Light from the Shadows Chapter 16
Kakashi
They'd been flying for a while, heading north as fast as the biting northern winds let them. Once Appa got tired they decided to stop at the next sign of civilization. Aang thought he saw a few tiny blips but as they got nearer it was just a bunch of trees around some rocks. In his defense, they did look similar to what were the ruins of his home temple.
As they finally landed on a beach Kakashi was quick to jump off Appa's saddle and walk a few steps, stretching his limbs. They'd been crammed on Appa, soaring through the sky for the better part of the day. Kakashi was sorely tempted to take off his shoes and wriggle his toes into the sand, regardless of how cold the water probably was. He missed Kyoshi dearly, the wildlife, his village, and the people. But the way the surf provided background noise as it broke against the jagged rocks of the shoreline was soothing.
"Hey look! A sword made out of a whale's tooth." Kakashi heard Aang call out from behind him.
"Lemme see that." Sokka perked up.
Kakashi turned back toward Appa to help Sakura get down. There was still sleep in her slightly puffed up eyes and her hair was a tangled mess. He though she looked cute.
"This is a water tribe weapon! See if you can find anything else," ordered Sokka.
Katara, who had been previously filling their water reserves with filtered sea water, walked over to them, "What's going on?"
Aang popped out of a bush, "We found something."
Sokka squatted down and picked up an arrow. He brushed it off and held it up to inspect it.
"...It's burned."
He walked up to nearby tree and traced the scorch marks cut deeply into it.
"There was a battle. Water tribe warriors ambushed a group of firebenders."
Sokka looked around at the ground and inspected the signs left on the ground.
"The firebenders fought back, but the warriors drove them down this hill..."
Kakashi and Sakura had been following behind the three kids and eventually the group came back to the beach.
They stopped there.
"So then what happened?" Aang asked.
"I don't know. The trail ends here."
Katara, who had gone the other direction, called from further down the beach behind them.
"Wait! Look!"
Kakashi followed her voice and saw there was a water tribe boat beached on the shore next to her.
Sokka's eyes lit up, "It's one of our boats!"
Kakashi and Sakura followed behind the group, but they weren't as excited as the three kids were, signs of a battle, not to mention with the Fire Nation, usually didn't mean anything good. A wriggle of guilt bit at Kakashi, even if it hadn't been his fault.
Katara tugged on Sokka's sleeve, "Is this... Dad's boat?"
Sokka seemed to be giddy just from the find. He rubbed the side of the ship and smiled, "No, but it's from his fleet. Dad was here."
Going aboard had revealed nothing out of the ordinary- besides the lack of crew members- thus they wondered why a seaworthy vessel would be lying on the beach without someone to guard it. The group decided to make a fire near it, hoping perhaps the owner was still around.
The group decided to make a fire near the boat, hoping perhaps the owner of the vessel was still around. They had gone aboard and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Thus they wondered why a sea worthy vessel would be lying on the beach if it's owner wasn't around.
Katara and Aang slept near the fire. Sakura and Kakashi were rolling out their own bags, but Kakashi wasn't quite sleepy yet. He could tell Sokka wasn't either. The boy just sat on a log in front of the fire and idly poked at it, staring at the surrounding darkness. He mind was elsewhere.
Just as Sakura was lying down, a snapping stick alerted Kakashi and Sokka.
"Who's there?" Sokka asked.
As he approached Kakashi made out a bandaged man wearing water tribe garb. He was most likely the owner of the ship.
The man looked as if he were trying to ascertain who they were as well.
"Sokka?"
Sokka quirked his head, "Bato?"
Aang and Katara woke up and Sakura remained seated on her sleeping bag.
Aang yawned, "Who the what now?"
"Bato!" Katara cried out.
"Sokka! Katara!" He hugged both of them, "It is so good to see you two! Oh, you've grown so much."
Aang bowed to the stranger, "Hi. I'm Aang."
He was ignored. Kakashi and Sakura didn't bother introducing themselves. Sokka and Katara seemed oblivious to the rest of their group.
"Where's Dad?" Sokka insisted.
"Is he here?" Katara asked.
The stranger, Bato, shook his head, "No, he and the other warriors should be in the eastern Earth Kingdom by now."
A breeze whistled through their little camp and they all shivered.
"Brr!" Bato commented, rubbing his shoulders, "This is no place for a reunion. I'll show you something."
He put his arms around Katara and Sokka's shoulders and led them away from the coast. A few feet later he turned his head back to the three of them and signaled them to follow. Like an afterthought.
A feeling of irrelevance settled over them. Checking on Aang, Kakashi couldn't suppress a pang of pity. It visibly vexed him.
Kakashi turned to Appa, "Come on, boy."
He followed after the rest of the group.
Soon they approached a large monastery complex. There were so many different scents hanging in the air, giving Kakashi an instant headache. His sinuses started to throb. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he kept going, despite the vicious pain.
"You okay, Kakashi?" Sakura asked next to him.
"Yeah, it's just... the scents. The frankincense is itching in my nose."
"Mmm yeah, I think it's kind of great, if a bit overpowering!"
"No kidding..."
"After I was wounded, you father carried me to this abbey. The sisters have cared for me ever since." He turned to a nearby woman, "Mother Superior, these are Hakoda's children. They've been traveling with the Avatar and... some friends. I found them by my boat."
The woman bowed to Aang, "Young Avatar, it gives me great joy to be in your presence. Welcome to our abbey."
"Thank you! It's truly an honor to be here. If there's anything-"
Sokka cut him off, "What smells so good, Bato?" He sniffed the air.
"The sisters craft ointments and perfumes."
"Perfume? Maybe we could dump some on Appa? Because he stinks so much! Am I right?"
Crickets could be heard chirping.
"You have your father's wit." Bato muttered.
They finally reached where the man was staying. He opened a heavy wooden door to reveal a room decorated with pelts and random water tribe articles.
Katara and Sokka exploded with excitement,
"Bato! It looks like home!"
"Everything's here, even the pelts!"
They flitted around the room, examining everything. Aang stood in front of Kakashi and Sakura, holding Momo and clearly disconnected.
"Yeh, nothing's more comforting than dead animal skins..." Kakashi could tell it made Aang uncomfortable but he didn't want to be any more left out than he already was. Momo hopped down to examine the head of a bear skin rug. The mouth of it closed suddenly, and Momo scurried back to Aang's shoulder.
Over the fire, a giant pot was simmering. Katara opened it and she looked to Sokka and Bato sitting on the opposite side of the fire.
"No way! Stewed sea prunes?"
"Help yourself."
Sokka got up and walked to the fire, bowl in hand, "Dad could eat a whole barrel of these things."
Kakashi looked to Sakura and noticed her glancing at him.
"You ever had sea prunes?"
"Nah, but I think I'd rather not, judging by the look on Aang's face." He pointed to Aang's greenish pallor. The boy put the bowl of stew down untouched. They sat in their corner and watched as Momo approached the food, tasted it, spat it out and ran away. Even Kakashi couldn't hold back a tiny chuckle.
"Guess that was probably a smart move on the stew then."
"Bato, is it true you and Dad lassoed an arctic hippo?"
"Get the feeling that there are a few too many wheels here. Poor Aang he looks all left out."
"It was your father's idea. He just dragged me along. Well, the hippo did the dragging."
Aang tried to get in on the conversation, "Hey, I ride animals too! One time there was this giant eel-"
Sokka cut him off, "So who was it that came up with the great blubber fiasco?"
Bato laughed, "You know about that?"
Katara waved his reply off, "Everyone does."
Aang tried again, "What's that story?"
Sokka didn't even look at him, "It's a long one, Aang, some other time."
Aang backed away further from the group around the fire. He looked sad. Sokka, Katara, and Bato, however, did not seem to notice there was anyone else in the room.
"I feel bad for him." Sakura said next to him.
"Yeah. I bet he feels pretty alone right now."
"I mean, we four are kind of his only available friends, and while we are close to Aang, Katara and Sokka are closer. There's a weird gap there."
"I know what you mean."
"You and Dad had so many hilarious adventures."
"Not all of which were hilarious at the time, but everything is funny in hindsight."
Kakashi watched as Aang took a wolf head off the wall and moved to put it on his head.
"Aang, put that down, it's ceremonial and very fragile."
The boy put it back on the wall and Sakura patted the pelts next to her for him to join them. Momo hopped over and onto his shoulder.
"Hey Aang, don't look so glum."
"Yeah, I know we aren't as close as Sokka and Katara are to you, but we are your friends too. You can talk to us."
Aang pouted, "Yeah, just feel... left out."
Kakashi reached around Sakura and patted his shoulder.
"We know how you feel. Don't worry, they'll eventually come to their senses."
"Was it you or Dad that put an octopus on your head and convinced Gran-Gran you were a water spirit?"
"They're just excited to see another person from their tribe," Sakura mentioned," After all, how long has it been since we were at the South Pole? And how long before that has it been since they've seen this man? Years? Don't hold it against them too much."
"Your dad wore the octopus, but I did the spooky voice."
Kakashi didn't have anything to add to what Sakura said, so the three of them just sat there for a while, left out of the conversation to the point that Kakashi himself felt a bit insulted. When he glanced over at Aang a little while later, his eyes were closed, perhaps napping?
And then the conversation actually got interesting.
"There's something I should tell you kids. I'm expecting a message from your father."
"Really?"
"When?"
"Any day now. Your father said he'd send a message when they found the rendezvous point. If you wait here until the message arrives you can come with me and see your father again."
Kakashi glanced at Sakura and he could tell they all felt weird about the possibility of losing Katara and Sokka. He looked up at Aang and there was a worried expression on his face. He was obviously worried about his two closest friends leaving him.
"It's been over two years since we've seen Dad! That would be so incredible. Katara?"
"I do really miss him. It would be great to see Dad."
Kakashi rose and Sakura followed. She offered a hand to Aang and the three of them left the hut, completely unnoticed. So much for friends.
The three of them walked away from the hut, making their way back to the beach.
"What will you do if they decide to go after their father, Aang?" Kakashi asked.
"I don't know. I would still try and find the North Pole I guess."
They stopped once they reached Bato's boat. Aang perched himself on the masthead, Kakashi and Sakura instead resting on the railing.
"I can't believe they would leave me."
The sound of heavy footsteps in the sand could be heard. In the distance an ostrich-horse appeared, carrying a messenger.
He approached them.
"I'm looking for Bato of the Water Tribe."
Aang raised his hand, "Uh... I know Bato."
The man gave Aang a scroll, "Make sure he gets this."
Aang opened the scroll, but Kakash was just far enough away so he couldn't decipher the writing. Aang crumpled it up and stuffed it in his shirt. Kakashi was surprised at Aang's actions, but then again he suspected the scroll's contents. It was most likely the message from Sokka and Katara's dad. He didn't want the siblings to leave him so he took away the choice. But it wasn't Kakashi's place to interfere.
"Hey Aang, what was on that scroll?" Sakura asked.
"Nothing."
Kakashi met eyes with Sakura, she was confused about his behavior as well.
"Are you sure we shouldn't take it to Bato anyway? What if it's written in a code only he can read?" He watched Sakura reach up to touch Aang but he turned away and she stopped.
"I said it's nothing."
They fell silent.
After a few minutes, Kakashi hopped off the railing and held out a hand for Sakura. She accepted and he helped her down from their perch. Aang hopped down after them and they walked back to the abbey together.
The three returned to Bato's room.
"Hey everyone! Sorry we were gone so long." Aang said.
Katara looked up for a moment, "Hey Aang, I didn't notice you left."
Her comment left a sour taste in Kakashi's mouth. They would completely drop their friend the second an old acquaintance appeared? How disappointing, I thought they were better than that.
Aang smiled and put on an excited face, "Yup, but now I'm back. Sureeee could go for some delicious sea prunes!"
Kakashi could feel the malicious intent pouring out of Sakura and was happy they were both on the same page. He put a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him and he could see the same passionate fire in her eyes as were in his. Kakashi leaned in and whispered in her ear,
"I am just as angry as you, but perhaps we better calm down, it might not be the best time to tell them what we really think."
She nodded and they sat down on the same pelts they had occupied earlier. They watched as Aang tried to eat some of the stew. He couldn't keep it down and had to spit it back out. The three of the water tribe stared at the airbender like he was an alien for not liking the stew.
...
The next morning, Kakashi and Sakura joined Aang when he went to feed Appa. As he reached up to stroke Appa's chin the note fell out of his shirt. The mother superior just so happened to be passing by and she shamed him for littering. He apologized and said he'd take care of it.
Sakura was not stupid, but also not as passive as Kakashi was.
"Aang... if that note's not important, why are you even still hanging onto it?"
He turned away, "No reason."
One of the sisters approached Sakura.
"Hello miss...?"
"Sakura."
"Sakura, happy to meet you! I was wondering if you wouldn't mind helping me gather some herbs and flowers?"
"Sure!"
Sakura picked up her pack and walked up to Kakashi, "Try and keep an eye on him."
"Don't have to tell me twice, sweetheart."
She gave him a playful punch and walked away with the Sister. Kakashi rubbed the spot she hit. Even playful, she was strong.
"Hey Aang, I've got a small errand I want to get done, wait for me here, I'll be right back."
"Mm."
Kakashi left to find one of the sisters. Luckily the first room he checked had one preparing some sort of packaging for the perfumes.
"Sister."
"Friend of the Avatar."
"My name is Kakashi."
"And I am Agnes. How may I help you?"
"I was wondering if you could help me out, see… there's this gift I've been thinking about getting, but I haven't been able to procure it."
"What is it you are looking for?"
"Cherry blossom scented perfume."
"Oh that is tricky. But you are in LUCK! I do believe that another sister has a special greenhouse for growing such things year round. Follow me, we can gather some flowers and get started on it."
"Thank you very much, Sister Agnes."
She blushed slightly and bowed, "it is my pleasure, Kakashi."
In a separate corner of the abbey to found a woman cooking over a small wood burning stove.
"Hello? Sister Delilah?"
The woman looked up, she was older than Kakashi had originally thought, but her face was beautiful and rosy in color. She smiled at them.
"Hello! What can i do for you? Sorry I can't leave the pot, have to make sure nothing sticks or boils over."
"That's no problem, Sister. We've just come to see if you have any cherry blossoms we can use to cook up a special fragrance."
"Oh? Who is this special mixture for? A girlfriend? Wife? Lover?"
Kakashi looked around the room, his face warm, "Just a friend."
She nodded knowingly. "Mhm. We can cook something spectacular up for you, now get on, we will bring the finished product to you later."
"Thank you so much, Sister Agnes, Sister Delilah." He bowed and left the room. They must have a special process for their manufacturing, normally perfumes take quite a while to set in. If they can do it this quickly, one of them must be a waterbender or earthbender. To be able to manipulate the ingredients like that…
When he got back to the courtyard, Aang was nowhere to be seen, and Appa was snoozing. He asked a nearby Sister where Aang had gone.
"His friend, Sokka? Came and retrieved him for something with Bato."
"Ah, thank you."
Kakashi decided to snooze for a while with Appa. The sleepy mood was contagious.
...
A while later, someone shook him awake. Kakashi groaned and stretched. As he opened his eyes, bent over in front of him was Sakura. She poked him in the nose.
"Time to get up, Kakashi. Where is Aang? I thought I told you to keep an eye on him."
"Hnn... He went and did something with Sokka, I didn't really care. Though now that you're back, we should go see what they're up to."
She offered him a hand up and he took it. Sakura expelled little to no effort and had him pulled up off Appa and stumbling forward. She laughed and they walked away from the bison.
"Let's go."
"See ya later, Appa, you make an amazing napping buddy."
The sky bison huffed and went back to sleep.
...
As they approached the beach they could overhear Bato speaking to the kids.
"For Katara, the mark of the brave. Your courage inspires us."
..
"And for Aang, the mark of the trusted. You are now an honorary member of the water tribe."
Aang backed away from the lineup just as they reached the beach.
"No, I can't."
Katara frowned at him, "Of course you can!"
Aang rubbed off the mark, "No, you can't trust me."
He backed further away from the group and his head hung low.
"Aang, what are you talking about."
He pulled out the note he had crumbled the previous night.
"A messenger gave this to me for Bato." His voice was barely audible.
She gasped in surprise.
"You have to understand, I was afraid you'd-"
Sokka grabbed the note from him and smoothed it out. Kakashi and Sakura approached the group and stood with Aang. Kakashi didn't like where this was going.
Sokka looked at Aang with hurt and surprise in his eyes, "This is the map to our father! You had it the whole time!? How could you? You can go to the North Pole on your own. I'm going to find Dad."
Bato tried, "Now, Sokka, I think you should-"
He turned back and looked at Katara, "Katara, are you with me?"
She glanced back at Aang, then lowered her eyes.
"I'm with you, Sokka."
The three water tribe members left, Aang, Kakashi and Sakura remained on the beach.
"Well, that could have gone better." Kakashi said.
"What are you talking about?" Aang turned to them. "That could not have gone any worse. Now they're really going to leave. And if they leave, what's stopping you two?"
Sakura put her hands on his shoulders, "Hey... it's going to be all right. They're just upset. They'll come around. Just know this. You did the right thing! You told the truth. Now come on, let's go back to the abbey and find some real food."
…
They managed to scrounge up a little bread before they decided to chill with Appa in the courtyard. Across the way, just in front of Bato's place, the water tribe members were packing up their supplies and getting ready to head out. Kakashi looked up at Sokka to see if there was even a hint of indecision in his eyes. When they did meet, the water tribe boy's eyes were hard and cold. He almost looked like an entirely different person when filled with anger. Katara pulled her backpack on and walked over to Aang.
"Good luck you guys."
Kakashi and Sakura stayed quiet.
"Okay. You too." Aang murmured.
The three of them left. The Superior approached the remaining group. They knew what was happening. I wonder if I'll still get that perfume?
Aang sighed, "Guess we should be moving on."
"That would be best."
Aang hopped up onto Appa's head and Kakashi hauled himself up into Appa's saddle before turning back to offer Sakura assistance. She didn't need it, but he always liked to offer, just in case. They mozied their way out of the abbey, watching the disappearing figures of Sokka, Katara and Bato in the distance. Momo clung to one of Appa's horns.
"I'm such an idiot, you guys."
…
They stalled around on the beach near Bato's boat. For what reason, Kakashi didn't know, perhaps Aang wanted to wait a few minutes more just in case his friends would change their minds and come back to him.
Aang patted the side of Appa's head, "Looks like it's just going to be us, this time."
From behind them Kakashi heard approaching footsteps and turned. The superior was rushing up to them.
"Avatar! You must leave!" Her voice sounded more concerned than angry.
"Okay, I get it. Everybody wants me gone."
"A group of people came to the abbey looking for you."
"Who!?"
"A fierce looking woman with a horrible monster and a young man with a scar. There might have been more, I don't know."
"Zuko!"
"The beast was using the scent of a necklace to follow you."
"A necklace?"
Kakashi looked up at Aang, "Does that mean anything to you?"
His eyes went wide, "Oh no. Katara!"
…
"So how do we want to approach this? What would be a good move?" Kakashi asked Aang.
"Well, I don't know. Ride in there and beat em up…?"
…
"Do you guys have any ideas?"
Sakura put a finger up, "I've got an idea. We do have an advantage. We know they're there, and they don't know where we are. And two. We can fly."
"Perfect! An attack from above. The three of us can fly above the abbey on Appa, then Aang will jump off with his glider and start attacking while Sakura and I will follow with Appa. Jump off at the right time, I've got my sword, she's got her earthbending. We can handle it!"
"Yeah!"
The three of them climbed onto Appa and took off, time was of the essence. It didn't take long to get to the abbey and they circled above the building, Aang getting his glider ready.
"All right, Aang….. annnnnnd, now!" Aang jumped off of the bison and starting floating down in circles, his target was a group of people on top of a weird rat type monster, Kakashi squinted at it. It seemed familiar somehow. The monster sniffed around and they finally looked up and saw Aang.
Shit.
The monster flicked his tongue up at Aang, jumping to try and reach him. The creature missed, but the group riding him slipped off to the ground. The rat monster also fell ungracefully on its back, colliding hard with the earth.
Appa landed on the far side of the courtyard and Kakashi and Sakura jumped off his back, joining the fray with Aang. Behind them, Katara and Sokka rushed through the abbey gates.
"Aang!" Katara shouted.
The 'fierce' woman the Superior had warned them about, got up off the bricks and cracked a whip on the ground. Now that he had a closer look at the animal, it reminded him more of a mole, there were several little feelers on its nose, and it actually looked to be blind. There weren't many of the creatures, but Kakashi thought it might be a shirshu. And that would also mean that being struck by its tongue would cause paralysis.
"Sakura, that's a-"
"A shirshu, I know. Don't let its tongue touch you!"
I should have known she would already know. He found himself smiling at her intelligence before turning back to the fight.
The shirshu got up and roared, obviously trained to obey the whipping of its master. The woman jumped on its back and they charged after Aang. Just before they caught up with him, he whipped around and rushed a gust of air at them that knocked them into the opposing wall and smashed a hole right through it.
Aang turned away from the shirshu to face Zuko. Kakashi and Sakura decided to go after the shirshu, and distract them from going after Aang and possibly paralyzing him.
As they approached the hole the two had knocked in the wall, General Iroh was rushing up and waking up the woman. She got up and cracked her whip, then jumped into the shirshu's saddle. It was obvious she was about to go after Aang. Kakashi and Sakura ran out in front of them.
The shirshu owner smiled maliciously and rushed them. Kakashi drew his sword and wondered what would the best action to take so the shirshu couldn't touch him. Sakura pulled a piece of earth up and threw it at them. They dodged, and before Sakura could dodge, the shirshu's tongue flicked out in the blink of an eye and touched her hip and knee. Sakura went down. Kakashi made the mistake of looking away from the monster for two seconds to see how Sakura was. The shirshu's tongue rasped his wrist and then his shoulder. He dropped his sword, but the weirdest thing was that it only hurt for a second before the entire limb went numb. He stooped for his sword and rushed up to Sakura.
"You okay?"
"I'm fine, watch out!"
Kakashi grimaced.
"I'm sorry for what's about to happen."
"What?"
This wasn't exactly how I wanted this to happen.
He collapsed on top of her.
"I'm sorry, Sakura, the shirshu got my back, I can't feel my legs."
He thought she would be angry, instead she just laughed.
"It's okay. At least we aren't dead. any arm movement?"
"Some on one side."
"Wanna sheathe that sword? Just to be sure we don't cut ourselves."
"Oh, good idea."
He reached back with his left hand until he found the blade he had dropped again, then felt his way to the grip.
"All right, got it."
And then he froze. He realized just where his face was resting. So soft. And while the shirshu had hit his back, he could still move his neck. He could move off of her... but... why give up such a prime opportunity? Kakashi sheathed the sword.
"..."
She let out a nervous chuckle.
Kakashi felt the heat in his cheeks. While his face was currently using her chest as a pillow, he was dying to bring his sort-of-moveable arm up and...
No. Bad Kakashi. Bad.
"Maybe if you use your arm and I use my arm... could.. ehh... roll. um..."
A weird tangling of limbs ensued and it ended with Sakura lying on his chest.
"How did we even?" Sakura squeaked, her cheeks even pinker than before.
"I have no idea."
"I don't even care, I'm too tired to move. Plus your body makes a nice pillow."
"Are you saying I'm soft Sakura?"
"..."
He glanced down and she was looking at him. She looked away and he swore he could almost feel the heat of her cheeks through his shirt. Kakashi let his head fall back to the ground and tried to look around them for any sign of the others. The beast wasn't in sight, and he couldn't place his eyes on Sokka or Katara. Appa was lying near a wall, and Aang was still fighting Zuko over a well now.
He sighed and closed his eyes. Nothing to do now, might as well just relax.
A few minutes later, and all too soon, a Sister came up and nudged them.
"Hey are you two all right?"
Kakashi cracked an eye open and smilied, "I'm great."
"I have a special perfume that should help the paralysis."
She waved a small bottle underneath their noses, and the feeling returned to his limbs.
"Thank you, Sister."
Sakura pushed herself up off of him, her small hand dangerously close ... and then it was gone just like that. She offered him assistance up and he took her hand.
"Thanks."
"It's nothing. We better go see how everyone else is doing."
She dropped his hand and they started looking around. Appa had been struck enough times to still be fully paralyzed. Sokka and Katara were back up, and Aang was finishing up his fight with Zuko. Kakashi led them to Sokka and Katara. Perhaps they had a plan.
"Oh good, Kakashi and Sakura! We're going to use perfume on the beast, try and take down its super smell."
"Great idea!"
Several of the sisters were already rolling out massive urns of different perfumes. Once they had surrounded the courtyard, they dumped all the perfume out on the ground. Kakashi felt his eyes water with the wall of scent slamming him. He walked as far away from the main circle as he could, leaving the rest of the party to deal with everything.
Sister Agnes approached from the left.
"Kakashi. I have your special gift, we just finished it." She slipped him a small pouch and he pocketed it. Their interaction felt only slightly like an illegal drug deal.
"Thank you, Sister Agnes." He sniffed and the tears building in his eyes fell down his cheeks.
"Oh, it's nothing to get so excited, over Sir!"
"I'm sorry sister, I'm just really sensitive to scent and this is driving my sinuses crazy."
"I completely understand Kakashi, let me assist." She pulled a piece of cloth out of her sleeve and handed it to him.
"Thank you, Sister."
He tied the cloth behind his head like a scarf, holding the fabric in place over his nose. It helped filter the scents at least. He watched as Katara waterbended the perfume into a massive sheet, moved it over the shirshu, and dropped it. The beast tried to shake off the liquid, but Kakashi could see the disorientation that ensued. In the monster's confusion, its tongue flicked out and slapped Zuko and the owner. They both went down and the shirshu ran off.
Kakashi stepped forward to join Sakura.
"Welp, looks like everything is all settled."
"I saw that Sister give you something... does somebody have a crush?" She looked at him and noticed the cloth.
"No..."
"Nice scarf. Keeping out the perfume?"
He nodded.
...
After everything was packed up, Aang confronted the water tribe siblings.
"So, where do we go?"
Katara strapped her pack into Appa's saddle, "We're getting you to the North Pole."
"Yeh, we've lost too much time as it is."
"Don't you want to see your father?"
Sokka looked at him, "Of course we do, Aang, but you're our family too, and right now, you need us more."
Katara climbed up Appa's back, "and we need you."
"I wish I could give you a little piece of home, Katara. Something to remind you-"
"I'll be okay."
"Still, just a little trinket. Maybe something like... this!"
He pulled out her mother's necklace from his sleeve and Katara's eyes went wide. Sakura picked up her and Kakashi's supplies from the ground and threw them up onto Appa. Kakashi climbed into the saddle and offered a hand down to Sakura. She smiled and took it.
When Kakashi turned around Katara was putting on the necklace and looked ecstatic.
"Aang, how did you get this?"
He shrugged, "Zuko asked to be sure I got it to you."
She rolled her eyes and the joke, "Oh, that's so sweet of Zuko. Would you give him a kiss for me when you see him?"
"Sure!"
Katara kissed his cheek and Kakashi saw the steam flow out of the boy's ears. It was quite hilarious.
Kakashi fingered the gift he had for Sakura in his pocket, and debated giving it to her then, but decided now wasn't the right moment, no need to steal Aang's thunder with his own gift. Not to mention he had kind of gotten the gift on a whim. He didn't even know if Sakura liked him. Do I like her? What am I saying of course I like her, but do I like her as more than a friend? Guess I should figure that out before I go giving anyone gifts.
He pushed the small bottle to the bottom of his pocket and pulled out one of his books. He saw Sakura smirk at him out of the corner of his eye, probably in a weird mix of disappointment and amusement. He just smiled behind the book and read the same paragraph over and over again.
His mind just didn't want to focus on anything but his lovely traveling companion.
I AM SO SO SOSOOSOSOOSOSOOSOSOOSOOSOOOOOO sorry about the wait!
I hope you like it, Beta'd partially by Lllama and Katie, Love you both my dears!
Also, I have more chapters, just waiting on editing tbh, so the next chapters should come soon too! Again I am so sorry!