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Chapter 8 - Journey to the Land of Waves: Part 4 - Glimpsing Truth
Kakashi frowned worriedly as he watched Amaya regress to the insecure girl she'd been. She couldn't speak, couldn't move, couldn't meet his eyes. She held her weapon as if it would bite. Shame was written across her face.
"Maya, it was an accident. You didn't hurt me. It's okay."
She shook her head and bit her lip until she could whisper. A drop of blood beaded on her lip as she spoke. "I thought I was past all this."
"This isn't something you move past. It's something you learn to deal with," the Copy-nin stated uncomfortably. He wasn't the best at offering emotional support. He desperately cast about for something else for her to focus on and a glint of silver at her wrist on the arm with the short sleeve caught his attention. He lifted her hand and examined the plain, silver bracelet he hadn't noticed before. The only adornment was a single black paw print stamped into the metal. Kakashi quirked an eyebrow. "You missed me, didn't you?"
Amaya snatched her hand away and covered the bracelet with the other, dropping the chakra blade in the process. "No. Why would I miss a wanna-be Inuzuka like you?"
The silver-haired Jonin smiled. He had her. "Come on. Just admit it. Admit that you missed me."
"No."
"Admit it."
She sighed. Leaning forward, she grabbed his arm and pulled him toward her. As Kakashi allowed himself to be moved, he felt the warmth radiating from Amaya's body as she dragged him closer. Her scent, like sun-warm leaves, enveloped him. A shiver swept through him as her breath tickled his ear.
"If you must know," Amaya whispered, "The one I missed most was...Pakkun."
Kakashi, speechless, stared at her as she moved away. It took him several moments to find his voice. "You missed... Pakkun?"
"Of course. He has such soft, supple paws. By the way, have you seen our Genin?"
"Sakura's helping Tsunami. Naruto and Sasuke are still training."
She glanced at the fading sky and frowned. No wonder Kakashi'd come looking for her. Then his words hit her. "Wait, Naruto and Sasuke are still training?"
"Yeah."
"Those two...training aloneā¦. Together."
His eye widened. "Oh."
Amaya retrieved her hidden blade and slipped it into its sheath while Kakashi rose to his feet, leaning on a pair of crutches. The Jonin headed for where Naruto and Sasuke had been training. They heard the shouting long before they saw the two Genin grappling on the ground. Grabbing each by his shirt collar, the tattooed shinobi pulled the boys apart. "Enough!"
"He started it! Believe it!" Naruto yelled.
"And I'm ending it. Both of you, go back. Now." She shoved the Genin away, in no mood for their bickering. Grumbling, Sasuke and Naruto trudged back to Tazuna's while Amaya walked with Kakashi as he hobbled on his crutches. "You really shouldn't have gotten out of bed, you know that."
"I know," the Jonin said, smiling to himself. A silence settled between them for a moment before he broke it. "I can't believe you kept it. Thought you said you didn't want it."
"I'm not going to let perfectly good steel rust away in my closet." Amaya recalled how arrogant he'd appeared when he'd handed her the blade the day after their first mission together. He'd said an Anbu should be able to protect herself and shouldn't need to be saved so much. Then she'd surprised him by saying that she appreciated his concern for her safety, but she could take care of herself. The conversation ended with Kakashi terribly confused as to how she'd seen through him.
The pair found everyone already deep into their food. Naruto and Sasuke were shoveling food into their mouths almost faster than they could chew. Sitting in the empty space beside Sakura, the auburn-haired shinobi cast a glance at them. "We found them fighting and sent them home. I suppose it didn't take long for it to start up again, huh."
Sakura laughed and shook her head. "By the way, Sensei, thank you for the bracelets. I can barely feel my arms, but I think it's helping. I already feel stronger."
"You're welcome, Sakura."
After dinner, everyone went their separate ways to prepare for bed. Amaya sat on her borrowed futon , holding a cutting board in her lap and dicing an apple from her pack as Sakura returned from the bathroom.
"Why're you cutting up that apple, Sensei?"
"You'll see." When she was through, the tattooed Jonin pricked her finger with the knife she's used to cut up the apple, made a few quick hand seals, and placed her palm on the bed. From the tiny cloud of smoke appeared a mouse. Russet fur covered most of his minuscule body except his throat and belly, which were a stark white. His pink nose twitched and beady eyes turned on the pile of apple bits. "Apple!" His voice was shrill and squeaky, though not unpleasantly so.
Fascinated, Saukra watched the mouse stuff piece after piece of apple into his little mouth. She guessed he couldn't have been more than three inches long. "Who're you?"
The mouse devoured the last of the apple and licked his paws clean before rising to his hind legs and bowing to the young girl. "My name is Mamoru. Micromys minutus at your service."
"He's a harvest mouse," Amaya cut in, a smile on her face.
Mamoru glanced up at his mistress. "Is there any more of that apple left?"
"Glutton," the Jonin teased as she handed him a small slice which he promptly consumed while she finished off the rest.
Curious, Sakura examined him more closely. "His eyes are different colors."
Indeed, Mamoru had one blue eye and one brown, very unlike the coal black his eyes should've been.
"He's...special," Amaya answered.
"Oh, come now," the mouse squeaked as he scampered up her sleeve to perch on her shoulder, "she'll realize it sooner or later. Just tell her."
"Why should I? It's none of her business."
"Because she saw through the genjutsu, that's why."
Amaya glared at her summon and his logic, sighed, and turned to the Genin who'd watched the exchange with interest. "You're right; his eyes are different than they should be. As you'll come to see, I can only use basic techniques without Mamoru present. My ability to use chakra in certain ways was sealed away years ago by enemy nin, but I was able to transfer my knowledge to my summon." That was the short, non-technical, non-panic-attack-causing version of the story anyway. "But enough about me. We need to get some sleep."
Sakura took the hint and turned off the light, crawling into bed with a mammoth yawn. The auburn-haired shinobi took off her jacket and laid down as well. Mamoru snuggled in the hollow of her throat, his favorite place to sleep, while she lay awake stroking his soft fur, feeling the weight of her own symbol-marked bracelet.
