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Chapter 9 - Journey to the Land of Waves: Part 5 – A Sliver of Peace
Amaya sat on the docks near Tazuna's house. The early morning sun reflected brightly on calm water, a soft breeze rustling her unbound hair. The sound of footsteps turned her head and she saw Kakashi walking toward her with the aid of crutches. Sitting beside her, he laid the crutches aside and slipped his mask down.
Taken aback by the suddenness of his action, Amaya glanced away quickly. "You sure that's wise? What if the Genin see?"
"They're dead asleep. Probably won't be up for another couple hours."
Amaya could hear the smile in his voice but kept her eyes carefully away, despite the memory of his face trying to imprint itself on the inside of her eyes. "Well, don't say I didn't warn you. It'll be your own fault if they see you."
"What's the matter? You jealous someone else might see me, Princess?"
The auburn-haired woman snapped her head around at the hated nickname, a sharp retort on her tongue, but her breath caught in her throat as he broadly smiled at her. Her eyes traced the strong line of his jaw, the elegant straightness of his nose, the graceful curving of his lips. She didn't blink but drank in the handsome features, renewing her mental image.
Kakashi leaned toward her, his gaze never wavering from hers. Heat rolled from the silver-haired man and his closeness sent a shiver down her spine. His breath caressed her lips. "Kiss me."
Amaya shoved the ninja away but was too slow to catch him before he hit the water.
When he climbed from the chilly seawater, another grin spread across his face. "So worth it."
"The hell was that?"
Kakashi's grin widened. "Payback."
"Oh, yeah?" Amaya said, snatching one of the Jonin's crutches. Grinning, she waved it at him as he pulled himself up with the remaining one. She kept just out of his reach as he hobbled after her.
"Dammit, woman! Give me that back!"
"What? Mr. Elite Jonin can't get his crutch back?"
The Copy-nin chased Amaya as fast as he could hobble, neither realizing how close they'd come to Tazuna's house. Both Jonin froze as a nearby window opened.
Naruto peered out at the scene before him. A maskless Kakashi stood hand outstretched to Amaya who held a crutch out of his reach. He rubbed sleep-blurred eyes before turning and walking away, muttering about what a weird dream he was having. Amaya quickly handed the other Jonin his crutch as he pulled up his mask.
"Deny everything?" Kakashi asked.
"Agreed."
"I had the weirdest dream this morning." Naruto commented between mouthfuls of his breakfast as the Jonin walked into the dining room, pretending to have just woken up. Sakura listened while Sasuke ignored the blond. "Kakashi-sensei and Amaya-sensei were playing keep-away with a crutch. But the weirdest part was that Kakashi-sensei's mask was down."
"That's one hell of a dream, Naruto," Amaya said as she sat beside him. "I think you've been training too hard."
"Yeah, you're probably right," the blond agreed.
After breakfast, Amaya saw the Genin off to their training, and upon returning to the bridge-builder's home, found the old man and his daughter arguing with Kakashi nowhere to be seen.
"You're not going alone today," Tsunami cried, blocking Tazuna's exit. "If something happened to you, if the assassins found you…."
"I don't need a bodyguard," Tazuna protested.
"I think he's right, Tsunami," Amaya interjected. "The assassin who attacked us was badly injured. It'll take time for him to recover. Your father's safe for now. If I think otherwise, I'll go with him and protect him. I promise."
"Can you swear to me he'll be safe?" Tsunami demanded.
Amaya shook her head. "No, I can't. What I can swear to is that the assassin sent after your father was hurt badly. It's far too early for him to be healed and ready to attack."
Inari's mother glared at the Jonin but stormed off a moment later, allowing her father to go. Exchanging an assuring glance with Tazuna as he left, the black-and-red clad ninja went to find Kakashi. From his bed, he gazed out at the ocean, lost in thought. He turned his head as she entered the room. His eyes rested on her for a moment before returning to the waves. "Whenever I can't see you, I expect you to vanish."
She sat next to her friend, drawing her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. "I haven't left yet, have I?"
"Doesn't mean you won't."
She turned his head toward her with a gentle hand. "I'm here to stay, I promise. And I never break my promises."
A small smile crossed his face. "You haven't yet. Well, except for one."
"And what's that?" Kakashi leaned and whispered into her ear. A crimson blush colored her cheeks. "You can't seriously expect me to keep that after all this time, can you?"
"Oh, definitely."
For his teasing, the Jonin received the confiscation of Icha-Icha, which Amaya said she'd return only if he'd release her from her long-ago-made promise. Kakashi relented only when she began to read from the last page and they settled into their usual silence.
Their quiet companionship lasted only a few minutes before Kakashi's curiosity got the best of him. "So where did you go while you were gone?"
"I went everywhere I could, met everyone I could, hoping that somewhere out in the world I'd find what I sought."
"A way to put yourself back together, right?"
Amaya nodded. "I was searching for something else as well, but that was the most important."
"And did you find the other thing you were looking for?"
"Yeah."
"What's the secret?" Kakashi asked, glancing sideways at her.
"You don't need to know."
The Copy-nin shook his head. "Not that. To putting yourself back together, I mean."
"Well," Amaya said, "the secret is that there isn't one. Eventually, you just get tired of the pain."
A wry laugh escaped Kakashi. "I got tired a long time ago."
"Being tired isn't enough. You have to be ready to let go of the pain, willing to accept that the person you'll become isn't the person you were, and be open to the knowledge that your new self won't be what you were expecting."
They spent until mid-afternoon in conversation, talking about the countries Amaya had visited and the people she'd seen. She asked how their old friends were, who'd gotten together, who'd broken up, who'd been promoted, and who'd died in service to the village. Tears pricked at Amaya's eyes at the news of her sensei's death. He'd been a kind but strict teacher and Amaya loved him. To hear of his passing almost five years after the fact was difficult and guilt at not going to his funeral ate at her. Kakashi said he'd gone and said prayers for the both of them.
Mamoru scurried in at that moment, having just woken up. For such a tiny creature, Amaya was amazed at the amount of sleep he needed. The harvest mouse scampered up to sit on her knee. He glared at the silver-haired man sitting so close to his mistress. He turned blue-and-brown eyes on her. "I knew we were coming back to Konoha, but I didn't think that meant we'd be seeing him again." Mamoru shot a glare at Kakashi.
"It's nice to see you too," the other shinobi said, forcing a smile.
The russet-colored animal gave a long-suffering sigh, ignoring Kakashi completely. "I suppose this means the two of you will start mating again. If so, please inform me when you're about to begin so I might avoid the awkwardness of listening to his pathetic pleading."
"Now wait just a damn minute. I don't –," Kakashi began indignantly.
"Don't worry, Mamoru. That's not going to happen."
The Copy-nin silently added a "yet" to the end of her sentence.
"Good," the little mouse squeaked. He turned to Kakashi. "I'll be watching you." With that, he returned to his home in a puff of smoke.
"Are you sure you can't replace him with a summon that doesn't hate me?" the silver-haired nin asked.
Amaya smiled. "No, I can't. Sorry."
They continued their talk well into the evening and would've continued, but Tsunami called them to dinner. Halfway through the meal, Sakura and Sasuke, supporting Naruto, returned. Naruto was already partway asleep, and as the Genin passed, all too exhausted to eat, Naruto mumbled that a boy shouldn't be that pretty. Amaya exchanged a glance with Kakashi. He shook his head; he didn't want to know.
They decided that tomorrow they would all accompany Tazuna. The week was drawing to a close and Zabuza might be recovered enough to attack. The peace had been welcome, but Amaya knew it wouldn't, couldn't, last. She just hoped that the young hunter-nin had taken her seriously and had told Zabuza of her offer. She hoped he believed her. Either way, she knew she'd get an answer soon.
