Chapter 7.
Kakashi rouse before Hanabi, taking pleasure in waking her up; the girl's scandalized screams were like music to his ears. Hyugas were such prudes, he thought. He only watched her sleep while waiting for her to rise... He had a score to even with the twerp, after all.
Hinata giggled at the whole ordeal, making the trouble doubly worth it for the jounin. What with her sister spouting curses at Kakashi, calling him pervert while blushing profusely. Thankfully, Hanabi-chan managed to keep swearing below the level of mature, his personal favorite being "son of a biscuit". It was cute, really, despite her self-will, the girl was very proper in many aspects, her insults sounding more adorable than offensive to his desensitized ears. To think of it, almost any insult would be better than what he usually heard from Kiba's mother during meetings between village clans.
A hasty breakfast and few more verbal skirmishes later, Kakashi and Hanabi stood ready outside the house, with Hinata wishing them a safe journey. Hanabi managed to reign herself and properly say goodbye to her sister, but it seemed her patience no longer needed to be retained once they reached the village gates. She started to shower him with questions: 'How long will it take to reach Suna?', 'Are they going to see other places?', 'What was the purpose of the mission, anyway?'
"I see you are excited, Hanabi-chan," Kakashi teased, saluting shinobi at the gate duty. They, of course, just ignored him, but he decided to not let that ruin his mood; it was a nice sunny day, afterall. "It sure doesn't look like winter even by Konoha standards, don't you think?" he asked his companion, forgetting her last question.
"Yeah, yeah," the girl responded, clearly wanting to move the discussion towards their mission. "You didn't answer my question. How long is the road to Suna?"
"It is three days distance from Konoha to Suna if we go at an average pace. We are not in a hurry, so we can walk at a relatively leisure pace. If you want, however, we can run some of the distance, so we can make a little detour here and there," he said mysteriously. "As for the mission's purpose, officially it is to settle down some disputes, but I also planned to help Sunagakure. Hopefully, we could manage at least our primary objective."
This trip was a perfect opportunity for Hanabi to learn and get experience with diplomacy. The last Hatake intended to make full use of it.
Hanabi was an astute girl. When Kakashi asked for her thoughts on the Leaf-Sand relations, she went into a fairly comprehensive analysis of Konoha's diplomacy, past and present, factoring in current Kazekage's lack of experience, Danzo's aggressive foreign policy, and the state of the Five Great Shinobi Countries. Hiashi taught her well, Kakashi thought. Of course, there still was much for her to learn. Her evaluation although impressive, lacked clarity and some of the things she said sounded more like they came from cramming and memorization rather than actual understanding. As a good teacher he tried to be, he let her know of it.
"Your knowledge of history is satisfactory, and your analysis is more sophisticated than what I would have expected for a genin," he said honestly. "However, you are a Noble Clan heiress, so higher standards apply in your case."
Hanabi, who seemed to be relishing the praise, quickly changed her smug expression to a pout.
"How is it that every time you praise me, I feel more stupid than before?"
Kakashi just smiled, ruffling her hair affectionately.
"It is my job as sensei to remind my students of their inadequacy, so that they never get cocky," he told her matter-of-fact. "Your performance so far had been nothing less than stellar, but I want you to realize that you also had more opportunities compared to others. Being a clan heiress is both a privilege and a burden," Kakashi's face took a wistful expression. "You had the best tutors and education, so it is only fair you are evaluated against a higher standard, don't you think?"
This made Hanabi wonder if her initial assessment of the man was even remotely correct. It was no secret that Kakashi Hatake was a genius. She'd thought that being a prodigy meant that he didn't have to put in any effort, things just come easy for him. But observing him, listening to his teachings, Hanabi gradually came to a conclusion that Kakashi had a higher expectation of himself than any of his peers. His talent was ridiculous, and therefore, he had to adopt equally ridiculous standards for himself.
She was quiet for a long time. Copy Nin started to think maybe he was too harsh to load her like that, but she turned to him with the light of newfound determination.
"I think I get it," she told him resolutely. From the look in her eyes alone Kakashi could see she understood what he was trying to convey. Indeed, the girl was a nugget. He couldn't resist patting her one more time.
"Atta girl! But you should know that it doesn't mean that you cannot have fun and must work all the time."
She glared at him, but there was no malice in it.
The rest of the way was spent in little talk. Sometime after their conversation, Kakashi had taken out his favorite book, all the while keeping an eye on his young charge. The Hyuga girl just rolled her eyes at him, turning her attention on their surroundings instead, looking around, exploring the world with keen interest. She would ask him a question from time to time, to which he tried to give as comprehensive answer as he could. Eventually, when the day was close to an end, they reached what Kakashi thought could be their first detour. He signaled Hanabi to stop.
"Alright, we have two options," he told her, putting his book aside. "One, we can set up a camp here and spend the night resting… or, we could make a little diversion and go visit the Glowing Forest."
Kakashi didn't need to be a genius to know what the girl's answer was going to be.
"Spend the night in a boring camp instead of seeing a glowing forest? Have you lost your marbles, old man?!"
"Hey, no need to be mean," he mock-pouted. "You know what? I think if you are going to be so mean we won't go anywhere."
It was fun to watch the twerp's face change so fast. It went from exaggerated exasperation to anxiety in a matter of a second.
"Please," she pleaded, "I will not insult you today anymore."
"What's that supposed to mean? Your good behavior only lasts until you get what you wanted from me? I say you don't deserve the trip."
That'll teach her, he thought, turning away from her for further effect.
He was about to tease her some more, but the girl went uncharacteristically quiet. Turning back at her Kakashi was surprised to notice her crestfallen expression. He couldn't believe his eyes when she started to unpack, soft sounds of rustling of her bag's contents filling the air around them.
"Hey, Hanabi-chan," he addressed her, failing to hide worry from his voice. "What are you doing?"
The girl refused to look at him. She had the decency to reply, though.
"Unpacking. Seeing as we are not going to the forest."
Her voice was flat, but the disappointment was still clear in her demeanor. He understood she was upset, she probably blamed herself for blowing her chance. Kakashi reminded himself that despite her rebellious facade, she was a very strictly raised child. Obeying elders and superiors was ingrained in her since she was old enough to learn, so there should be no surprise that she sometimes failed to discern a joke from an order. He noticed similar behavior in Hinata as well, although to a lesser extent.
"Hanabi-chan," he said, wondering if the problem perhaps lied in his brand of humor, rather than others not being able to separate his sarcasm from truth. "We are going to the forest."
"Really?" she looked at him, expression not quite believing but oh so imploring.
"Of course!" was his indignant reply.
The girl thanked him politely, still afraid he would retract his offer, and immediately started to pack up again.
It was getting dark by the time they neared the expanse of the Glowing Forest. Hanabi was still tentative around him, which was beginning to get on his nerves.
"Hey, twerp," he called for her, making her bristle – good sign. "Listen, I am not one of your tutors, I don't have a stick up my bum anymore, so you don't need to tiptoe around me. I can take a joke, especially from my dear sister-in-law."
That seemed to tick her off. Kakashi smirked, pleased.
"I don't tiptoe around my tutors," she responded, voice crisp. "And don't call me a twerp, you stupid, old, ugly, stupid pervert!"
"You said stupid twice, dear sister."
"That's because you are stupid. And don't call me sister," the girl grunted, to which the older man replied with a chuckle. If he looked in her direction at that moment, he would've noticed a small smile playing on her face.
All her life, people's treatment of her had been rather unequal. She was an heiress, and her clansmen thought her to be either higher than them in social standing, or lower, in case with Clan Elders and her tutors. For so long Hinata was the only one she could speak to as an equal. She didn't complain, not at all, but it sometimes could get really lonely when you can't have a normal conversation with a person without expecting them to kowtow before you or scold you. Now, not only she had her sister, but Kakashi too seemed to treat her as an equal. Their banter had practically become a tradition, and he never looked down at her, nor did he shelter her from honesty. He genuinely seemed to be concerned about her and her sister's wellbeing, something that had astonished her upon first realizing it. Now, she seemed to just take it as a given sometimes, forgetting how important it was to her.
Hanabi smiled, so that was how making new friends felt like.
So absorbed she was with her revelation that she didn't notice when they entered the forest. Only when she felt the air become warmer did she notice that there were trees everywhere.
"It's very warm in this forest compared to outside and there is a lot of time until it starts snowing. We should be able to see it," Kakashi said, looking around.
"So, it doesn't always glow?"
"No," Copy Nin shook his head. "It depends on the season, actually. Some places glow only until October, but this forest is unique – it glows until late winter."
Hanabi thought on her companion's words. She cracked her head on what could possibly make it glow. She didn't see anything out of the ordinary yet. It looked like a regular forest, the likes of which are countless throughout the Land of Fire. Kakashi seemed to know what he was doing though, so Hanabi initially decided to keep her thoughts to herself. They were walking for quite some time already, though, so expectedly, her curiosity began prevailing over her patience.
"Why is it called Glowing Forest?" she asked, fearing that it was some kind of metaphorical name and there was no actual glowing in this forest. Adults seemed to like that sort of thing.
"You'll see," was his curt reply.
Not helping at all.
"When will we see the glowing? Does it start at a specific time or we haven't reached the glowing area yet?"
"Boy, you sure are excited," Kakashi stated, still not answering her questions.
Kakashi remembered his own teacher bringing them to this very forest. Obito and Rin had been thrilled. Even he was a little excited, his teammates' mood easily infecting him. At first, he was skeptical, how could a trip to a forest help them become stronger? But Minato-sensei told them that not everything they do is meant to make them stronger, or even better in any way. Sometimes we do something just for the fun of it. Besides, he added, it would be a great team-bonding activity.
Kakashi smiled, nostalgia washing over him. It was in moments like this he remembered how grateful he was to his team, to Kushina-sama. They did so much for him, trying to make sure he lived his life instead of just existing. They looked out for his wellbeing, considered him as a person, rather than White Fang's son or a prodigy soldier. They were the ones who pulled him out of the darkness...
He looked at the young girl walking before him, excited yet too unsure how to behave around him. Was she looked at by her clanmates like she was an heiress of a mighty family, or did they treat her like actual family? It was time he applied his sensei's teachings, he decided. He will make sure Hanabi felt like a human being. Not her title, not her status, but her own person, with feelings and dreams.
How many dreams a child such as her should have?
"Are you ready to see the miracle of the Glowing Forest?" he cheerfully asked, adding a little pomp to his speech. The look Hanabi gave him was a mixture of disbelief and hopeful anticipation.
Kakashi lead her through a small river, on the other side was a less dense part of the wood. There, he gestured forward, taking pleasure in the way Hanabi's eyes widened in amazement at the sight.
Hanabi looked around and gaped. Before them stood a grove, thousands of glowing mushrooms littering every available surface. There were ones with a stalk, growing on the ground; bushy looking ones that protruded from tree branches; leaf-shaped mushrooms growing on tree barks – all creating a beautiful garland around the area. They were glowing various shades of yellow and green, giving the forest an eerie, supernatural appearance. The whole coppice stood ablaze with the gleam of the nature's wonder that was luminescent fungi.
"It's beautiful…" Hanabi whispered, awestruck.
She had a sudden impulse to run closer, to feel the wonder before her. Instead, she wandered around tentatively, as though her very intrusion will shatter the place's delicate allure. She absorbed every detail, holding her breath. In a bout of curiosity, she even dared to touch the mushrooms, as if that would somehow reveal the secret of their ability to glow.
"Should've brought a camera," she said, lamenting, voice a whisper as she took in the scene around.
"You are lucky your sister packed me one, then," Kakashi said, grateful to Hinata for her considerate nature.
Young Hyuga turned to him so abruptly, with such relief plastered on her face. Kakashi entertained an idea to tell her it was a joke. However, she looked so happy the older ninja couldn't find it in himself to ruin the moment.
"Here we go," he said, holding the camera out towards the girl.
She was over the moon.
Immediately started taking pictures from various angles. As with his teammates long time ago, Hanabi's unbridled joy was contagious, for Kakashi soon found himself advising her on the finer angle to better capture the beauty of the forest. They playfully argued about the most appealing shot and the nature of the mushrooms' glowing.
Eventually, they were lying on the ground, surrounded by all the luminescence, talking amiably for once.
"Now I know why they called it Glowing," Hanabi said, breezily, her contented expression illuminated by the forest.
"It's not the only reason, though. If we are lucky, we might see another reason for its name."
The girl turned towards him, curious. The joyful gleam in her eyes at the prospect of another wonder was brighter than the light emanating from all around them.
"Really?"
"Yeah… We might see the fireflies, it might not be as alluring as the mushrooms, but it's still quite beautiful, especially if there is a lot of them. There is a small river nearby, so we have a good chance to spot some."
"Why is that?" the girl asked, surprising him once more. Nobody ever got interested in what he had to say about things other than shinobi-related. Yet there lied a girl who was as curious about his knowledge on fireflies as she was about his advice on combat.
"Well, technically those are not fireflies, as fireflies hibernate over winter. These are more like glowing bugs that for some reason only populate this forest, and their hibernation cycle starts much later in December."
Kakashi glanced at his charge, fully expecting her to get bored from his tedious ramblings, but was surprised to see that she was listening intently despite watching the sky. She caught his gaze for a brief second and beckoned him to continue.
"Like fireflies, though, those insects thrive in wet and unpolluted environments. The river in this forest is exactly such an environment," Kakashi explained, remembering what he read about insects when he was a kid. "You'll have to wait though."
"Mhm," she nodded, quietly. Despite being tired there was no desire for sleep not in a single eye until she saw the 'fireflies'.
Masked ninja watched his young charge. She looked serene; a content smile stretched across her brightened face. It was at moments like this, Kakashi thought, life seems that it has a purpose. Just lying down, with your friend, not a care in the world. He felt truly at peace.
"You can go sleep if you want. I'll stay and look out for the fireflies. I will wake you up if they come."
"Thanks," Hanabi whispered, softly, "but I don't want to sleep yet."
And so, they waited, a comfortable air between the two. Stars gleamed above in the sky adding to the glow around them, on the ground and trees. Kakashi even pointed out some of the constellations, promising to tell her more about the North Star sometime later.
For now, they waited for the fireflies.
Wasn't long until Kakashi began dozing away, all those sleepless nights and accumulated stress finally taking their toll on his tired mind. He almost succumbed to the lethargy when he heard Hanabi's excited call.
"Look!"
She pointed towards the left from him. There, a stream of light was flowing. At first, it was but a small ray, closing in until it consumed the space above their heads, bringing the stars closer. The place around became even brighter with the fireflies' arrival.
Kakashi looked at his charge. She was even more awestruck, if that was even possible. Hanabi observed, enthralled by the light show. And he... he couldn't take his eyes of off his young charge. There was something special in her expression, the twinkle of innocence that outshone all the light around and above. The same gleam that he'd often spied in his wife's eyes when she looked happy. Those two certainly were family, he thought, and Kakashi got a desperate, irrational desire to be part of that family as well.
The thought was so sudden that he almost jumped at realization. By the time his ruminations ended his young charge had already succumbed to sweet sleep, the smile never leaving her young face. Kakashi's own lips stretched in a grin under the mask, as he finally allowed himself a few hours of respite before the dawn.
For the first time since his becoming Jounin Commander, Kakashi didn't see his comrades' disappointed faces when he closed his eyes to sleep, nor did he hear their accusations and scorn.
All that appeared in his head was his sister's happy, content expression.
Hanabi woke up to a feeling of something firm but not unpleasant. It was warm and had a comforting smell, so she snuggled up to it, refusing to get up. Only after sensing it rumble from laughter did she realize Kakashi was carrying her, piggyback. She sprung off him immediately, no trace of sleep in her eyes.
"Good morning," she heard him say, as if he hadn't just been carrying her in her sleep.
Words of indignation died in her throat as Hanabi took in their surroundings. Apparently, Kakashi considered morning when it was barely daybreak. She looked around, noticing the forest a few kilometers behind them.
"Did you have to carry me like that? It's embarrassing!"
The Hyuga in her looked properly embarrassed. It went away as soon as it struck, and she didn't make a fight out of it like she normally did.
"I carried Sakura and Naruto like that when they were your age," Kakashi shrugged, also remembering how his own father used to do it to him all the time. "They weren't embarrassed."
"Somehow, I think they remember it differently…" Hanabi muttered. "Anyway, what's the plan?" she asked, more enthusiastic.
The girl's abrupt shift from irate to almost chirpy no longer surprised Hatake. So excited so early in the morning, eh, Kakashi thought. He decided that they could spend a little more time on a little side trip today. There was a lot of time to bond with his charge, after all.
"Unfortunately, today won't be as interesting as yesterday. But we are still going to see some fascinating places, including a town of Tanzaku, a popular place for gambling."
"Gambling?" Hanabi looked at him incredulously, not liking the idea of visiting a place like that.
"It's not the gambling we are coming for. Tanzaku town is actually a place of historical significance," the masked man explained. "There was once a keep, Tanzaku Castle, but it got destroyed by Orochimaru some time ago."
"If you say so," was the Hyuga's reply. Although not particularly enthusiastic, it was still hopeful.
"Besides," Kakashi insisted, "we need to restock our supplies."
They spent the better part of the morning running, compensating for the time spent at the Glowing Forest. Kakashi watched Hanabi the whole time. The girl was truly relishing their journey. With the wind waving her dark brown locks and a content smile on her face, she looked happy, carefree. Gone was the impassive mask she often attempted to wear in every unfamiliar situation. The glacial, cold veil no longer shielded her gaze, giving way to warm, curious expression. She looked her age, and for the first time in many weeks Kakashi felt like he was accomplishing something invaluable with this impromptu trip. For the first time in his entire life he felt like becoming Hokage, if only to ensure all children in Konoha adopted an expression like the one he was being witness to. He was afraid of this revelation. There was no way, not since he gave up Konoha to Danzou. Once again, he set the troubling thought aside, he will deal with it later. Of course, he ignored the inner voice that reminded him of his tendency to forget about following with his intentions whenever he set something aside 'for later'. No, he thought, this time he really will deal with it after everything is over. Right now, his priority was to complete the mission and give Hanabi a trip she will not forget soon.
They reached Tanzaku town by mid-morning. Even at that time it was bustling with activity. The casinos and other, less respectable establishments were open 24/7, allowing for a constant influx of tourists and money that they brought with them.
Kakashi didn't want to linger there for long, his target destination being the Castle. Once an imposing stronghold, it made the town a strategic point and gave its populace shelter hundreds of years ago, before the appearance of ninjutsu. Over time its function evolved into a popular sight of tourist attraction, serving its intended purpose only in emergencies. Now, Tanzaku Castle was but a pile of rubble.
"Did Orochimaru really do it with only a single technique?" asked Hanabi, seeing for herself the destruction caused by the Snake Sannin.
Kakashi understood her disbelief. The castle was huge, at least forty meters in both height and width. If he weren't a veteran of two World Wars, he too would have had hard time accepting that a single person could possess such tremendous power. He saw for himself Orochimaru's capacity for destruction when the Sannin literally broke through Konoha's enormous wall with his summon during that fateful chunin exams. He supposed Hanabi was immediately whisked away to safety when it happened, so she couldn't see it.
"Yes," he answered, remembering all the times he encountered the criminal. "Orochimaru is one of the most dangerous people I've ever had misfortune of crossing."
Knowing that there were ninja so much more powerful than her was humbling for Hanabi. Perhaps too humbling, as she started to question her abilities and motivation. What was the point in training if there were people out there who could level castles with a flick of a wrist?
"I can't believe he is that strong! I mean, I heard from oneechan that there were super strong people at war. Heck, she told me you and your team were fighting at basically a godlike level! But… seeing it for myself is totally different…"
More real.
Kakashi understood where she was coming from. It is one thing to hear a legend and another to be witness to it. He saw that it affected the girl deeply, much like Naruto was discouraged after their first encounter with Zabuza. Once again, it was his duty as a teacher to reassure his student. He must nip what was plaguing her in the bud, otherwise it may discourage her and negatively impact her confidence.
"Hanabi-chan," he ruffled the girl's hair. "In this world, there are people younger than you and yet…" he paused, a distant memory playing in his head, "stronger than me." Kakashi searched his young charge's eyes for understanding. "There will always be someone stronger or faster or smarter… It doesn't mean that we should stop bettering ourselves. Orochimaru is powerful, but he is alone. I have no doubt he will become insignificant soon. In the end, it will be someone like you or your sister who are going to shape this world. Not Orochimaru."
"What about you?"
Indeed, what about him? Kakashi thought on it for a moment, but it was hardly necessary. He'd been having these thoughts for quite some time.
"I think I'd rather be helping you guys."
Despite the sure tone with which he said it, it seemed to Hanabi like he was asking for a permission. Like he thought that they somehow won't allow it. She frowned, if anyone deserved to take part in Konoha's future, it was Kakashi.
"Good," she stated, turning away from the ruins and looking up at him. "Anyone can shape the world. It's a matter of whether you want to or not."
Kakashi smiled. "It is, isn't it?" This was getting rather philosophical, he thought, but he appreciated Hanabi's encouragement.
"Course it is." And here it was again. The absolute certainty in her voice. "It's not some rubbish, like world peace. It's a fact."
Well, nobody could accuse Hanabi of fancying ideals with that statement.
"Ah, but I do believe in world peace," Kakashi said. "The cycle of hatred–"
"Is bullshit," Hanabi cut him off, her tone calm despite the brash words. "Sandaime used to talk about it a lot. I remember. Every festival or event, he gave this speech about breaking the cycle of hatred and Will of Fire," she huffed. "It's nothing but a nice populism."
Kakashi was surprised. "Didn't know you were so against our dear Hokage's ideals."
The Hyuga girl just shrugged. "The world does not change because of a fancy speech."
"No, it doesn't," he agreed. But people's beliefs do. "You know, I used to be the same. Thought that all this idealistic drivel is just an excuse to pretend that everything is fine and be happy in a world full of crap. Until one knucklehead made me reconsider."
"Naruto?"
"Him too." Afterall, Hanabi couldn't know Obito. He chuckled, "I suppose that makes it several knuckleheads."
"Who else?"
"You and your sister, for instance," Kakashi replied, taking no little amusement at her indignation. "I used to frown at the idea until I was repeatedly proven wrong by people like Naruto. I really thought to myself, 'Is it really impossible?'. And everytime the answer was no, it's not. That it's the matter of whether you want it to be or not," he gave her a smile.
Hanabi looked at Kakashi, astounded. His visage, despite being concealed by the mask, displayed a dreamy, almost longing emotion. He truly believed in what he said, in his wisdom, against his infinite experience of violence and hatred. Hanabi was no fool, she knew the man faced more atrocities and blood and death than most. Yet, he staunchly clung to this belief, to this dream…
'If a man like him can envisage the future like that… Could long lasting peace really be a possibility?'
"It is, isn't it?" she said, echoing the man's own words spoken not long ago.
Kakashi spied a thoughtful expression on his charge's face. He patted her head again. The fact that she was thinking about it was enough for the man.
"I was skeptical of those idealistic views at first. Yondaime, Jiraya-sama, Sandaime-sama... They all shared this idea of breaking the circle of hatred. After meeting Naruto, I realized that this dream of world peace is not that far away." He smiled, remembering all the times Naruto managed to convince villains of their wrong. How many people were saved due to that young man's charisma. He saved Obito, and for that alone Kakashi will forever be indebted to the blond knucklehead. "I am not imposing my views on you, all I ask is to keep an open mind to the possibilities. Future generations have this extraordinary talent to exceed our expectations," he finished, looking pointedly at his young charge.
Hanabi blushed at his indirect praise. The sight was too adorable for Kakashi to resist patting the girl one more time. He wondered if Hanabi will give up on arranging her hair sometime in the future if he continued to violate it like that.
"Come on," he told her, turning around from the remnants of the castle, starting to walk away. "We must get back on the road."
"Hey, what about souvenirs!"
At her words Kakashi's pace had only seemed to increase.
Nevertheless, the pair did buy some souvenirs along with their supplies. Who knew that Kakashi Hatake would be so unwilling to part with money? It honestly was pathetic how he haggled for each and every coin. Eventually, Hanabi's patience wore thin and they left the town of Tanzaku, if only to stop Kakashi from further embarrassing himself, and her by extension.
"I can't believe you are so cheap! You did that on purpose, didn't you?" she asked. Knowing him, it was probably at least partially true.
"Don't know what you are talking about. I really do think that those trinkets are a waste of money."
"Says the man who bought two just because I said Hinata will like both of them," teased Hanabi.
That seemed to effectively shut the man up. For once feeling like she won one of their battles of wits, Hanabi focused on the journey. No point in kicking a fallen man, afterall.
They ran the rest of the road, only stopping to eat. They did see some canyons in the background while passing through Land of Rivers but had no time to journey closer. Nevertheless, the view had Hanabi awestruck. Kakashi promised to take her to the Land of Rivers one day, to properly explore its valleys and canyons, as well as to try their famous Curry of Life. She seemed interested, and after he revealed that it caused Neji to lose consciousness, Hanabi was adamant they visit the Curry of Life Shop and she tried that spicy curry of theirs for herself.
By nightfall, they managed to cover most of their trek, leaving lands of Fire and River behind. They now entered the Land of Wind. They passed the border control without a problem, Hanabi making sure to note how tight security was at the border. The fact that even Suna ninjas didn't look at her companion with as much scorn as their Konoha counterparts didn't escape Hanabi's notice.
After moving some distance, the two had finally halted to set up a camp.
Hanabi was never so tired as she was when they stopped running. Every muscle of her body hurt, it felt like, with her legs hurting the most. Despite physically feeling awful, she didn't regret anything. Kakashi had taken the stuffing out of her, pushing her to run at her maximum speed for as long as possible. He'd praised her, saying they covered a two days distance in a day. That, more than anything comforted the girl. She knew that it meant less running and more exploring tomorrow. Thus, after the tents were all set, she plopped down on cool sand and watched Kakashi make fire. The man made her stand up and laid a sleeping bag for her to lie on.
After all was set, they both prostrated on the ground, snacking on some food they bought at Tanzaku.
"You mentioned meeting Orochimaru a few times," Hanabi said, watching the stars, a half-emptied pack of snacks on her stomach.
"Yeah," replied Kakashi, frowning at the messy way Hanabi ate, crumbs all over her chest. "Aside from bumping into him in the village when I was a kid, I also encountered him several times after he defected. Once when I was in ANBU, and a couple of times after."
"Did you fight him?"
Kakashi was silent for a few moments. Hanabi thought he was asleep, but a quick glance at him revealed that the man was still awake. Just pensive.
"I wouldn't call it a fight," he finally replied, taking a handful of food from his own pack. "First time, I froze from the sheer intensity of his killing intent. The other times, I was prepared to fight, but I would've probably lost."
Hanabi looked at her companion, curious.
"Are you embarrassed?" she asked in between her munching.
"More like ashamed, I suppose. But what I feel the most shame about is for not being able to find courage to fight him the first time. He was injured and out of chakra, I am pretty sure I could force a fight and tire him out. I could end it right there. So many could've lived if only I was brave enough to fight…" he trailed off, not looking at her, his mind someplace else, likely reliving that encounter with the Sannin. After that day he swore that he'll never let an enemy intimidate him.
Despite his voice being calm and collected throughout his speech, Hanabi noticed the shift in Kakashi's mood. It was heavy with one emotion she imagined a man like him would always have trouble controlling. Guilt. She didn't know what to say, but she knew what to do.
"Hey, Gray-hair," she propped on her elbow, throwing the crumbs from her bread on him to catch his attention. "I don't know about Sandaime-sama or others surviving, but I know one thing for sure: The War would be different with Orochimaru out." Kakashi directed his gaze at her, and she continued. "From what I was told by oneesan, he saved Naruto and helped fight that nutjob, Madara. So there is no way to say for sure how it all would have ended had you killed Orochimaru. There is no point regretting the past."
She finished her monologue, looking at the older man expectantly. He snorted, then smiled, guilt successfully alleviated from his expression.
"Hinata is right," he muttered, remembering his wife saying that Hanabi can be very mature despite her age.
Hanabi seemed to have heard him, her face scrunched up in righteous indignation. Here she was comforting him and he was thinking about her sister?
"Excuse me, what are you doing, talking about neechan when it was me who gave you advice?"
"Maa, sorry. I just remembered something," he placated. "Thank you, though. You can be wiser than you look."
"What's that supposed to mean?!" she screeched, disrupting the comfortable silence of the desert.
Kakashi just smiled and apologized again, before receiving another portion of crumbs to his face.
When the argument settled, they started the conversation anew. They talked of Konoha, of Suna, about Team 7's adventures. Kakashi was a surprisingly good storyteller, Hanabi admitted. His voice was pleasant, mixing with the soft desert wind and lulling her to sleep.
The last thing she saw before falling to slumber was the starry sky. The last thing she heard was Kakashi's smooth voice. She felt comfortable going to sleep. She felt like life was great.
The only thing that would've made it all even better was if Hinata could share that moment with her.
Hinata looked at the clock on the wall of Shikamaru's basement; it was long past the curfew. She wondered how Hanabi and Kakashi were doing out there. They must've crossed the border by this time. She hoped her sister brings a lot of pictures back (she dug up a camera from Kakashi's closet for a reason).
"Hinata, are you alright?" asked a gentle voice, interrupting her thoughts. Kurenai always looked out for her students' well being.
"Yes, I'm fine."
The Hyuga mentally admonished herself; here they were, discussing important matters concerning Resistance, and her head was filled with thoughts of Kakashi and her sister, as if she was there with them, somewhere across the border of Sand.
Kurenai offered her a sympathetic glance. "It's alright if you worry for your sister. It's her first time outside of Konoha, afterall."
Hinata gave her teacher a smile, before apologizing to her friends for interruption. Shikamaru cleared his throat.
"As I said, Kurenai-sensei has something to share with all of us," Nara continued the meeting, signaling for the retired shinobi to speak.
"We all agree by this point that Kakashi knew about the recent explosion and protected me by making me live at Shikamaru's, right?" Kurenai started, glancing at everyone but especially her sole female student, who surprised her by nodding with fierce conviction. My, what have you gotten yourself into, Kakashi? "Now that that's been cleared out, Shikamaru had received a letter," she said, putting the aforementioned object on the table for everyone to see.
"No name, no address, no nothing," Shikamaru voiced everyone's observation, picking up from where Kurenai has left. "We suspect it also has something to do with Kakashi."
"It's not his handwriting, though," Hinata stated, squinting at the horrible scribble on the white surface.
Ino and Tenten gave her an exasperated look.
"I don't think Shikamaru and Kurenai are accusing him of anything," Shino said, understandingly. Hinata's teammate knew that Copy Ninja was a sensitive topic for her. He feared that his friend could get protective of the man to the point she started acting irrational.
"Shino is right," Shikamaru confirmed. "In fact, this weird letter is of great help regardless of its content."
"I don't see how this could help us in any way," piped in Kiba. "How can we be sure it's not a trap or something?" Akamaru sniffed the letter, handing it for his master to read aloud.
"Where tree leaves dance…" Kiba read slowly, trying his best to identify the wobbly letters, "one will find flames… The fire's shadow will illuminate the village… And once again the tree leaves shall bud anew?" he finished, accompanied by a confused bark from Akamaru.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?! And Akamaru says the letter is untrackable."
"I think what Shikamaru means to say is that the fact that he received such a letter is already a hint," Sai supplied, face completely void of emotion. "Why write such a strange letter if they just wanted to warn us? Couldn't they just write a warning instead of speaking in riddles?"
"I think we can all agree that we need to be more careful from now on," Shikamaru finally brought everyone's attention to the issue. "We've been too careless; the letter is a warning in on itself, the content in this case has no use to us. The fact that we even received such a letter means that somebody at least suspects."
"So, what do I do?" asked Kurenai, already briefed by Shikamaru on the reason for their meeting.
"I have decided that Kurenai-sensei should no longer take part in all this," Shikamaru said, hoping his friends would agree with him."
Shikamaru expected the woman to argue, for which he already made a dozen reasons as to why he was right, but nothing of it was needed. Kurenai's eyes gleamed with understanding as she spoke, "Shikamaru is right, I'm not as good as I used to be." She gave them all a comforting smile. "I'm afraid I won't be of much use anyway, unless it involves genjutsu."
They looked understandingly at the former ninja. She was a single mother with a toddler on her hands, she had her fair share of fight in her life. Time for the younger generation to step up.
The meeting was concluded at that, after which they decided that it would be better if everyone stayed at Shikamaru's for the night. It was too risky for such a big group to leave outside past curfew. If only one of them is spotted they could be in big trouble. Nowadays people were getting interrogated for lesser reasons than breaking a curfew.
Hinata gave one last look at the piece of paper that brought the meeting together, wondering if it really was Kakashi who sent the letter. She was sure Shikamaru realized the implications if it was indeed her husband. She had a suspicion Kakashi did it just to probe for Shikamaru's reaction, to make the Nara more accepting of his true allegiance. Spying a glance at the Nara clan head, it was clear that their leader had a lot to think over.
Here we go, folks.
I am really grateful for the response I have been getting for this fanfic. I know it is not the best work out there, not even close, but it's still very nice to see that some people enjoy it. There are even some fine gentlemen/ladies who leave regular reviews!
Thank you all who read and review.