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I know I haven't been consistent with when I say I'm going to upload the next chapter, but life doesn't follow a schedule and ruins any schedule I try to make. So here's Chapter 4!


Chapter 4 - A Fresh Start to an Old Life

"Is that all you're going to tell me?" Kakashi said as he gathered his things.

Amaya began to walk back towards Konoha. "That's all you need to know."

Kakashi shrugged and walked beside her, knowing Amaya'd tell him when and if he needed to know. "So what're your plans for the rest of the day?"

"Well, I need to speak with the Hokage and then I need to find a place to stay."

"...You could stay with me," the silver-haired shinobi suggested.

Amaya gave him a stern sideways glance.

The Jonin smiled sheepishly. "Right, sorry."

The two fell into a companionable silence as they threaded their way back into the village. People went about their daily lives, mostly ignoring the pair headed towards the Hokage's office. Stopping for a moment to watch some Academy students practice with their kunai, the pair heard a voice cutting into the steady thump thump of kunai, "Kakashi-san! Kakashi-san!"

Amaya turned to see a man running towards them. Wearing the standard attire of a Konoha shinobi, his sleeves were rolled up a little and his brown hair was tied into a ponytail. A scar ran across the bridge of his nose and dark eyes held a look of slight panic. Kakashi turned a bored eye to the man, but Amaya could see that he was fond of the ninja. "Yes, Iruka?"

"Did Naruto pass?" Iruka said breathlessly, the worry and concern evident in his trembling body.

The silver-haired nin laid a hand on Iruka's shoulder. "It's alright. They all passed."

"Thank you, Kakashi."

The older shinobi shrugged. "Don't thank me. They figured out what I was trying to teach them."

Smiling, Iruka finally seemed to notice Amaya. "And who might you be? I don't think we've met before."

Before Amaya could reply, Kakashi cut in. "Her name's Amaya. She's an old friend of mine."

The woman glared at the nin who'd spoken for her. Iruka's smile widened. "I think you made her mad."

"As Kakashi-san said, my name's Amaya. Amaya Kato," the auburn-haired woman said, bowing slightly to Iruka.

"Kato...Wait, I remember hearing about you. You left the village, didn't you?"

"Yes, but I'm back."

Iruka smiled broadly at her. "Well, then, welcome home."

Amaya smiled back. "Thank you. I hate to be rude, but I've got to go and speak with the Hokage. It was very nice to meet you."


Kakashi said he'd catch up with her, so Amaya went on alone. Heading into the administrative wing of the Academy, she reached the Hokage's office. One of the two ANBU standing guard stopped her and asked her business. She told him she needed to speak with the Hokage, checking that her bandages where in place after the ANBU left. Amaya had to wait only a few minutes before she was allowed into the office.

Kakashi leaned against the wall opposite the Hokage's office, waiting for Amaya. He nodded to the two ANBU who nodded back. Pulling out Make-Out Paradise, the silver-haired shinobi patiently waited, but didn't make twenty pages before Amaya slipped out the door, a smile on her face.

Before the Copy-nin could put his book away, Amaya snatched it from his hand, a mischievous smirk tugging at her lips, and shunshined away. Kakashi followed the obvious trail of chakra and found the auburn-haired woman resting in branches of his favorite tree.

She thumbed through the book, glancing at a page or two, wrinkled her nose in disgust, then glanced down at Kakashi waiting underneath the tree. "I can't believe you read this garbage. Well, actually, I can, but still I thought better of you."

"Every man has his vice," the jonin replied.

Amaya jumped from the tree, landing in front of Kakashi. She frowned at him. " You're no fun." She tossed the book to him.

He put his precious book back where it belonged. "So what did the Hokage say?"

Amaya tugged at her bandages. "He welcomed me back with milk and cookies." Seeing that stealing his book had put the Copy-nin in a mood and that her teasing was unwelcome, she started walking away, knowing he'd follow. She remained silent as they made their way up to the mountainside images. When they were sitting above the Fourth Hokage, Amaya spoke. "The Third remembered me and was glad to see me back. He said that as long as interrogation proves I didn't break my vows, I'll be reinstated as a Konoha shinobi. Until then, I'm on probation. I asked if I could serve it with you and your squad."

The walk had brought Kakashi back to his usual self. Alone as they were, though, the nin dropped his guard a little, not hiding his surprise. "You did?"

"Yeah, I think I can help those genin of yours."

Kakashi quirked an eyebrow. "What, don't think I can manage on my own?"

"No, you'll do fine. But I want to make sure those children never have the chance to end up like me," Amaya said, staring down at her hands, her voice slightly bitter. "I've spent years putting myself back together, but I wasn't able to find all the pieces. The process left me less than what I was. No one should have to go through that."

Kakashi glanced sideways at her, wanting to take her hand and assure her she was wrong, but he knew enough to leave well enough alone. "I admire you, you know. For being able to put yourself back together." The nin gave a wry laugh, "I still haven't managed. No, I think you're stronger for it."

Amaya didn't know what to say, so she kept silent, brooding. The silver-haired shinobi rose to his feet, offering a hand to his friend. She stared at his hand, unsure of his intensions, but, seeing the smile on his face, she took it. It felt warm, sure, and strong in hers and she almost didn't want to let go when she was on her feet.

The pair slipped into the companionable silence that was the backbone of their relationship as they delved into Konoha's streets once more. For a moment, Kakashi felt as if he were seventeen again. He and Amaya used to walk the streets of the Village, having nowhere in particular to go, simply enjoying the presence of the other. Back then, they hadn't needed words; each knew the other as well as they knew themselves.

Now, though, the Jonin felt as if he walked beside a stranger. Her once raven-black hair now shone reddish-brown in the sun. She'd toned down her wardrobe and her cheerful, immature manner had been replaced, though not entirely, with a more serious one. The optimism was still there, hidden beneath the seriousness, but the immaturity was gone. Amaya held herself with a confidence Kakashi hadn't known in her. She was sure of her power and more watchful of her surroundings, for which he was thankful; her inattention to detail had gotten both of them in trouble more than once.

Kakashi took the lead as they neared their destination. Amaya noted that he'd grown taller in the eight years she'd been gone. Only an inch or so; most people wouldn't have noticed, but Amaya had always been able to sense the subtle changes in Kakashi. Even from the first time she'd met him, Amaya had been able to see through his apathetic, cool-guy façade to the man underneath. Realizing this, the Copy-nin had avoided her when he could, but eventually he began to grudgingly accept her presence and her ability to see his carefully-guarded emotions. He would tell her later that the very ability that he couldn't stand was the thing that had attracted him most. But after losing Obito and Rin and Minato-sensei, he didn't think he could handle letting anyone else that close, in fear that he might lose them too.

He couldn't stay away, though. With her, the pain that he felt seemed less intense, less crushing, less all-consuming. Her cheerful outlook brightened his day and he came to enjoy her company. He began to relax a little around her, knowing that hiding behind his mask of apathy was useless. Because of Amaya, he became more carefree, more open, more willing to let others in. She noticed, though, that some of that openness was gone; he'd withdrawn into himself. She guessed her leaving did that to him. His attire hadn't changed, but, his eyes were harder, his body firmer, and his movements more graceful than they'd been.

Amaya didn't realize they'd stopped until Kakashi touched her hand, bringing her out of her thoughts. She noticed they were in the Jonin apartments, but didn't understand why until she focused on the door in front of her. The auburn-haired woman's eyes grew wide when she turned to a smiling Kakashi who held out a key. Unlocking the door and flicking on the light switch, Amaya almost started crying. Before her was the apartment she'd shared with her parents. Along the back wall, two doors lead to the bedrooms. The rest of the apartment was open. A living room to her left housed two black, leather couches and a long wooden coffee table. To the right, a kitchen and dining area took up the rest of the space.

Amaya slipped out of her sandals and walked the house, relishing in the fact that the memories of her parents weren't painful but had become bittersweet with time. Returning to the grinning jonin still by the door, she cast a questioning gaze at him.

"I knew you'd be back someday and would probably like your old home back, so I convinced the Hokage to let me pay both rents," Kakashi said, answering her unasked question. He suddenly seemed to remember something and told her he'd be right back. Amaya set her pack on the coffee table and gazed down at the bandages covering her body. She shrugged and began to unwind the white linen, folding each piece neatly.

The Copy-nin returned several minutes later, his prize in hand, to find Amaya removing the last of the bandages. Her jacket lay draped over the back of one of the couches. What he saw caught his breath, just as it had the first time he'd met her. Fantastic designs-whorls and spirals; straight lines and curved; dots and dashes; zigzags, circles, and squares – decorated the bare skin of her arms, legs, and stomach, continued on under her clothes, and stopped at her wrists and ankles.

Noticing her companion's return, she glanced over her shoulder at him, a teasing smile tugging at her lips. "Close your mouth, Scarecrow. You're drooling." Kakashi shook his head, trying to banish the image there. Amaya folded the last of the bandages and sauntered over to the jonin. She studied him for a moment, another teasing smile spreading across her face, "You were imagining me naked, weren't you?"

He sputtered, frantically denying her claim, which only served to prove her right. Under her triumphant grin, the nin stopped talking altogether and shoved the object in his hands towards her. From his hands, Amaya lifted her hitai-ate that sported a new, un-faded red cloth. With something akin to reverence, the auburn-haired woman tied her forehead protector around her waist, comforted by the familiar weight. She was a shinobi again, and, this time, she knew she'd be able to face everything that life held in store for her.

Kakashi warmly smiled at her. "Welcome home, Maya."


Hope you enjoyed! The next chapter will be out soon! (Ha! Now I don't have a schedule for you to ruin, Life.)