for Mirai starting crying, Kurenai would probably be still standing there, gazing at Asuka. How was she supposed to feel? What was she supposed to say? Was she even supposed to say anything at all?
"Are you… Asuka?" Kurenai managed to say, caressing the baby's head in her arms.
The woman nodded, and diverted her eyes to settle them onto Mirai. Kurenai noticed the red, puffy eyes of the brunette in front of her. She glanced at the flowers on Asuma's tomb, then her eyes took in the dirt on Asuka's jeans, around her knees. How long had she been there, kneeled in front if his grave?
"Is… is that… his daughter?" Asuka asked, tentatively pointing at the baby, taking a step forward. By reflex, Kurenai moved back a little, shielding the baby's body with her arms. Asuka immediately raised her hands in front of herself. "I'm sorry, I don't have any ill intentions, I swear," she said, probably realizing how she must have looked in Kurenai's eyes. A ghost from the past.
"You look like shit. Wait, I feel like I've told that to you already."
Asuka focused her eyes behind Kurenai and Shikamaru entered her field of vision. He was wearing civilian clothes, a little too loose over his lean body, and his hair was down, freely falling on his shoulders. No surprise she hadn't recognized him straight away. "And you look like an idiot," she retorted.
Shikamaru scoffed and surpassed Kurenai, who had silently witnessed their exchange. "Don't worry about her, she's really who she says." He sighed as he looked back at her. "Asuma-sensei's sister."
Kurenai's lips tightened, as she held her baby closer to her. "How can you be so sure?"
"Where do you think I've been for the past month?" He replied, nodding his face towards Asuka's direction. "Overseeing this troublesome being's training with the one of the biggest idiots on earth."
Kurenai didn't understand what had gone on, but she chose to believe Shikamaru's words. She looked at Asuka. Her… family? They were kind of sisters-in-law, after all. Her grip on her daughter relaxed, as Kurenai turned her and held her with her face forward. She took a few steps forward and halted just before Asuka.
"This is Mirai," she said, then bent her neck to talk into her daughter's ear. "Mirai, this is your auntie Asuka." Of course, the child could not understand a thing her mother had told her, but she was looking at the woman in front of her with such big, innocent eyes, that Asuka's face immediately lit up. She covered her mouth with her hand as she gently poked Mirai's cheek. It was so soft. The baby giggled and grabbed Asuka's finger. The woman yelped and looked at Kurenai. "OhmygodOhmygodOmygod! She's so cute! I can't believe she's Asuma's daughter!"
She turned to her brother's grave. "Hopefully you've only passed only your good genes to her, you asshole!" She exclaimed. Kurenai laughed heartedly.
"He would have been so glad to see you again. Welcome back, Asuka," Kurenai said, before leaning in and hugging the woman, careful not to squeeze Mirai between Asuka and herself.
Asuka's looked gratefully at her sister-in-law. "It's good to be back."
"So I told him, 'we're having this child and we're not even married, what are people gonna think of us?' And you know what he answered? That he would marry me after all that mess with Akatsuki was over! And then he goes and dies on me!" Kurenai slurred out, intoxicated to the core at 2 p.m. on a weekday. It was not her fault if, when entering Yakiniku Q, she had ordered a bottle of sake to celebrate Asuka's return but ended up being the only one to drink it. Apparently, the woman was a fucking teetotaller and Shikamaru was still underage.
She slammed her sixth – now empty – sake cup on the table, making Asuka jolt in her seat.
The brunette slid towards Shikamaru and whispered to his ear. "Isn't she still breastfeeding?" Kurenai had heard that, though, and hastened to reply. "No, I actually never did. Something's wrong with these babes," she said, pointing at her breasts. Asuka raised her eyebrow and let the topic fall.
Beside her, Shikamaru was still playing with Mirai. She was happily laughing her ass off as the boy held her on his legs and made horse noises.
"So, what did you do while you were away, Asuka-chan?" Kurenai asked.
"Uhm… the same things I told you a while ago, Kurenai." The red-eyed woman looked surprised, then she burst out laughing. "Oh, silly me! That's right! You know, I think I might be a little drunk," she blurted out, repressing a burp.
Asuka eyed the woman in front of her, a sheepish smile on her face. She watched as Kurenai's eyelid closed, her back slowly slid down the backrest of the little sofa she was on, and she fell asleep in a half-seated, half-lying position.
"She's not usually like that," Shikamaru said, next to her. "It's just… she's still mourning, you know. Seeing you must have made her think about Asuma. More than usual." Shikamaru knew how hard Kurenai was struggling. The look in her eyes was the same as his mother, who was still grieving over Shikaku's death, just a few months earlier. And Shikamaru felt helpless as fuck. He could only be there for them and offer his support, but he couldn't magically heal the women's wounds. He had his own wounds, to begin with. Luckily, Mirai was just the sweetest thing in the whole world, and he knew that she would be fundamental to Kurenai's recovery.
"You'd better go, now. Aren't you being evaluated this afternoon?"
Yeah, right. She needed to be at the Hokage Tower at 3. But… she glanced at Kurenai, soundly sleeping in that uncomfortable position. "Don't worry about them. I'll take care of that," he said, waving at someone a few tables away.
"Are you sure you can bring them back home, alone?" Asuka asked him, dubious. In the meantime, a boy appeared at their table. He was wearing sunglasses and a big coat that hid his body and half his face. "Hello, Shikamaru. I suppose you need my help with Kurenai-sensei." The boy then looked at Asuka, and just stared. "It's rude to not introduce us, Shikamaru," he then sentenced.
The boy sighed and, as if that was the most tiring thing on earth, introduced them. "Shino, Asuka. Asuka, Shino." The woman tilted her head lightly and smiled sheepishly at the boy, and he just nodded back.
"Now, you," Shikamaru turned to Asuka, "go and see the Hokage. And you," he then addressed Shino, "help me out with Kurenai."
Asuka said a quick goodbye to the boys, slipped out of her seat and headed over to the cashier to pay. She didn't have much money, but it only seemed fair to her to pay for both Kurenai and Shikamaru. She handed a few bills to the man at the cashier and headed out.
As Shino gently lifted his teacher's body, he turned to Shikamaru. "Who was that woman?" He asked. The boy shrugged.
"Just a nuisance."
"Come inside."
Asuka opened the door to the Hokage office and was met by an annoyed-looking Kakashi.
"Uhm… Everything ok?" She asked, sensing the negative aura coming from the man. He sighed and pointed at the humongous stacks of paperwork on his desk.
"This all hype about the Hokage… I'm seriously starting to think it's just a huge scam… Why would they choose the most skilled ninja in the village to become the leader, when basically all you need to do is paperwork? Shizune might do this much better than me," he complained, then raised his arms above his head and stretched his back. "What?" He asked, looking at Asuka, who was clearly repressing a laughter.
"Oh, come on… you know that better than me… it's not just paperwork… the responsibility of the whole village, of the Land of Fire, if you will, rests on your shoulders," Asuka replied, closing the door behind her and approaching Kakashi's desk, circling around his chair until she was behind him, then placing her hands on his shoulders and kneading the skin and muscles underneath. He was stiff, but as soon as her hands started massaging him, he relaxed. "And not only responsibility. You are granted with faith from the whole village. You're their pride. They know that, if something were to happen, you'd be there protecting them," Asuka concluded, her voice a whisper to his ear, her hands still kneading his sore muscles, now moving to his neck and the base of his head.
Kakashi couldn't help a satisfied groan escape his lips. He needed a good massage. He really did. His body was used to action and training and sitting at a desk all day long was affecting him more than he had anticipated.
"Would you be available as a house call masseuse, Miss Sarutobi?" He asked, leaning into Asuka's hands, hearing her laugh softly.
"I'll have to take a look at my organizer and see when I'm free, but I'm sure I can find some time for Hokage-sama," she joked.
Kakashi smirked under his mask. "Will you need to have your clothes on during our appointment?" He said, casually, enjoying Asuka's amused laughter.
She leaned in to his ear. "I don't usually offer that kind of service to my clients. But if Rokudaime-sama orders, then I might just have to comply." She then stood back up, her hands still on Kakashi's neck.
The man opened his eyes and looked at Asuka, noticing how her eyes didn't seem to fully match her smiling mouth. He frowned lightly, thinking back to their conversation that morning, trying to understand what could have upset her. Only then did he realize.
What a selfish dork he was.
"Did you go to the graveyard?" He asked, serious, and she nodded.
"It was hard," Asuka replied after a while, her hands now caressing the sides of his face. Kakashi took her hand in his and gently kissed it. "I'm sorry I wasn't there with you," he offered, but she shook her head.
"Don't be. I wouldn't have wanted you. That was something I had to do alone. It was hard, yeah, but I kinda feel better now," she concluded, kissing his forehead. Kakashi closed his eyes as her lips touched his skin and chose to believe her words. Strong woman.
"I also got to meet Kurenai and Mirai. You were right when you said babies are adorable, you know? She's just the cutest thing on earth."
Kakashi smiled fondly at the woman. "Are you ok with being evaluated now? We can postpone it, if you want." He didn't want to put her through unnecessary stress. They had time, after all.
Asuka nodded. "Of course. A ninja has to put his or her emotions aside when necessary. Am I wrong?" She answered, just as a light knock was heard. Asuka returned back to her position in front of Kakashi's desk, and he let the person outside enter the room.
A jounin entered. He had to be more or less the same age as Kakashi and Asuka, but she didn't remember him. His appearance was average, with his brown hair and eyes. His forehead protector extended down the side of his face. He didn't seem to stand out in any way. Quite dumb looking, if she had to judge. Upon entering, he looked at Asuka and didn't show any reaction, even though his gaze focused on her western-style clothing a little longer than what would normally be considered as socially acceptable.
He then bowed respectfully to Kakashi. "You wanted to see me, Hokage-sama?"
"Please, Tenzo, it makes me feel uncomfortable if even you start bowing when meeting me. And, once again, just 'Kakashi' is fine."
Said Tenzo stood back upright and nodded. "Then let me remind you, Kakashi-senpai, that I was given codename Yamato by Godaime."
Oh. Codenames. He must have worked for the anbu, then. But she had never seen him... Maybe root, then?
Her lucubration was interrupted by Kakashi speaking.
"Yeah, I know, sorry, I still haven't gotten used to it." He dismissed with a wave of his hand Yamato's comment ("It's been two years, Kakashi-senpai…") and continued.
"Yamato, this here is Asuka Sarutobi." Asuka stood upright at being mentioned and smiled slightly at the jounin nodding in her direction. "She was a former jounin of the Leaf and part of the anbu division. She has just come back from a 14-years absence and needs to be evaluated to ascertain her skills and capabilities."
Yamato looked at her, a spark of interest in his eyes. "Sarutobi?" He asked. She anticipated his next question. "Yes. Sandaime was my father." His eyebrows raised ever so slightly.
"You'll recreate a jounin exam, basically. Just the practical part, though," Kakashi started explaining.
Practical part? Fighting, then. Asuka smiled to herself. She was starting to feel excited.
Her jounin exam hadn't been a complete success.
The written exam had been a piece of cake. Just advanced knowledge of shinobi manuals. Her dad had personally made sure that she had memorized every single page of every single fucking manual before the exam because, as he said, 'the Hokage's daughter cannot ruin her father's reputation.'
The practical part, however, hadn't gone that smoothly. It had been a tournament among fifteen candidates. Asuka was the youngest among them, with her 13 years of age. She had won her first two fights, earning praises from the proctors for her use of barriers and her peculiar summons, but she had lost in the semifinals, against someone from the Uchiha clan, who specialized in genjutsu. Fucking Sharingan. She had tried to counteract it, but she had just failed miserably. Every ninja has a weak point, hers was genjutsu. Her opponent had been sly, too, trapping her into a realistic illusion, making her believe she was at the exam and fighting against Minato, who was actually their proctor. She had lost after two humiliating seconds. Namikaze-sensei was invincible even in illusions.
But she had become a jounin, nonetheless. In the end, everyone who had made it to the semifinals had been awarded with the title. It was war time, after all, and the Leaf needed soldiers.
"I'll be your proctor," Kakashi said, bringing Asuka back to present reality. "Other people will come to either evaluate or fight against you, but they'll join us later," he said. "And I might fight against you myself. Don't think it will be a piece of cake." Kakashi winked at her, and for a moment Asuka wondered if there was a little sadist Kakashi that sometimes liked to take control of his brain.
"I need to get changed," she said, pointing at her clothes. Kakashi nodded. "Just go on ahead and do so. Your evaluation's taking place in the main training hall at the Academy." She nodded and turned, briefly glancing at Yamato before leaving. He looked back at her, but didn't say anything.
"Can you tell me anything about her abilities?" Yamato inquired. He wanted to be prepared for whomever he was going to fight against. She didn't look like much, but he knew better than to judge a book by its cover.
"Fuuinjutsu. Earth, wind and water manipulation. Taijutsu. High chakra reserve and high stamina." Kakashi replied. "Sucks at genjutsu, impulsive, not a great strategist."
Yamato frowned. "We are very much alike. Wouldn't it have been better to have someone with opposite abilities?"
Kakashi shrugged. "It's just a test, Yamato. I already know what she's bad at, because those were her weaknesses even when she was a kunoichi back then. I just want to evaluate her present level." The jounin nodded, and Kakashi continued. "Besides, I could easily enter the fight, should we need someone who can make use of her weaknesses."
Who was that woman, to have grabbed Kakashi's attention so much? He didn't remember her, as he had spent his youth in root, since his own existence had been secret to the Leaf. After leaving root and joining the anbu, he had sometimes heard of a missing daughter of the Hokage, but he had never asked any questions about that. It was not like he cared.
"Has Naruto come back yet?" The Hokage asked, then, changing the topic of their conversation.
"I received a report from Sai this morning. They should be arriving soon."
Kakashi stood and made a seal with his hands. A shadow clone of the Hokage appeared, and the man gestured for it to take his seat.
"Let's go," he then told Yamato.
When the two got to the training hall, Asuka was already there, warming up. She was wearing a pair of black leggings and a black tight-fitting shirt, at her feet her combat boots. Around her right thigh was a holster for kunai and shuriken that she had borrowed from Kakashi that morning, just like the little bag she was carrying at her hip.
Upon seeing Kakashi and Yamato, Asuka stopped her warmup and approached them.
"Before you start," Kakashi said, addressing Asuka, "you'd better take this," he said, handing her a forehead protector. The cloth was green. Just like her own, back then. She took it into her hands and smiled. Her fingers could feel the softness of the cloth and the smooth coldness of the metal piece. Without saying anything, she tied it around her forehead, like she used to do. She didn't have bangs, then, so she might have to change its position a bit, but that could be done afterwards. She now had to prove that she deserved that object.
Asuka looked at Kakashi with a fierce determination in her eyes. "I'll make sure you'll never regret giving this to me, Hokage-sama," she said. The man smiled, and nodded. She was not talking to Kakashi as her lover, but to the village leader, probably the person she respected the most.
Asuka positioned herself in front of Yamato. "I'm looking forward to our fight, Yamato-san," she said, bringing her hand in front of her in the sign that signaled the start of their match. The man smiled back confidently, mirroring Asuka's hand sign. "Me too. From what Kakashi-senpai told me, it could turn out to be a nice match."
"Ok. Start!" Kakashi prompted, and both Asuka and Yamato took a step backwards, studying each other.
'If Kakashi told him something about me, then I'm at a disadvantage. I know nothing about him. But, if my speculations about him being in the anbu are correct, then it will be tough.'
It was true she had trained like a madman for the past month, but more than ten years spent mainly as civilian couldn't be ignored. Of course, fighting, chakra control and ninja arts were more or less like riding a bicycle, in that you never truly forget how to do that – not that she had ever learnt how to ride a bicycle – but she surely lacked battle experience , and a consequent particular automatism in her actions, which put her at a disadvantage.
Asuka extracted a smoke bomb from her pouch and threw it to the ground. A jounin wouldn't surely be tricked by a smoke screen like that, but she needed a way to avoid attacking him head-on.
Yamato adopted a guarding stance as soon as the smoke started building up. She could be coming from every direction, with either a physical attack or a ninjutsu, but… the unmistakable sound of a shuriken cutting through the air gave away her position. He easily dodged the weapon, which flew past him and stuck itself to the wall behind him, and took a kunai from his holster to guard against Asuka, who had swiftly emerged from the smoke to his right, jumping towards him, a kunai in her hand.
They engaged in a tight taijutsu fight. You could tell that was all that Asuka had been able to do all those years, as that had become her favorite discipline and the one she tended to rely on the most. Kakashi watched as the two exchanged blows, neither one actually gaining the upper hand over the other.
Yamato jumped back and joined his hands in a ninjutsu seal. Suddenly, moving pillars of woods emerged from the ground and directed towards Asuka, who however managed to dodge them. "Mokuton?!" She exclaimed, clearly confused by the man's chakra nature.
Impossible. That was Shodaime's jutsu. Nobody, apart from him, had ever been able… Stop. Don't think about unnecessary things, or you'll lose. He's able to use mokuton. So what?
She would ask about that later. Now she needed to focus. How could wood be beaten?
The answer was rather simple, fire. She needed fire. Too bad that she had never had any affinity for that element, and that her every attempt at a fire ball had always resulted in a miniscule spark that wouldn't have lit a cigarette, let alone damage a wooden pillar.
The second option was lightning. It was not infrequent to see trees torn open by lightning. Good thinking. Except, she was bad at that chakra nature, too. Not at the level of her fire jutsu, but it wouldn't certainly be enough to beat a jounin attack.
"Fuck."
She glanced at Kakashi, who was seemingly enjoying the show. As their eyes met, he closed his in a smile. 'What are you going to do now?' His attitude said. The bastard had carefully planned her fight. She smirked; he just knew how to keep her entertained.
As Asuka dodged yet another wood attack, her hands moved to form seals. She crouched down and placed her hands on the ground. "Doton: Earth Golem!"
From the earth rose a big humanoid monster made of soil, which immediately started to smash its fists against the wooden pillars Yamato created. "Impressive…" He mumbled, then smirked. "But not enough," the man sentenced, as he created a sharp wooden pillar that pierced through the golem's heart, and threatened to do the same with Asuka's.
When the point touched her skin, her body crumbled to the ground in a pile of dirt. "An earth clone?!" Yamato exclaimed, taken aback.
Kakashi chuckled lightly, amused by the fight, as he watched as the shuriken on the wall transformed back into Asuka. She silently sprinted towards Yamato, who still hadn't realized where the kunoichi was. He turned around just in time to dodge and avoid an annoying slit to his throat.
They looked at each other, smiling. Both ninja were actually enjoying themselves.
Suddenly, Asuka had an epiphany. 'I'm such an idiot!' she thought, mentally scolding herself. She jumped back, her eyes fixed on Yamato, who was preparing for some kind of jutsu, and performed a sequence of seals, biting her thumb and smashing her hand on the ground.
The wooden cage that had closed around Asuka was instantly burnt to ashes. As the smoke cleared, a fowl-like bird emerged. It was as tall as two men, with a brilliant red cockscomb and a large fire-breathing beak. It was shielding Asuka with its wing.
Kakashi had never seen that summon, but he smirked under his mask. "Nice work," he commented.
Yamato was staring at the creature wide-eyed. He had never seen anything like that. Asuka gently stroked the bird's breast. "Thanks, Basabasa," she said. The creature gave out a gurgling sound and nuzzled his beak against her neck, making her giggle with tickles.
"It's good to see you again, too. Now, will you help me get rid of all this wood, here?"
The creature spread its wings and let out a piercing cry, shooting fire at Yamato, who crossed his arms in front of himself, protectively, as the fire burnt through his wood. He quickly made a few seals and shot a water jet from his mouth, counteracting the flames, resulting in a steam cloud quickly rising to the ceiling of the hall.
"WHAT THE HECK IS THAT?!"
Kakashi turned his head to his right, towards the entrance of the hall. The blonde boy there was staring at the fire-breathing bird in awe, both his eyes and mouth open wide. He then approached Kakashi on the railing he was watching the fight from.
"Oh, hello, Naruto. I see you got my message, and that you've come back safe and sound." The boy nodded, as a sweat drop streamed down his face, eyeing the monster that was fighting against Yamato-sensei. At the Hokage Tower, his teacher's clone had welcomed Naruto back from his mission and told him to go to the training hall of the Academy.
"Uhm… Shouldn't we be doing something about that thing, Kakashi-sensei? Like… Help Yamato-sensei?" Naruto asked, worried, noticing how his silver-haired teacher looked calm and unperturbed. Upon looking more attentively at the ground, he noticed there was a third person there. "Who's the chick?" He asked.
"I guess it's a youkai, Naruto. I have never seen normal chickens that big and fire-breathing," the man replied, earning an annoyed look from the boy. "I meant that woman, sensei."
Kakashi looked at Asuka. "She's the reason I called you here, Naruto."
At that moment, the water jet from Yamato took the upper hand over the bird, who got drenched and disappeared in a puff of smoke.
"I honestly didn't expect anything like that from you, Sarutobi-san," Yamato said, panting. He was starting to feel tired. Asuka smiled, and briefly glanced at Kakashi.
That was when her heart froze.
Naruto felt a mild discomfort at the expression in the stranger woman's eyes. She looked genuinely shocked. She turned around, now completely facing him, and her lips started quivering, opening and closing but not actually saying anything, and then…
A wall of wood hit her head-on, and her body was lamely smashed to the wall of the hall.
"MISS! ARE YOU OK?" Naruto shouted, his first instinct being to go where the woman had landed and check if she was still alive. The blow from Yamato's mokuton had been pretty hard. The boy was stopped by Kakashi's hand around his arm. "Stay here," he ordered.
At that moment, they heard groans coming from the rubble under which Asuka was buried. The kunoichi emerged slowly, shaking her head and massaging her shoulder. She was surrounded by a thin layer of black chakra.
"Fuck, that hurt! Thanks, Amanozako."
'Nice first impression on the kid, Princess. You making a fool of yourself. Sometimes I'm ashamed at myself for letting you seal me.'
"Everything all right?" She heard Kakashi ask. Asuka gave him a thumbs up. "You're a fucking bastard asshole, you know that?" She remarked. She knew Kakashi had deliberately called Naruto there just to mess with her. His smirk was proof of that.
"A ninja has to put his or her emotions aside when necessary. Am I wrong?" He asked.
That freaking bastard, throwing back at Asuka what she had told him not more than an hour earlier.
"Happy birthday, by the way," Kakashi said, pointing at an oblivious Naruto with his head.
God, how she loved the man.
That whole situation was actually funny. So funny. Was Naruto her present? He had grown so much. He was a little far from her, but she could see he had grown and matured into a handsome and determined ninja. And she was there, finally back. Her heart still ached for all that she had lost. Her family, half of her life, part of her organs. But she was happy, and thankful, because in the end she had made it. She had come back. She burst out laughing heartedly.
Yamato was not laughing. He was fairly confused. His expression was a mixture of doubt and worry. 'Did she hit her head that hard?' He had to admit he had been a little too carried away with the fight. He wasn't injured, at all. He was actually pretty unscathed, but there was something about that woman that had him freak out. And that was something Kakashi hadn't told him, the bastard. First of all, her summons. He had never known there was someone able to summon youkai. He had immediately recognized the monster as Basan, the fire-breathing bird. He loved reading horror stories about demons and ghosts, and that bird in particular had been a character in the last book he had read. Talk about coincidences.
Then, that thin black chakra around her body. It had appeared briefly during their taijutsu fight, earlier, and it somehow prevented her from getting hurt. But it was not a barrier. It was not her chakra, either.
And now she stood there, insulting Kakashi and laughing her ass off, and the Hokage didn't seem perturbed in the slightest. On the contrary, he was amused.
"Naruto, substitute for Yamato, please." Naruto's head snapped towards his mentor. Theoretically, he should still be recovering. He wasn't supposed to fight. He wasn't even supposed to go on missions, that was why Sai, Hinata and Kiba were always with him. With Shino deciding to become a teacher, Sakura working at the hospital and Sasuke in prison, both Team 7 and Team 9 lacked some members and had been united into a single four-men cell. However, his three companions mainly acted as Naruto's bodyguards. He was still testing out the various prototypes for the arm he had lost during his fight with Sasuke, and Tsunade had specifically ordered him not to overexert himself. Honestly, though, his missions mainly involved helping out civilians in the reconstruction of their villages that had been devastated by the white zetsu army, so he had never had to fight up until now. But he was looking forward to the day he would be able to start training again. He wanted to become a jounin quickly. Well, maybe he needed to first take the chuunin exam, but whatever. And he surely could not spend his entire days studying. He had never been good at that. That was not the way he learned.
"How is that arm going?" Kakashi asked, enjoying the incredulous look in his pupil's eyes.
"It's… fine, I guess. Sometimes it bothers me a little, but right now it's fine." Kakashi nodded.
"But… Tsunade-baasan… I don't know if she'd approve. And, frankly speaking, Kakashi-sensei…" he approached the man to whisper to his ear, "That kunoichi seems crazy, why should I fight her? I've been having this weird feeling since seeing her. Kurama… It feels somehow upset."
"Hasn't he told you the reason?" Kakashi asked, seeing how the blonde's head shook from side to side. "Uh, no. Says it's not his place to tell." The man nodded. "I understand," he said. He then turned to Asuka, who had stopped laughing and was walking back to Yamato, still massaging her neck. She was still smiling amusedly, though, and the corners of her eyes brimmed with little tears of joy.
"Hey, Yamato!" Kakashi said. "Switch place with Naruto!" Three heads snapped towards him, as a collective "What?!" was heard in the hall. "You heard me. I've seen what I needed to in your fight."
Yamato had clearly the upper hand. All of Asuka's attacks had been effective on him, but he had managed to counteract them effortlessly. No wonder he was one of the top shinobi in the village. He had both skills and experience. However, it was clear that Yamato was tired, and almost out of chakra, while Asuka was still fresh, and she hadn't even used Amanozako's powers other than as a shield. In the long run, she would win.
It was clear to Kakashi that Asuka deserved the jounin rank. However, he wanted to test out the interaction between the Kyuubi and Amanozako. When Asuka left, she had told him that she couldn't get close to Naruto without having Kurama's chakra react. Now that their containers had both managed to tame the spirits, Kakashi wanted to know if they could coexist. He really hoped so, for the both of them. Asuka had loved the child dearly, and he was a part of her family, even though not blood-related, that still remained. Naruto didn't remember her, but he would definitely benefit from Asuka's affection. Also, considering what he had in mind for her, it would be better if she had Naruto's trust.
"I'm not fighting against Naruto."
Asuka had a deep scowl on her face. She wouldn't hurt him.
"Miss, do we know each other? I'm sorry but I don't think I know you!"
Those words stung a little. She had looked after him for four years, and yet… Asuka looked at Naruto and sighed. His resemblance to Kushina-sensei was so strong. While all that he seemed to have taken from Minato was that yellow mane. Asuka did not reply to Naruto's question. What was she supposed to tell him? 'I was your nanny? Your god-mother? Your guardian? Until you were four, then I abandoned you and came back the other day. Do you want to have me in your life again?' That sounded lame even to her own ears.
"I know you, but you don't know me. Don't think too much into that," she replied instead. There would be a better time to reveal their relationship.
"It's an order, you two." Kakashi said, casually, but firmly. He saw Asuka stiffen, while Naruto just looked at him with the dumbest expression on his face. He sighed loudly.
"Let's put it like this. This afternoon, one of you will exit this hall as a jounin. If you choose not to fight, I'll have you both go back to the Academy."
Kakashi's menacingly smiling face was the scariest thing Naruto had ever seen. His teacher had always had a way with words, and the blonde had to admit that the perspective of becoming a jounin just by kicking that strange woman's ass was alluring. Tsunade wouldn't even know that he had fought, if nobody told her.
"I'm in," he said.
Asuka thought back to her Academy days with a shiver. She had hated those days, when the teachers would always treat her differently just because she was the Hokage's daughter, taking her as an example in front of her classmates, which of course rendered her unpleasant to them. Just a bit of peer pressure. And then, the constant nagging from her grandma and her father to always do better, to always be the best at what she did, until she graduated.
And, of course, Kakashi was the Hokage. His orders were not to be questioned.
"Fine."
Kakashi clapped his hands together. "I knew you were both sensible people." In the meantime, Yamato had jumped next to him. "Now, I want you to fight using the Kyuubi and Amanozako's chakras."
Oh. So that's why he wanted her to fight Naruto. Of course. Asuka reprimanded herself for not thinking about that before.
That made sense. During the past month, she had fought against the Hachibi, and even if at the beginning it had been tough, she had gotten used to exploit Amanozako's chakra to the maximum. But Kakashi still needed to evaluate how Amanozako and the Kyuubi would react to one another.
"Uh? Whose chakra should I use, Kakashi-sensei? Ama-what?" Naruto was scratching the side of his face while looking at his teacher with an eyebrow raised.
'Just use mine, stupid Naruto,' Kurama said to his mind.
"What the hell happened here?" Tsunade shrieked, as a guilty-looking Naruto entered her office at Konoha hospital, carrying his right arm in his other hand. His detached arm.
The woman stood from her chair and slammed her hands on the desk. "You fought?! I knew it! How irresponsible are you? I thought I had made myself clear! . ." Naruto shut his eyes and ducked his head into his shoulders, as the former Hokage vomited all sorts of insults on him.
"Well, it's not like I was overexerting that much…" he mumbled, looking at the floor. No need to tell her he was making a Rasengan. "I was simply training… My arm just sorta fell off."
Tsunade didn't look like she wanted any explanation. "And you were there, too, and you didn't stop him?!" Beside Naruto, an even more flustered Yamato was nervously scratching the back of his head. "I… I… Naruto's arm did just d-detach…" he stuttered, feeling himself trapped in the very uncomfortable position of not angering Godaime (which he was obviously failing at) and respecting Rokudaime's will to wait for him before explaining what had happened there. What Naruto had told was actually true. Not long after the start of their match, Naruto's arm just fell off. Luckily, Kakashi had intervened, interposing himself between the two shinobi, and stopped the attack Sarutobi was casting, otherwise the damage to the blonde ninja would have been definitely greater.
"Hey there, Tsunade-hime, no need to be so angry!" Kakashi appeared at the door, sheepishly smiling at the woman. Her murderous glare shifted from Naruto and Yamato and settled on the silver-haired shinobi, who gulped lightly.
"You. Tell me what happened and I'll decide whether it's time for a Seventh Hokage."
Naruto and Yamato exchanged a glance that silently conveyed their unwillingness to stay there.
"Uhm, Naruto's arm just suddenly fell off." Tsunade pinched the bridge of her nose, clearly irritated.
"I know that. That's all those two idiots here have been telling me. What was he doing?"
"Nothing in particular, just training…"
"What. Was. He. Doing."
"Uhm.. A Rasengan." The woman's eyes widened, and she looked at Naruto. "That's considered 'overexertion,' you dumbass. What were you thinking?"
"But, Tsunade-baachan, it was not even a full-power shuriken Rasengan. Just a regular, small one… when will I be able to-"
"Just stop there, Naruto. Don't make me even angrier. It's bad enough that I conceded you go on peaceful missions, now I discover that you're fighting behind my back." The blonde boy lowered his eyes.
"I ordered him to, Tsunade-hime. Don't take it out on him."
Tsunade's hand slammed onto her desk, its wooden surface creaking.
"Why would you do something like that? Who was he even fighting against?"
"Sarutobi Asuka," Kakashi answered, looking away.
Naruto perked up at the mention of her name. They hadn't been properly introduced, before. He only knew her first name. And now he had learnt her surname. Sarutobi. Was she related to the old geezer?
Tsunade gasped and looked at Kakashi in awe. "Get out, you two," she ordered to Naruto and Yamato, who were more than happy to comply. They sprinted outside the office, closed the door, but remained there. Naruto leant an ear to the door to try and eavesdrop. It was not a difficult task, as the volume of the woman's voice was fairly loud. Kakashi's was lower, but he could somehow make it out.
"Are you out of your mind, Kakashi? What were you thinking?"
"I needed to know how the Kyuubi and the other demon would interact."
'Other demon?' Naruto thought. There was something odd about the woman, before, but he couldn't tell what, exactly. Was she a jinchuuriki, too?
"That's no excuse for putting Naruto's life on the line."
"You know I would never do that. And that she would never harm Naruto." From his tone, he seemed outraged.
"No, Kakashi. I don't know that. I remember Asuka as a little girl. Frankly, I didn't give a damn about her then. And I can't say I give a damn about her now. But I do care about Naruto. And I don't want him to get hurt," Tsunade said, vexed. Naruto didn't like the fact that two of his favorite people in his life were arguing that animatedly over him.
"With due respect, Tsunade-hime, I do know Asuka, and I repeat, she would never harm Naruto. She was so excited to see him again. Also, I think that you trying to overprotect Naruto is proving to have the contrary effect. The kid's been strained at the leash, while he just wants to make himself useful to Konoha."
"I'm his doctor, and I think Naruto should just sit still until we find a solution for that arm of his."
"And I'm the Hokage, and he is my soldier," Naruto started a little at the sudden authoritative statement. "If he just stays put, he'll freak out in no time. That's how he is. You need to have more faith in him. Also, what I did this afternoon has served a double purpose. First, we established the interaction between the Kyuubi and Amanozako to be harmless both to them and to the village. Second, we ascertained that Naruto's arm still needs fixing."
There were a few moments of silence.
"Where is she now?" Tsunade asked.
"I left her with Sakura. She had some minor injuries that needed to be treated."
Right at that moment, Naruto felt a presence approach, and Asuka leant against the door, her ear pressed against the wood. "How is it going?" She whispered to Naruto, who shook his head lightly. "Not well, I think. Tsunade-baachan can be quite the bitch." The blonde boy looked at Asuka's bandaged head and then focused on her face. It really did not ring any bells in his mind, but she seemingly knew him. He seemed to notice just then how beautiful she was, in her simplicity. Those green eyes looking back at him seemed to calm him.
"Come inside, you three. You can hear better from here." Tsunade's voice could be heard loud and clear from the other side of the door. Both Asuka and Naruto gave a start at being caught red-handed as they were eavesdropping.
"Uhm… Nice to meet you, Godaime-sama. You're still as young and beautiful as I remembered." Asuka greeted Tsunade upon entering. The older woman said nothing, choosing instead to look the kunoichi up and down.
"How are you?" She asked, looking at the kunoichi's bandages. Asuka shrugged. "Great, this is nothing much, really. A minor concussion and a bruised shoulder," she dismissed with a wave of her hand.
Tsunade closed her eyes and sighed. The words she was about to utter would be some of the most difficult ones that had ever exited her lips, but she just had to swallow her pride. Kakashi was the Hokage, after all. She had chosen him.
"I'm sorry, Naruto, for yelling at you. Rokudaime-sama had his reasons for making you fight, and I should not interfere in those. However, please remember that we haven't found a solution for your arm yet, so we'll still need to run a few tests with other prototypes."
Naruto scratched his cheek. It was so unusual for Tsunade to bend her head. "Stay here with me and we'll go to the Research and Development facility to look into the reasons why your arm fell off," she added. "You instead are dismissed," she told to Asuka, Yamato and Kakashi. They all turned to leave, when Tsunade spoke again.
"Asuka." The girl turned around, her eyebrow raised in curiosity. "Kakashi has put a lot of trust in you. I hope it's well deserved."
The kunoichi clenched her teeth. First Pakkun, then Morino, now Tsunade. Everyone seemed to assume she had a hidden agenda for coming back. Even though she couldn't blame them for worrying about Kakashi and Konoha, she couldn't help but feeling a little irritated.
"Konoha is my home, Tsunade-sama, and Kakashi is its leader. My leader. I'd give my life to protect them."
The former Hokage sustained her eyes a little longer, then her eyes flickered to Naruto and Kakashi, before they settled back on Asuka. "Welcome back," she said, smiling.
Once they exited the hospital, Yamato waved goodbye at Asuka and Kakashi. The Hokage had been quiet ever since they had gone out of Tsunade's office. Asuka looked at him, dubious. "Is everything alright? Do you need to go back to the Hokage tow-"
Her words were cut off by Kakashi's arms wrapping around her. She stiffened at the sudden hug, as she felt more like constricted in a python-like grip.
"Kakashi… what if other people see us?" It was not like they had decided to keep their relationship a secret, but with him being the Hokage, they didn't want to create unnecessary gossip about possible privileges and partiality. They were not kids anymore.
"I don't care." Kakashi felt Asuka relax in his body and her arms circle his waist. He had wanted to touch her ever since her parting words with Tsunade. Why couldn't anyone see how broken she had been? Why couldn't anyone realize how incredible she was?
"Hey," Asuka said, her voice light. Kakashi loosened his grip a little, but he was still holding her. "Just give 'em time. You'd be suspicious too if it weren't me." She was right. He was partial to her. But… was it that bad?
"I meant what I said, Kakashi. I'm honored to have your trust. And I won't make you regret ever giving me back my forehead protector."
They parted and looked at each other, smiling. Asuka smacked his shoulder lightly. "I'm going back home and rest, just like your former pupil instructed me to. I'll see you for dinner?"
Kakashi nodded. He still had lots of paperwork to do, but he could make it before dinner. "It's still your birthday, do you want to eat something in particular?" Asuka shrugged. "You know, if it were for me, I'd only eat Teuchi's ramen for the rest of my days." Kakashi chuckled.
"Itadakimasu!"
Asuka clapped her hands in front of her second ramen bowl. Sitting beside her, Kakashi looked amusedly at the woman. She did look like a child at her birthday party. He refused Teuchi's offer for another bowl, and focused his senses to the two approaching people outside. 'They sure took their time, uh.'
"Iruka-sensei, I'm telling you, it's definitely one of the most powerful jutsu ever!"
The other man sighed heavily. "That's just a perverted jutsu, Naruto."
"No way! I managed to beat Jiraya so many times just transforming into a hot… Kakashi-sensei!" The blonde boy exclaimed, greeting his teacher upon entering the Ichiraku Ramen stand. He immediately noticed the brunette sitting next to him. "Asuka-san, you're here too?" The woman nodded, slurping her ramen.
"Sarutobi Asuka-san?!" Iruka shrieked. "I overheard you had come back, but I thought it was just some gossip!" He exclaimed, visibly flustered. His cheeks were bright red. "Oh, I'm sorry, I think you don't remember me at all, it's not like we were friends or anything!"
Asuka swallowed some broth. "I remember about you… The prison-guard genin, right? Iruka-san?" The man's face lit up, as he nodded frantically. "Yes, yes! But I'm not working there anymore… I've become a teacher!"
Naruto snorted, sitting down next to Kakashi. "You worked at the prison, Iruka-sensei?!" The chuunin ignored his pupil. "And how are you, Asuka-san? Where have you been all this time?" The woman shrugged. "Uhm… in the Western Continent." His eyes opened wide. "Really? What were you doing there?" Asuka glanced at Kakashi, silently begging for his help. It was not that she didn't want to answer to Iruka's questions, but she still did not know exactly how much she could reveal.
"Iruka-sensei, come with me for a while. I've been meaning to talk to you about the Academy graduation exams for a while, now…" Kakashi had stood and put a hand on the other man's back, prompting him to follow him. "Oh… Of course, Rokudaime-sama!"
Both men exited, leaving only Asuka and Naruto there. Naruto happily accepted the bowl Teuchi presented him, and started slurping out his ramen. He glanced at the woman and noticed she seemed stiffer than before. "How long have you been away, Asuka-san?"
Asuka ignored the loud thumping of her heart. "Almost fourteen years." Naruto looked up and squinted his eyes in thought. "Uh, I was, like, four at the time." Asuka nodded.
"It's so nice to see you two here together again!" Teuchi intervened. "You used to come here all the time!"
Asuka looked at the man, silently pleading him to stop speaking, while Naruto was staring at him with a lost expression on his face. "We did?"
"Well, yes, I tried to tell her that a child should eat other things beside ramen, but she just didn't seem to listen." He turned to Asuka. "You were always that bossy, right? Saying 'I'm the one looking after him, I know what's best for him' and showing up here once every other day." He chuckled. "Even though many times you came with Kakashi…"
"What?"
Asuka could feel Naruto's inquisitive eyes on her. It felt so hard focusing on the bowl in front of her. And she had somehow lost appetite.
"You looked after me?"
Before she could say anything, Teuchi butted in again. "Hell yes she did! She was your mother's student, after all. After your parents' deaths, you were taken in by Sandaime. Don't tell me nobody's ever told you that." Judging by the look on Naruto's face, nobody had. Teuchi gulped, and suddenly paled. Maybe he had said too much.
Naruto shook his head. "W-what… H-how… Sandaime took me in when my parents died?! And what would you have to do with all this?" He was practically pleading for Asuka to answer. She sighed, and glanced at the boy. Of all the ways she would have liked to reveal her identity to Naruto, that was not how she had imagined.
However, it was impossible to stay silent, then. She inhaled deeply, trying to arrange her thoughts into an order.
"I… what Teuchi-san said is true. When your parents died, I asked my father – Sandaime Hokage – to take you in. I promised I would look after you, and… I did so, or tried, at least. I was fourteen at the time, you know. But… Four years later, an accident occurred, and I had to leave." She looked at him in the eye, tears pooling at the corner of her eyes, but she refrained from crying. "Kakashi told me what happened to you afterwards. It must have felt terrible… I'm so sorry for abandoning you." Her voice had trailed off to a whisper. She pushed to the side the ramen bowl in front of her. She was not feeling like eating anymore.
Naruto just stayed there, motionless, gaping at Asuka. "Are you kidding me?" He noticed her jaw tense.
'It's true, Naruto.' Kurama's deep voice grumbled in his head.
"Why… why hasn't anyone ever told me anything?"
Asuka shrugged. "I literally disappeared from day to night and was believed dead. I think nobody wanted you to experience unnecessary pain, considering you wouldn't remember me growing up."
He couldn't believe it. He had always thought that he had always been alone, before Iruka-sensei had showed him affection for the first time. Instead, he had had a home, once. He had had a person who loved him after he was born. And he did not remember anything about that.
"That's… so cruel…" he managed to say. He felt suddenly sad. Sad, because he didn't have any memories about Asuka. Sad, because of her hurt expression. Sad, because nobody had ever told him about her. Sad, because after she had gone, he had been sent to that house to live alone. His body started trembling and spasming, as his lips quivered.
"What's past is past, I guess," Asuka then said. She looked at him in the eye, smiling lightly. "But, I'm here now, and I'm not planning on going anywhere. If you want to know me, that is." She ended her speech with a shrug and a sad smile.
Naruto brought a hand to his face and wiped the tears at the corners of his eyes. He sat down on the stool next to Asuka, moved his ramen bowl in front of him and dipped the tip of his chopsticks into the soup, mindlessly grabbing a few noodles and letting them swim into the broth, before bringing them to his mouth.
"Will you… will you tell me something about my parents?"
Asuka felt a lone tear roll down her cheek. She took the bowl she had discarded earlier and resumed eating. It had cooled down somehow, but it wasn't cold.
"Of course. Just ask me anything."
Asuka turned the key into the lock and opened the door. She tiptoed into the living room, trying to move as silently as she could. It was late, after all, and Kakashi might already be asleep.
In fact, the man was lying on the sofa, snoring lightly. He had fallen asleep while reading his orange-covered book, his dogs were lying on the floor in front of the sofa. When she approached the couch, the animals woke up. Bull stood up and rubbed himself against her legs. She put her index finger in front of her mouth, silently telling the animals not to talk.
She sat down on the edge of the sofa, looking at the peaceful expression on Kakashi's maskless face. Those days had been frantic for him, too. No wonder he was exhausted. She grabbed the open book on his chest and read through some lines, amused by what was written. 'Might just take some inspiration there,' she thought, before closing it and placing it on the small table in front of the sofa.
She had spent the last three hours talking with Naruto. They had walked through the village together, taking turns at telling stories about themselves. When they had parted, Naruto had been shocked to find out she was staying at Kakashi's. "Well, we actually decided to live together," she had told him. At that revelation, the boy had seemed even more shocked than when he had discovered about Asuka's identity.
She laughed lightly thinking back to Naruto's funny face in discovering his teacher had an actual love interest. She leaned down to whisper to the Kakashi's ear. "Are you coming to bed?" He did not reply, but Asuka felt his arm close around her waist and pull her body to his, making her lie on top of him. "Let's just stay here a while more," he whispered back. She circled her arms around him and gently kissed his neck.
"I'm happy," she whispered.
She felt Kakashi's hand on her head, slowly caressing her hair.
"Me too."