Disclaimer: I own nothing.


Chapter 42 - Into the Past, Into the Future

Amaya woke to Kakashi snuggling against her and decided not to move. He was only truly peaceful when he was asleep. The lines on his face vanished along with the stress of shinobi life. The women of the village thought he was beautiful, but if they could see him as she was, he'd never be left alone. She kissed him gently on the forehead; she didn't want to share.

Deciding it was time for her to get up, the auburn-haired Jonin quietly rose and shut her bedroom door behind her. She stifled a yawn as she threaded her way through the piles of sleeping mice littering her floor. Hopefully, their tunnels would dry out soon so they could go back home. She poured a bowl of cereal, dumping a small pile out for Mamoru when he scurried onto the table to join her.

He munched a piece before speaking. "So, are you going to ask him today?"

"No. I kept waking up after I went to sleep, so I thought about it more after we talked. The box looked old; the velvet was worn. The ring was clean, though."

"A sign he never stopped caring."

She nodded. "Yeah…. I think I'll ask if he'd like to start staying here, for a few nights every week anyway."

The harvest mouse frowned at her. "You're doing nothing to inspire my confidence in you."

"Oh, lay off it," the nin said, both playful and tired of hearing his objections. She poked him in the stomach. "I'm a grown woman. Stop acting like my mother."

"Someone has to."

"Mamoru, enough. I appreciate your concern, but, in this instance, I can take care of myself."

"Okay," the harvest mouse said, holding up his paws in defeat. "I've said my piece. You know how I feel."

She stroked the summon between the ears. "Thank you. I love you, you know that?"

"If you loved me, you'd give me some sunflower seeds."

Chuckling, the shinobi took the seed-filled bag from her cabinet and dolled out a substantial pile. She checked her door to make sure there were no mission notes, and finding none, decided today was a good day for training. As she entered her still-dark room to change from her tank top and shorts, she noticed the bathroom light was on. The auburn-haired nin thought nothing of it until she heard the water running and Kakashi mumbling to himself. She stepped quietly to the edge of the cool tile. "Kakashi?"

The silver-haired Jonin didn't look up from the sink. Steam rose from the scalding water that ran over his hand. Scrubbing at his skin with a soapy sponge, he continued mumbling in a low, frantic voice. "It won't come off." The more he chanted this sentence, the harder he scrubbed. Red was dripping into the water and staining the sponge.

Amaya's heart ached for him. She gently pulled his wrists with one hand while her other turned the water off. She pried the sponge from his grip and discarded it in the sink before taking his hands in hers. "It's gone."

"No, it's not! I have to...wash...it off." Kakashi's words were even more frantic than before.

"Yes, it is. Rin's blood is gone." Her voice was low, gentle.

The other Jonin lifted wide eyes to her. "I killed her. It will never go away."

"Come lay down." Amaya pulled him to the bed and sat beside him. He refused to lay down, though.

"It'll never go away. Never…." Kakashi leaned his head into her shoulder and his uninjured hand clutched hers. She pulled her right hand free and wrapped her arm around the silver-haired Jonin when she felt tears roll down her exposed shoulder. Amaya gently pulled him until they were laying side by side. She held him as he started to shake. The Copy-nin curled into her like a terrified child. Tears gathered in the auburn-haired Jonin's eyes, partly for him and partly because she could do little to ease his pain.

No, there was something she could do, but she had sworn she would never reveal what she knew to anyone, especially to Kakashi. Biting her lip, Amaya contemplated what would amount to treason. She battled with herself for close to half an hour before sighing quietly. She couldn't break her vow. Not without permission. Maybe the new Hokage would allow it.

"Maya?"

Kakashi's tired voice brought her from her thoughts. "I'm here."

"Sorry about that. Don't know why I started dreaming about her. It hasn't happened in a long time. But when I do…." He winced as he flexed his injured hand.

She stroked his hair, her eyes and words soft. "It's okay. That poison drug everything to the surface and you haven't been out of the hospital that long. It's probably a lingering of that. Besides, you helped me when I needed it; I'm just returning the favor."

"I love you, you know that?"

"I know." Amaya waited for him to comment on her avoidance of saying it back, but he didn't. "Do you want me to stay?"

"No. I think I'm just going to sleep. Well, take care of my hand first then sleep."

"Ok. I think I'm going to train today."

"Oh, I forgot I'm supposed to meet the Genin today…."

The auburn-haired Jonin sat up. "I can train with them."

Kakashi reached up and cupped her cheek with his hand. "You're the best."

She covered his hand with hers, closing her eyes for a moment. "You're welcome."

The other Jonin rose to bandage his injury and they parted ways. Amaya found the Genin lounging around the 3rd training ground. Sasuke reclined under a tree, half asleep. Sakura was practicing with kunai while Naruto pouted by the lake. When the Jonin approached, Naruto sprang to his feet and ran to her. "Where's Kakashi-sensei? He's late! Again!"

"He sent me in his place. He's feeling a little under the weather."

"I hope he feels better," Sakura said as she and Sasuke joined them.

"He will. He just needs a bit more rest. So, what was he planning on teaching you today?"

Sasuke snorted. "He didn't tell us anything. Never does."

"Well," the Jonin paused while she thought, "I could teach you shunshin."

"Yes! Sensei always said no when I asked," Naruto said, a wide grin on his face.

"For good reason. It would be very easy for you to completely drain your chakra if you tried to travel too far. And because the technique could easily be used for more mischievous purposes." Her last statement was directed toward the young blond.

"I would never," Naruto said, pretending to be offended.

"Don't lie to me," Amaya warned.

"Okay, maybe I'd use it to pull a few pranks, but nothing serious."

"No, you'll swear on your nindo not to abuse this or I won't teach any of you."

The blond grew quiet; his sensei knew what his ninja way meant to him and that he wouldn't break such a vow. If he wanted to grow stronger, he would have to concede. "I swear."

The Jonin nodded in acknowledgement of his vow. "Good. Then let's begin." She grabbed a stick from under one of the trees and drew two circles about fifty yards apart. "I'm sure you've seen older shinobi use this technique. Watch me and tell me how it's done." Amaya stepped into the circle closest to the Genin and shunshined to the distant circle and then back. "Any guesses?"

"You charged your body with chakra to increase your speed to the point that you seemed to move instantly," was Sasuke's swift answer.

The Jonin noticed he'd activated his Sharingan. She grinned. "Well done, Sasuke. Good use of your abilities. Do you think you can copy me?"

"I think so." He stepped up into the circle.

"Don't be afraid to kick up the leaves underfoot to conceal your movements."

The Genin nodded before closing his eyes. Stillness reigned for a heartbeat but shattered with a scattering of leaves. Another heartbeat later, he stood In the far circle. Coming back, he deactivated his Sharingan.

"That wasn't hard."

"How about without the Sharingan this time?"


Kakashi ran toward Sakura as Naruto and Sasuke tried to turn so they didn't hit her. The blond managed to shift enough to miss her, but the Uchiha couldn't.

Even running at full speed, the Jonin wasn't gaining any ground. He watched helplessly as Sasuke's chidori inched closer and closer to the pink-haired girl's chest. He shut his eyes so he wouldn't see her die.

When the silver-haired shinobi didn't hear the awful sound of ripping flesh, he cracked an eye open. Sakura's terrified face stared at him before blurring and transforming into Rin. It was then that he realized it was his chidori seconds away from piercing her chest. Tears streamed down his face because he knew there was nothing he could do.


Heart racing, the Copy-nin sat up and almost got out of bed. He had to get Rin's blood off. However, the pain in his hand stopped him. He looked down at the bandages, seeing no blood. Coming back to reality, Kakashi put his head in his uninjured hand. He'd had the same dream earlier; it had thrown him into a panic. Amaya had drawn him from it, for which he was grateful.

He rose; sleep would do him no good. The silver-haired Jonin showered and checked the time. It was close to sunset. Had the one dream really replayed over and over for that long? Shaking his head, he decided to check on Amaya and the Genin. Then he thought he might visit Rin's grave.


Sasuke offered no help as Naruto clambered out of the pond on the training grounds. Instead, he smirked and playfully shoved his teammate back in.

"Hey!" the blond yelled before he went under again. Sasuke's smirk widened until a hand shot out of the water and dragged him in. The Genin began to struggle against each other, trying to keep the other from getting out.

Amaya watched their good-natured antics from a nearby tree. Naruto had tried to hide under water, but a carefully-placed genjutsu made him think she was waiting for him. The young Uchiha had seen through it but hadn't realized Naruto was no longer affected. The Jonin was impressed; genjutsu was his weakest area. It had taken the blond a while to figure it out but figure it out he did. Sakura, hearing the commotion, found them and began chastising them for forgetting about the game, but soon she too found herself in the water.

The auburn-haired Jonin left the Genin to their fun. They'd worked hard and deserved the break. Turning to head home, Amaya had a kunai in her hand before she realized the person inches from her was Kakashi. "Dammit, don't do that."

He smirked. "Sorry. Couldn't help myself." He glanced over her shoulder. "Training done?"

"Yeah, they've all more or less mastered shushin."

The silver-haired Jonin's smirk vanished. "You didn't."

"I did. Naruto even promised not to misuse it."

"We'll see how long that lasts." Kakashi paused, seeing that the Genin were busy before pulling down his mask. He took Amaya in his arms, kissing her softly.

When he pulled away, the kunoichi tilted her head, a smile on her face. "Bold move, Scarecrow. And with the children so close."

"Yes, well, I have a few things to do. I won't see you until tomorrow, so I wanted to say good night to my Princess."

"You know, you could just come back to my place." That hadn't been what he expected. Kakashi took a moment to gather the thoughts scattered by her, he hoped, unintentional ambush. Not that he had to think hard about his answer. But Amaya took his momentary silence as hesitation and spoke rapidly. "Not permanently or anything. Just a few nights a week. To see how things go. I mean, not that I think they'll go anywhere. No, wait, things will go places, just not there, not yet…"

She trailed off, embarrassed by the nervousness she hadn't anticipated. Kakashi chuckled, pushing her up against the tree trunk and kissing her again. By the time they broke apart, both were breathing heavily. The Copy-nin whispered as he straightened and brushed a stray strand of hair from Amaya's face. "See you tonight, Princess." With that, he shunshined away. The black-and-red-clad Jonin grinned; she'd have to get him back for calling her Princess twice in one day. She glanced toward where the Genin still were. All three were finally out of the pond and sat huddled together, whispering with one another. Thank the gods they hadn't seen Kakashi.