Part One
Kakashi was surprised when the ANBU operative that landed on the tree bark behind Minato arrived, he hadn't even sensed their presence or their scent. Whoever it was, was very small. He couldn't tell who the operative was as they were wearing a mask. Minato was surprised,
"Danzo sent you? Aren't you are a bit young?"
The operative shrugged not saying a word, instead, they followed Minato's orders, he was still a bit unsure of how well this operative could do their job but decided to put his trust in what Danzo thought was best. They barely saw the ANBU operative, whoever it was, was incredibly stealthy, it was as if they weren't even there. Kakashi and Rin were cornered by the enemy, Kakashi's chakra levels near its end even then he powered up his sword, it crackled menacingly. As the enemy began their attack and Minato was nowhere to be seen, a flutter occurred, all Kakashi and Rin could do were, stare. The operative landed deftly in front of them, a three-way mark and it was as if starlight had attacked, they could barely see as the operative singlehandedly took down the enemy, wherever they moved they were followed by three bursts of light, three stars. It was stunning. Neither had ever seen anything like it. Minato arrived and was equally in shock, the operative had completed their job and flipped up on to a branch watching them below and waiting for an answer, the stars diminishing as they powered down.
"Mitsu," Minato realized, "You are Mitsu?"
The operative nodded, again not speaking, "I didn't realize Mitsu was so young. But I guess the rumors of your skills are not wrong. Thank you."
"You're awesome," Rin said brightly, putting her hands together in awe of the shinobi that had saved them.
Obito who had arrived behind Minato sniggered, "She's not that cool," he winced as a twig hit him on the head with a flash of light, "Oww."
Kakashi glanced at Obito, "You know who this is?"
Before Obito could open his mouth to answer he was beside the ANBU operative on the bark his mouth covered by their hand, "What part of wearing a mask and having a codename do you not understand?"
It was clear from her voice, that she was a girl, a young girl who was well in tune with Obito Uchiha, Minato laughed as Obito struggled, "What? We are all colleagues here!"
"Yeah, well unlike some I take my job seriously," she snapped at him, then dropped him from the tree making him land badly on the ground,
"Hey, you are supposed to respect me, I am older than you!"
She performed a quick hand sign, one that Kakashi recognized, it was a seal and suddenly Obito's mouth was sealed shut he cried out trying to break it but couldn't, "I will be on the lookout, you all should probably head back to the village."
Minato agreed, he glanced at Obito, "How long are you going to leave him sealed?"
"As long as it takes for him to learn his lesson," she answered and then disappeared. Obito hurried to Minato pleading him to remove the seal but Minato smiled sadly ruffling Obito's hair, "Sorry, kiddo. That's a seal only the caster can remove, your friend is definitely a skilled shinobi."
"One you probably should learn not to piss off," Kakashi added.
Obito glowered at Kakashi, his hatred for him growing.
They arrived safely in the village, no sign of the mysterious Mitsu who had not returned to them the whole time. Minato was slightly worried but before he could say a word Obito's seal came off, "It's okay Minato Sensei, she'll be fine, she's probably back home eating dinner by now."
"Home?" Rin picked up Obito's wording.
He grinned, "Sorry, I'm not going to say anything, it's my secret now!" He ran off to the Uchiha Quarters as they were dismissed by Minato, he himself was more and more curious about this little ANBU operative, an operative who already had a presence on the battlefield, and who by Obito's earlier admission was younger than him. The only young genius ninja he knew about was Kakashi, this girl she was definitely a genius, the way she handled her chakra, calculated the dangers and effectively completed her task, she moved as if she had years of experience.
He sat having tea with the 3rd Hokage, who smiled a little sadly, "Ah so you met Mitsu. I keep telling Danzo he needs to stop sending her on missions."
"Why?" Minato asked, "She is very talented."
"She is, but she is also very young."
"Why would Lord Danzo send her if you have advised against it?"
Hiruzen sighed, "Mitsu interests him. You know how he feels about the Uchiha."
"She is an Uchiha?" Minato was surprised for a moment then sighed, of course, she would be an Uchiha, skilled the way she was and having a connection to Obito it made sense.
Hiruzen shook his head, "No, she is not an Uchiha, as far as anyone knows. Mitsu lives with the Uchiha."
"What?" Minato was surprised, "Why would a non-Uchiha live with the Uchiha? They are infamous for their exclusivity, like the Hyuga."
"Exactly," Hiruzen nodded taking a sip of his tea, "That is why Danzo is interested in Mitsu. You see, Mitsu was a one-year-old when Fugaku Uchiha brought her into the village. Rumors were that he was investigating a murder scene and the only survivor was a child, he did not write up a report, nor did he hand the child over to the proper authorities. Instead, that child has grown up under his care, amongst the Uchiha. The Uchiha are all very protective of that girl, it makes no sense to Danzo. The girl rivals Kakashi Hatake's records, she entered and completed the Academy in record time, she was immediately recruited into the ANBU. She has a style of jutsu all of her own, her intellect is incredible, her use of all the elements extraordinary. It makes you think, if the Uchiha trained this girl, a girl without their Kekkei Genkai maybe they would make excellent Sensei's for the Konoha shinobi and not just police officers."
"Depends on how they trained her, how is she? Mentally?"
Hiruzen smiled brightly, "She is like the stars. She shines bright amongst the darkness of the Uchiha sky. She is full of love and light, it's also why I would prefer her not to go on missions for the ANBU, I don't want that child to lose her light."
"She's a happy, adjusted child?" Minato was surprised.
"Yes, very much so. As much as Danzo pretends to be fascinated by her due to whom she lives amongst, I believe it's the way she shines that interests him. A part of her reminds me of Hashirama Senju, that bright positivity whereas the other of Tobirama my Sensei, the way she is able to be calm and contemplate things. The two of them would have greatly enjoyed her company, I have no doubt about it."
"Why haven't you moved her from ANBU to the active shinobi rank?" Minato was curious, "If you rate her so highly, surely…"
Hiruzen sighed, "I have asked her myself, but she refuses."
"She refuses to move out of the ANBU?" Minato spluttered, it was true the ANBU were the elite, but to be a normal ranked shinobi meant she could one day become Hokage, she could become famous not remain in the shadows.
"Yes, she is a stubborn one. She has no interest in becoming Hokage, ranks don't mean anything to her. She feels as if she is useful as an ANBU operative. I've always thought it had to do with her starlike presence, she is drawn to the darkness, not the light. But I will keep trying, I want that light to shine from the top. It would be nice for Konoha to have their first female Hokage, the time of old men must end."
Minato chuckled, "I know the kunoichi's of this village would rejoice at that."
"That they should, this village was not just made by the men, but also the women that have laid down their lives to forge our paths," Hiruzen said proudly, thinking of all the strong women in his life.
Shisui Uchiha was walking home when three bright lights ran passed him, he knew exactly who it was, they all did, it made him stumble for a moment. The lights were followed by Obito who was angry, the girl shrieked running towards a foreboding man,
"Uncle Fugaku," she cried out and jumped on to his back hiding from Obito, "Obito wants to kill me!"
"She disrespected me, she put a seal on my mouth and threw a twig at me while I was working," Obito glowered at her.
"Is this true?" Fugaku tilted his head to look at the girl, she was wearing a black and grey cheongsam, it was piped red but had no symbol on its back. Her hair hung loose in soft waves down her back, a red bandana kept her fringe out of her eyes, she was a beautiful girl no more than 9 years old.
She innocently played with Fugaku's hair, "Well, I was also working and that big mouth was going to tell everyone who I was…ANBU are supposed to be like the shadow, you aren't supposed to know their name or their face, but he was going to ruin my cover."
"Is that true?" Fugaku narrowed his eyes at Obito who cowered, the only person in the whole Uchiha Quarter who was not afraid of Fugaku was the girl on his back.
"Well, I…she…she was showing off," Obito pointed at her, exasperated, he knew he couldn't win this battle.
"I do not show off," she replied shortly, "I am just amazing."
Fugaku gave her a glance, "Who said you were allowed to get a big head?"
She grinned, "Come on, Uncle Fugaku. It's not my fault that even simple ninjitsu techniques surprise the baby shinobis."
"Even Minato Sensei was surprised by her," Obito scowled.
"Really?" Fugaku looked down at Obito, "Minato Namikaze was surprised by Ria?"
He nodded, "He said he hadn't expected Mitsu to be so young and soo good. She lives up to her reputation. He's actually gone to talk about her to the Hokage."
"Our Ria impressed the Leaf's Yellow Flash?" Fugaku repeated.
Ria rolled her eyes, "Who cares? I wasn't trying to impress anyone, I was doing my job," she didn't care to impress anyone outside of the Uchiha Quarters, stranger accolades meant nothing to her, she only sought the love of the people she cared about.
"You could become Hokage," Fugaku said softly looking at Ria, "If you've already started to impress those people."
"I don't want to be Hokage, anyway, Shisui would be a better Hokage then me," she pointed at Shisui who was still standing there watching, he squeaked pointing at himself as he went red, he hadn't realized that Ria had noticed he was there, "Shisui is super smart and he is super pretty," she smiled at him brightly.
"Hey, I'm going to be Hokage," Obito argued which made Ria snigger,
"I bet Shisui could beat you up right now, you won't ever surpass him. Actually," she looked at Fugaku, "If Shisui doesn't become Hokage, Itachi will."
"Itachi?" Fugaku repeated, "Why do you think that? He's only 3."
"But he has you," she said brightly, "There is no way he won't be a genius and he's pretty."
Obito scowled, "What does being pretty have to do with becoming Hokage?"
"It means he has a good heart, they both shine so brightly, Uncle Fugaku. They are like the stars in the sky," she looked up her eyes sparkled, "That's what I mean when I say they are pretty, to me they are like the stars, like you."
Fugaku smiled lightly, a feat which stunned Obito and Shisui, it was true they rarely ever saw their Clan Leader smile, the only person apart from his wife they had ever seen him smile at was Ria. That girl was truly something.
"You are the brightest star in this world," he told her softly but with deep meaning, "Let's go home, you can tell Itachi and Mikoto all about your mission."
The two left, leaving Obito and Shisui behind. Obito couldn't help but smile making Shisui glance at him, "What happened to your anger?"
He rubbed his neck, "It's true, she was amazing. You should have seen her Shisui, when she fights, the way she just moves…even Stupid Kakashi couldn't do anything but watch her."
Shisui smiled too, "She really is like the stars. She makes me feel happy."
Obito ruffled his hair, "She makes everyone feel happy."
Mitsu ended up working alongside Team Minato for many missions. She would usually prefer to team up with Obito or Rin, which annoyed Kakashi a little. He didn't understand why she didn't want to work with him, was there something wrong with him. He was starting to feel left out, she had a close relationship with Obito, that was clear from their first meeting, she also developed a strong working relationship with Rin and Minato, but with him there was nothing.
They had stopped by a clearing to take a rest, their mission was over and they were a day away from returning home. Rin and Obito were having an animated conversation whilst Minato and Kakashi put up the defenses, Mitsu was doing a quick perimeter check, Kakashi had sent his ninkin, Pakkun to do the same. The two returned together. Pakkun content in her arms.
Kakashi frowned, "Hey, Pakkun, come here boy."
Mitsu moved away from Kakashi, "No, he's mine now."
He stared at her, "Wait, what?"
She looked down at Pakkun, still wearing her mask, she never took it off during a mission, but they could feel the brightness peeling off of her as she looked at the puppy in her arms, "He's beautiful, he's mine now," Pakkun yapped happily and cuddled against her.
"You can't take my ninkin, he belongs to me, we have a contract," Kakashi pulled out his contract to prove it.
Mitsu scowled, "That's a working relationship, he's now my puppy, aren't you?" She said sweetly to Pakkun who grinned,
"Yes!"
"What?" Kakashi stuttered, "Pakkun you can't ditch me?"
Pakkun whined, "But she's soo perfect, Kakashi. Why can't I have her?"
"You can have me," Mitsu said happily hugging him, "I'll be yours forever."
"You can't steal someone else's dog, it isn't right!"
"I didn't steal anyone," she argued, "It's not fair, why can't I have him?"
"Because he already has an owner," Kakashi snapped at her, "And that person is me," with that he un-summoned Pakkun who disappeared from Ria's hands.
"Uh oh," Obito stood up, they had all turned to watch the interaction between Kakashi and Ria, when Kakashi sent Pakkun away Obito knew he had crossed a line.
Ria kicked Kakashi making him fall on to the floor clutching his leg in pain, she was so quick and swift, "You are a jerk," she cried out at him, her voice broke and she stormed off away from everyone. Rin hurried to Kakashi's side to check his leg, "She's crying?" Kakashi was stunned, he had seen the tears fall from her eyes.
Obito sat beside Kakashi shaking his head, "You are in big trouble Kakashi Hatake, I would sleep with both eyes open for the rest of your life if I was you."
"What?" Kakashi snapped at him, "It's not my fault…"
"No one makes Rizzie cry and gets away with it…" he sighed flicking Kakashi, "You are a jerk."
"She was stealing my dog!" He scowled, "Pakkun is mine."
"She wouldn't have stolen him, she just wanted to play with him. She loves dogs, but she can't have one, not where she lives…and you, you selfish jerk couldn't even let her play with your ninkin for even a few minutes?" Obito's eyes were filled with disappointment.
"She said she was taking him!"
"Kakashi," Rin had the same disappointment in her eyes, "She was only joking, she would never ever have taken your dog from you. She's not like that and now you've hurt her feelings."
"What? But she…"
"She might be a ninja," Minato joined in, all their faces mirrored one another making Kakashi gulp, "But she is also still a kid. You didn't need to be so harsh."
Ria didn't talk to anyone as they ate, she took her food and went and sat as far as possible from them, in the dark. Seeing her depressed made everyone glower at Kakashi. Finally, he sighed he bit his thumb and pointed towards Ria not saying a word, the ninkin all knew what he wanted, they ran over to Ria surrounding her.
"Pakkun!" She cried out happily, they all heard the yaps and purrs as Ria giggled and played with all of the puppies, Kakashi just scowled. Even his dogs got to have a relationship with her, all he did was make her cry. It made everyone else smile to see Ria so happy with the ninkin, they glanced over to watch her, she had such an excitable aura around her. It was like a little girl at Christmas. Kakashi refused to watch but that didn't mean he couldn't feel or hear what was going on, he was surprised that all his ninkin had fallen for her. They were enjoying her company, none of them had ever sounded that happy around him. It made his heart hurt a little. Why did the dogs he singlehandedly reared from birth become so attached to a stranger? Would they prefer to be her ninkin?" He had no idea what they were thinking. Instead, his heart just hurt.
Kakashi was grooming all his ninkin, washing their clothes and checking their health, he was very diligent about them, Biscuit was the first to ask him, "Do you know where she is?"
"She?" Kakashi looked at the pup.
"The star," Pakkun breathed, "Where is our Star?"
"Oh, Mitsu," Kakashi mumbled, sadness filled his eyes, "Do you boys like her?"
They all nodded, then sighed falling to the floor with bright eyes, "She smells wonderful."
"Would you rather be her ninkin?" He asked sadly, his eyes lowered.
They all stood up at attention, "We would never leave your side Kakashi, you are our master. Ninkin are loyal to the day they die."
Pakkun nudged Kakashi, he didn't like seeing him sad, "You are our master Kakashi, don't ever think about abandoning us."
"But you seem to like her so much, you were happy with her," he pointed out.
The sighed and fell back down again as if drugged, "She was perfect."
He scowled, "See, you never talk about me like that, just her."
Pakkun smiled at Kakashi, "She is so bright and good. We like her, but we wouldn't leave you for anyone…"
Biscuit piped up, "Why don't you marry her?"
All the dogs perked up at that suggestion, "Yes, marry her Kakashi. Then she will be our master too, and we will be with you both, we could smell her all the time…"
Kakashi went bright red squeaking, "You want me to marry her?"
They nodded in synch, Pakkun put his paw on Kakashi's knee, "You are going to have to work on your social skills, don't fail us we believe in you, make that beautiful star ours."
"I'm not going to marry her, I don't even know her."
"What do you need to know?" Bull asked him.
"Yeah," Urushi was confused too, "She's beautiful, warm, loving, she has a wonderful laugh and her scent," again they all sighed falling to the ground remembering the way she was, "You are both a similar age too."
"You can tell that?" Kakashi was surprised he knew nothing about Mitsu.
Shiba nodded, "Yes, she is 2 years younger than you Kakashi. We can smell it."
"What else do you know?" Kakashi was curious.
"She is very strong, she didn't use more than 10% of her chakra when she worked with you all," Akino added.
"She is very gentle too," Guroko pointed out, "The way she played with us, her hands were so soft and comforting," he purred at the memory.
"She has a strong Will of Fire inside her," Pakkun jumped on to Bull's head so he could look at Kakashi at his eye level, "She truly cares about her comrades and protecting them."
"She would make a great mother," Uhei grinned.
Kakashi reddened again, "What makes you think that?"
"The way she held us," they said in unison agreeing with Uhei who explained, "She has a mother's touch. There is so much love inside her, she would make you very happy, so...marry her Kakashi."
"Kakashi and our Star," Pakkun said brightly, "Their children!" He breathed, they all howled in happiness.
"What?" He squeaked, "Why are you all already planning our wedding and our children? I don't know her, she doesn't know me and I don't think we would ever…"
"This is your mission," Pakkun said sternly to Kakashi, all the ninkin got serious, "If you want us to be truly happy, you will marry our Star and you will have lots of little Stars for us to protect and love."
"You are all crazy, you've forgotten that there is another person in this fairy tale of yours and that person is not in the slightest bit interested in me. Not that I'm interested in her either."
"Get interested and get her interested," they snapped at him.
"You can't force love," he argued, "Anyway, I'm not the loving type. I'm going to be the eternal bachelor," he laughed at that as his ninkin growled and playfully attacked him.
Kakashi sat in his hospital ward, his hands in his lap. Everything was dark, his energy low. He was waiting for it to happen, for the Uchiha to come for his eye. He knew they would not be happy with Obito's decision to have his eye to be put into him. He would accept their decision. That's why he waited. He had lost a friend, a comrade. They had fought and fought over the years, but that didn't mean Kakashi didn't care. Obito was still his teammate, he was still a big part of his life and he did like him. To think he would never see his face again…it broke his heart.
Just then she arrived, landing neatly on his bed, she was crouched down facing him with her ANBU uniform on. She reached out towards him and then, much to his surprise she brushed his tears away, "Shinobi don't cry," her voice was so gentle, so warm he hadn't realized that tears had fallen from his eyes, but now he couldn't stop them.
"Hey, hey, don't cry Kakashi," she hugged him deepening his surprise but making him cry harder,
"I lost him, I lost him," he repeated.
"You didn't lose anyone…this is just the curse of our lives as shinobi, but we are comrades and we will all protect one another with our lives. Obito," her voice cracked but she kept strong, for him, "Obito protected his team, he did his job as a shinobi of the leaf. Please don't be sad that he was our hero."
"He's gone, he's gone," Kakashi's cries were muffled by her chest as she held him tightly, she did her best to soothe him one hand in his hair the other rubbing his back.
"He's not gone, you are here aren't you, you are here and Rin is here and you will carry his will in your heart, he lives through you both. He will never truly be gone if we keep him in our hearts," she took his hand cutting his thumb lightly so she could get some blood and then forcing him into calling his ninkin. She knew he needed them, he needed everyone right now.
"Boss," they whispered in pain.
"Look Kakashi, you have so many amazing, beautiful friends you will never be alone," she gestured for them to all jump on to the bed, they surrounded the two of them, all pained to see Kakashi hurt. He held on to Ria not wanting to let go of her, "Just take it, just take his eye…You don't have to say these things…"
Ria pulled him back and held his face in her hands, "Stupid Kakashi, no one is taking your eye and it is yours. Obito gave it to you, no one, and I mean no one has the right to change his will."
"Why did you come here?" He asked her, "If you aren't here to take his eye."
She brushed the tears away again, "I just came to see if you were okay. The Sharingan isn't an easy thing to have even for the Uchiha. It puts a lot of strain on your chakra, I wanted to see if you were okay."
"Just take it," he cried out at her, "I don't want this burden."
She snapped at him, "It's your responsibility, this belongs to you now and you better look after it. This way Obito gets to see the world through you, so stop feeling sorry for yourself. If you even try to get rid of Obito's will I will kill you myself."
"I'm sorry," he mumbled his lip trembling.
"It's okay, Kakashi," she said softly again, "It's okay, things will get better. Trust me."
Kakashi didn't see Ria for a few months. He had a feeling she was avoiding being around him, he had cried like a child in front of her, she was probably disgusted by his sniveling. He was being dragged by Minato, Rin, Kushina, and Gai to an onsen on the outskirts of the village. They were going to have a break together as a team. He didn't want to go, he didn't feel like he deserved a break. It felt wrong to go on a break when Obito wasn't with them. He would have loved the onsen. Seeing Rin in a yukata. He had to force those thoughts out of his head as he entered the soothing waters with his sensei and Gai. He lay by the window lazily with Pakkun sleeping on his chest as he read a book, their room was being set up for dinner. He was so absorbed with his book that he didn't notice what was going on around him, Pakkun woke up with a start, his nose twitched and then he howled making Kakashi put his book down and look at him, "What's wrong?" Without explanation Pakkun ran off of Kakashi's chest, he sat up and then turned a deep red when he saw the person his dog had run to.
"So you finally made it," Minato smiled at her.
"I'm sorry, I was late," she replied brightly at Minato, "I was just finishing a mission."
"It went well?" He asked her.
"Of course," she grinned, she turned and her eyes brightened when she saw Pakkun, "Pakkun," he leaped into her arms licking her face greedily, "My Star," he replied, she giggled at that,
"My name isn't Star," she corrected him, "It's Ria."
Kakashi was stunned. He hadn't taken a breath since the moment he had laid eyes on her. So, this is what she looked like. Under that mask. There was no way you could tell by the way she stood right there beside Kushina and Rin, that this girl was the infamous Mitsu of the Leaf. She was slender, fitting her yukata perfectly, she stood straight and with a gentle grace about her. Her skin was kissed by the sun, smooth and glowing, her lips were soft and red, her nose small, her cheeks high and her eyes bright and a chocolate brown which matched her hair. That fell in thick waves down her back, on her head was a bandanna, it kept the soft tendrils of her hair out of her eyes. She was so delicate, so beautiful, he couldn't stop staring.
They all sat down to eat, Kakashi still bright red, he couldn't stop the blushing so he did his best to look elsewhere, it didn't help that he ended up sitting next to her, she passed him some water and then noticed his inflamed cheeks, she poked them feeling the heat, "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," he squeaked.
She got incredibly close to him and put her hand over his forehead moving his headband to give her access, "You're burning up," his heart was pounding at her touch, he couldn't believe he had held her, he had cried on her, this girl. The one who was touching him now.
Rin leaned over the table sniggering, "I don't think Kakashi is sick, Ria."
"Of course he is, look at him," she argued, her hand still on his head.
"He's just never seen you without your mask," Rin teased making the others fall over laughing.
Ria frowned confused, "Why would that make any difference? I've been around Kakashi many times, he's never gotten sick before."
"He's not sick, he's blushing," Rin pointed out, "Can you blame him? If you touch him less he might be able to breathe."
Ria took her hand off Kakashi, "I'm making him sick? I'm sorry."
Minato ruffled her hair, "It's not your fault, he's just in shock."
"Why would my face make anyone go in to shock? That's never happened before?" Ria was still confused.
"You're all embarrassing," Kakashi stormed off running away from them all, they all laughed at his expense apart from Ria, she didn't like seeing Kakashi run away,
"I'm so sorry," she mumbled, "I'll get him," she ran after Kakashi not listening to the others who tried to get her to let it go. She caught up with him, he was sitting on a rock in the mountains, wanting to be alone so he could settle his nerves. Why had he broken like that? Kakashi knew he wasn't a physical person. If he was bowled over by beauty, then he would have fallen for Rin a long time ago. But he hadn't. There was something else, something that seeing her without her mask did to him. She seemed more real. When she was her ANBU self, she was a shadow, someone who could be seen as imaginary and untouchable. But now, he had seen her face, he had seen her smile, her eyes…she was real. As real as him.
"Hey, Kakashi," Ria sat next to him on the boulder, he tensed, why was she here? Why her? "I'm sorry if me being here makes it difficult for you. I didn't think it would, I'm sorry…I'll leave, you should go and enjoy your break with your team," she jumped off the boulder but he grabbed her hand.
"Don't leave," he said to her softly.
She looked at him surprised that he was holding her hand, it made her tingle not knowing it did the same to him, "What?"
"Don't leave, okay. It's not your fault, I left because of them, not you…"
"But they are teasing you because of me," she pointed out.
He shook his head, "I overreacted. I'm fine now."
"Oh, okay," she nodded, "Are you going to go back now?"
He shook his head, "No, not yet."
"Do you want to be alone?" Her voice was quiet, she wasn't sure what he was thinking or feeling. Usually, Ria was so perceptive of people, she was trained to read actions and expressions, but Kakashi was the one person she couldn't read.
"Stay," he shrugged not moving from his position, she sat back on the rock beside them, neither had yet realized that Kakashi still hadn't let go of her hand. There was silence between them as they just sat there, hand in hand. Kakashi finally spoke, he was racking his brain for something to say, "How come you joined us, today? You never usually do stuff like this?"
She smiled, "Well Rin asked me."
"I haven't seen you in so long," he mumbled, "I thought you were avoiding me."
She shook her head, "No, I've just been on lots and lots of missions. I had a mission with Kushina and she took me to dinner because it was a success that's when Rin asked me to join you all. If I'm not on missions I'm usually training, this is the first time I've been to an onsen."
"Really?" He was surprised, "You never went with your sensei?"
"I never really had a sensei, I joined the ANBU right out of the Academy…I had teammates but no one was my sensei. In the ANBU we don't really hang out in onsens after missions, for us its usually a case of mission, report, go home. Most of the ANBU operatives are much older than me, so I can't really go to bars with them."
"Who trained you then?" Kakashi was curious, "If you never had a sensei?"
She smiled, "Uncle Fugaku mostly, I guess you could call him my sensei but he's more like a father to me than a teacher. I usually just follow my heart, I am very weird if you haven't noticed."
He smiled at that, "I noticed."
She grinned looking up at the stars, "I feel like the stars tell me what to do, I learned by looking up and listening to their words. It's hard to explain, anyway I had to be strong, I had to prove that I was worth saving."
"What?" He stared at her.
She nodded a little sadness in her eyes, "Uncle Fugaku saved me when I was baby, both my parents were dead. I don't know who they were, what they were. All I know is that he and all the other Uchiha have looked after me my whole life. When I was really little some of the Uchiha thought I was a burden, that I was weak and Fugaku should just hand me over to the Leaf. But he refused, he said it didn't matter if I was strong or not. It didn't matter to him, he would protect me. I didn't want him to defend me, I wanted to be able to defend everyone else instead. So, I trained. I watched Fugaku and I would copy him. It would always make him laugh as I would try to use Uchiha jitsu's but I don't have the Sharingan, everything he could do wasn't easy for me…but I succeeded," her eyes brightened remembering the first time she successfully copied his techniques, "I remember the way he patted my head when I did the Fireball Jitsu," she touched her hair, "When I finally got one jitsu down, I kept wanting to learn more. I learned my shurikanjitsu from him, how to use kunei, the more I learned things the better I got. I was just being annoying to the other clan members when during a mock battle I developed my star chakra. I don't know if it's something I get from my parents, I have read books and books about the stars and I have never come across any chakra manifestation that can do what mine does. It was the first thing that was truly mine. Uncle Fugaku liked testing my new jitsu so we would train together, he would use his Sharingan and almost always he would win, so I started coming up with techniques to beat him. He told me that my jitsu can't be copied, it's impossible."
"Why? I thought the Sharingan could see all jitsu?" Kakashi was watching her intently.
"I don't use hand signals, I no longer need to for the jitsu's that aren't mine. But the ones that are mine, I never used hand signals, they just came from me…I told you I was weird. All I know is that I can't lose, not in a battle, ever. My life was a gift that was given to me by Uncle Fugaku and I will never, never disrespect that gift he gave me. I'm just going to keep getting stronger, it's why I still train all the time."
"How do you train?"
"I started with Uncle Fugaku but now he trains Itachi because Itachi is going to be the next clan leader. I then trained with the other ANBU operatives but none of them have ever won against me, so now I train with Shisui. We used to play as kids but now we train."
"You are still a kid Ria," Kakashi corrected.
"I know," she grinned, "When I'm not at work or training, I play and pull pranks on people all the time. But…" her voice went serious, "I have people I have to protect so I won't be complacent at all. Anyway I love training with Shisui, he's so strong…he'll be Hokage one day."
"He's stronger than you?" Kakashi looked at her, a little jealousy rising in his voice, he didn't like hearing Ria talk about another boy so highly.
"Definitely, if I look into Shisui's eyes his Mangekyo Sharingan would destroy me, no doubt about it. He has the most powerful eyes ever, I don't think even Madara Uchiha could defeat Shisui. That's where I'm the lucky one, because no matter what happens, I know Shisui would never hurt me, and I could never hurt him."
"How do you train with a person you cannot hope to defeat?" He was confused.
"That's the best person to train with," she said simply, "I'm learning all the time. The basic Sharingan, that's useless against me, I told you, they can't copy my jitsu, so even if they anticipate me it won't matter, I can still attack. The Mangekyo Sharingan is harder, it's the ultimate visual genjitsu, so what makes me weak are these," she gestured at her eyes.
"What? You're going to blind yourself?"
She laughed, "No, don't be silly. I just need to learn how to effectively fight without using my senses, the Mangekyo can completely cut you off of your senses, so that's what Shisui and I, do. It's so hard, but I know, I know I can learn."
"Why, why do you think Shisui will be Hokage, and not you?"
"That's simple, I'm nobody," she answered looking up at the stars.
Kakashi frowned, "What do you mean? Of course your somebody, you are Mitsu of the Leaf."
"Mitsu is just a codename, I'm Ria. Just Ria, no name, no clan…"
"The Uchiha…" he began.
She shook her head, "I love them and they love me, but that doesn't make me one of them. I can never be one of them. Even if I married Shisui, I would never be a true Uchiha. Anyway other than you, Rin, Minato and Kushina, Gai, the Hokage and Lord Danzo no one outside the Uchiha clan even know I exist."
"They know about Mitsu, Mitsu is infamous, like the Sannin or…"
Ria cut him off, "Mitsu is just a ghost. A Hokage is a symbol that brings all the clans together, a person with no clan can't do that. I love everyone in our village, I really do. And I will always protect everyone. But I know, deep down, I don't belong. Everything about me doesn't belong, from my face to my jitsu, I am an alien. Konoha cannot be protected by an alien, they need someone with more presence, and Shisui has that. He is strong and intelligent and he has the Will of Fire just like all the other Hokage. And he is kind, he is so kind Kakashi."
"So are you," Kakashi pointed out.
"If I had a clan, if I had a name, any name, Uchiha, Senju, Hyuga, Inuzuka, Nara, Hatake," Kakashi blushed at hearing her say his, "Any name, I wouldn't be in the ANBU, I'd be a sensei, I'd be a Jonin, I would work so hard to be at the top so I could protect everyone," her eyes sparkled, "And once I am at the top I would make changes."
"Changes?" Kakashi tilted his head, "What changes would you want?"
Ria stood up, still holding Kakashi's hand as she exclaimed excitedly her plans for the future, "First I'll open the Police Force to all shinobi and not just the Uchiha, I would make Uncle Fugaku Head of the ANBU, he would do a much better job than that stupid Lord Danzo, I would stop Gennin entering the battlefield, we aren't ready not that young. The Chunin Exam would become the Chunin Games. I would fight for all the Kage's to come together, to stop this senseless fighting. Konoha was built to be a family, but all the clans have shut their doors, that wasn't what we came together to be, so I'd make them open up and I'd make all our brother and sister villages open up too. All the shinobi countries should be a big family, we should work together, we should share intel and we should forbid inhumane testing and jitsus. All I want, the only reason why I would become the Hokage, is so that everyone could be happy, that's all I want. Happy and safe. We will never be safe or happy if we keep within this cycle of hate and pain."
"I think the village needs you…"
"Shisui believes the same as me, so if I want my dream to come true, I need to make sure he becomes the next Hokage, no matter what. He has everything a great Hokage needs."
"What if something happens to him?"
She fell to the floor, her light diminished immediately, "Don't ever say that. Don't even think about it."
"Ria…"
She covered his mouth there was real fear in her eyes, "Please don't…Uncle Fugaku and Shisui are the two most important people in my life. Uncle Fugaku saved me, and Shisui made me who I am. His happiness is my number one goal, he's lost so much Kakashi and even then he smiles for me. I know, I know deep down, that he will be the one to make my dreams come true, it's the goal we both share. We have wanted the end of shinobi violence ever since we were babies, he had to work to support his parents, he had to watch them die, he had to watch his best friend die, he's had to fight and fight and fight…even then he smiles…I can never be as good as a Hokage as he would be, he's the person I want to follow."
"You really care about him?" Kakashi said sadly, she didn't notice his tone but nodded fervently she pointed at the stars in the sky, "Mitsu Boshi, the three stars, I feel like they are mine, they reflect me. Everyone else sees them as Mother Father Child, but for me, I don't have parents…none that I know anyway. For me, it's Uncle Fugaku, Shisui and…"
"Whose your third star?" Kakashi asked.
She laughed, "I haven't found them yet, maybe it's Pakkun, I do love him."
Kakashi laughed at that, "You'll make all the other boys jealous."
"He was my first love," she said happily, "I can't deny that. All I know is my stars are the one who saved me, the one who keeps me going and I guess the last will be the one I love."
"You don't love anyone?" He asked her curiously.
"I love people," she nodded, "I love many people, but I'm not in love with anyone, I'm only 10 Kakashi," she laughed, "It's too early to be in love with anyone…hopefully, I'll have a long life, maybe I will fall in love with someone, maybe I won't. Who knows?"
"Of course you will find love," he said honestly, he truly believed if anyone was going to find love it was Ria, she deserved it and she had so much of her to give.
She blushed, "It won't be easy to love me, the whole Uchiha Clan would likely kill any boy I try to bring home. Uncle Fugaku says that there is no boy good enough for me, not even an Uchiha boy."
Gai looked at Rin confused by her actions, "I don't understand."
"Understand what?" Rin asked tilting her head as she looked at Gai.
"Don't you have feelings for Kakashi?" Rin reddened at that but Gai continued, "Even then, you keep pushing Ria towards him."
Rin laughed, "Well that's simple really," she leaned back on her hands looking at the sky with a sparkle in her eyes, "Kakashi likes her."
"What?" Gai choked.
"I noticed it a long time ago. He's always liked her. He acts all cool and standoffish in front of us, but deep down he's still a boy, he still has feelings, and he has really strong ones for her. Kakashi is a good guy," she smiled, "But he is terrible at showing how he feels to people, he usually gets on peoples bad side, he has no tact. His brain moves faster than others and we can't do anything to keep up with him…but she can. She keeps up with him without even trying."
"But you like him," Gai repeated, "Why would you want him to be with someone else?"
"Because I like him, I want him to be happy, and it's been clear to me from the very beginning that he won't ever be happy with me…"
"Rin," Gai cut her off but she shook her head.
"It's not wrong or a bad thing, some people are just not right for each other. I'm not right for him and that's okay. He's my closest friend and I will do anything to see him happy, and Ria, she makes him happy. Can't you just see the two of them together?" She glanced at Gai who nodded, "I can…but Ria…do you think she could like him?"
"I don't know," Rin said sadly, "That's my only issue, pretty much every girl in the village has a thing for Kakashi, apart from her. She has never shown any romantic interest in him whatsoever. I don't know how she feels about him or whether she has even noticed him. It's kind of hard though, most girls you know have fallen for Kakashi's coolness but in front of Ria, he is an absolute dork," Rin giggled, "He either needs to be saved by her or is getting into an argument with her or making her cry."
"Obito was right, he is an idiot," Gai grinned.
Rin nodded, "If Obito was still with us, he would have loved this, I think he would have done everything to make Kakashi learn how to get Ria. It would have been Obito's way to be the leader for once."
"Let's just hope no other boy gets to Ria before Kakashi can grow up and ask her out," Gai chuckled.
"Yeah, lucky for us, most people are unaware of her, or are scared of the Uchiha that are always around her," Rin giggled, "But all we can do is keep making plans to push those two together, give them a chance to get into a relationship. They would make a great team."
"You are a true friend, Rin," Gai said solemnly, "Really, Kakashi is lucky to have you."
"He sure is," she said proudly.
The two-headed off to the fireworks festival, they had asked Ria to join them, hoping that tonight they could stir up some romance between Ria and Kakashi. It was a nighttime event, there would be fireworks, dancers, food, and games, people would be relaxed and wearing yukatas. It was one big party full of love and possibilities. It was a perfect night to foster some magic. Gai stumbled tripping over his feet and nearly right into Ria when he saw her, luckily a boy pulled her back getting in between her and him, "Woah man keep your hands off my wife."
"Wife?" Gai shrieked.
Ria grinned putting her arms around the boys' neck and kissing his cheek, "This is my brightest star, Shisui."
"You have weird looking friends, Ria," Shisui glanced at her.
"Weird looking?" Gai scowled crossing his arms annoyed at Shisui's words, "Who are you calling weird looking?"
"You," he pointed at Gai.
"Be nice Shisui," Ria scolded him gently.
He smiled brightly at her making her glow, "I'm sorry. I just don't like when other boys try to touch you."
"Well that's impossible when I have you with me," she grinned.
"Who's your friend?" Rin asked quietly, her plan getting ruined.
"I'm Shisui Uchiha," Shisui answered, he glanced at Ria taking her hand, "And I'm Ria's future husband."
Ria giggled, "First become Hokage and then I'll say yes."
"Well I have no choice then," he beamed making even Rin blush, he had quite a smile and it was clear he was filled with love for her.
"Woah, this little thing is going to become Hokage?" Gai teased Shisui but instead of riling him up he riled Ria up who glowered at Gai,
"Yeah he is, he's going to be the best Hokage in the village."
"With you beside me, I can do anything," Shisui nodded.
"Let's go and have some fun," Ria turned away still holding Shisui's hand and leaving the two behind them, they stared in shock. Ria had ditched them to be with that young boy. Was she in love with him? They didn't understand. Their hearts fell when they saw Kakashi arrive, their plan for today was completely bust. To get Ria to notice Kakashi, they needed to separate her from Shisui, when he was around she didn't notice anyone, but doing that seemed impossible. They were super close.