Disclaimer: I own nothing.


Chapter 50 – Steps In The Right Direction

With Kakashi's help, Amaya limped home three weeks later. She was mostly fine, though her chest still hurt and she still felt weak. The doctors had been extra cautious since she hadn't healed at the rate they'd thought she would. They'd even ordered more bed rest, no missions or training for another week. She was certain she'd go crazy before the week was up.

As they reached her apartment and went inside, Amaya noticed there were bookshelves in the living room, though that was the only visible evidence that Kakashi now lived here. The silver-haired Jonin headed for her room, but she shook her head. "I want to sit out here for a while."

Kakashi changed direction and they sat on one of the couches together. He gathered Amaya to him, resting his chin on the top of her head. She relaxed into him and sighed, soon falling asleep. The Copy-nin held the tattooed Jonin as she slept, unable to stop memories from surfacing. He watched her fall over after her battle with the rogue nin, watched himself rush toward her, shake her when she didn't respond. He put two shaking fingers to her neck, felt her pulse flutter then stop.

He fought back the lump in his throat and the accompanying tears. She was safe and that was all that mattered. His eyes dropped to the glint of silver he could see at her throat. Mamoru hadn't actually told him to give Amaya the ring, though they had talked. The little harvest mouse had sighed and said that, if the Jonin made his mistress happy, that was all that mattered. The summon admitted that Kakashi had changed for the better. He knew the nin wholly intended to always be by his mistress's side and that he would care for her. It was enough to satisfy Mamoru.

No, the ring had been Kakashi's idea; the mouse promised to play along as if it were his. The silver-haired shinobi felt he couldn't continue for them both to be put in harm's way without Amaya knowing exactly how he felt. Besides, it was a mark that she was his and his alone. Part of him knew it was silly to be so possessive, but a larger part didn't care. Though, he admitted, he wasn't sure if Amaya would continue to wear it. She was well aware what such a gift meant and had always balked at the idea. She had once claimed she didn't need such a thing, that she was his alone regardless. And the open declaration of owning had never set well with her. But maybe her ideas had changed along with so much else about her.

A knock at the door drew his attention and Amaya partially woke up. Kakashi kissed her on the top of the head. "I'll get it." Letting the female Jonin stretch out on the couch, he went to the door.

Naruto stood on the other side. "Hi, Kakashi-sensei! How's Amaya-sensei? I went to the hospital a little while ago and they told me she'd been released."

Kakashi stepped out and closed the door. Despite the Genin's attempt at a polite volume, he was still overly loud. "She's resting. Won't be able to train for a week, but she's otherwise fine."

"I was hoping we'd be able to train some," the Genin said, downcast.

"Why don't we train together?" The words were out of Kakashi's mouth before he realized what he'd said. Surprise lit his student's face, swiftly followed by a hint of suspicion. When Naruto agreed, the Jonin led the way to the 3rd training ground. Empty as usual, the area was quiet except for the birds in the trees. Kakashi headed straight for the memorial stone out of habit, forgetting for a moment that Naruto was with him. His eyes flicked to Obito's name, to Minato's and Kushina's. Gods, he missed them.

Naruto remained quiet, his eyes roaming over the names. These people, who died defending their village, deserved his silence. At least for a moment. "So what are we going to work on, Sensei?"

The Jonin turned toward Naruto, pain catching in him as he once more realized how much the boy looked like Minato. Words rose to his lips to make some excuse to go back on his offer of training. But as he prepared to speak, memories surfaced, of a drunken night's promise no one knew he made, of a night full of dreams spent in the hospital. Lifetimes seemed to have passed since those nights. He hadn't kept his promise or worked on letting go. As always, he just hid from his pain, his guilt, his sadness.

Well, no more. Naruto deserved better.

"I'm going to teach you some seals."

"I thought you'd show me something cool. Seals are boring." The Genin folded his arms, a slight pout showing on his lips.

"Actually, they're not. Some of the best pranks I ever saw pulled used seals." The Jonin smiled at the memories of Minato-sensei's pranks. Even as Hokage, he'g still loved them. "There was one time the Anbu headquarters was bombed with glitter."

"Glitter?" Naruto couldn't quite believe it. Though, he had managed to slip a red sock into their laundry once.

Kakashi nodded. "I couldn't get it out of my hair for a week."

"Then let's get to work. I want to know how it's done!"


"Why is this so hard?" Naruto complained as the pair sat down near the Stone to eat lunch. While Naruto worked, Kakashi had picked up Ichiraku's.

"You've got the basics down, and faster than I've seen anyone else besides me." The Jonin didn't say that the finer points of the lesson had been somewhat lost on the Genin. As he knew they would be, but better to expose him to the whole of the process than piecemeal. Seals built in parts were dangerous and unpredictable.

The young shinobi grinned at the praise and they both tucked into their meals. Kakashi couldn't help his eyes drifting to the Stone and the names carved there. Naruto watched his sensei, saw the cloud of pain hovering right at the edge of the Jonin's gaze. "Who taught you seals, Kakashi-sensei?"

"Hmmm? Oh, an old friend of mine."

Naruto was quiet after that, unsure of how to go about asking the questions he had. Finally, he decided just to ask. "I know the friends you lost have their names engraved on the stone. I know you visit them a lot. Everyone knows. That's why this place is empty so much. No one wants to bother you. Who were your friends?" When his teacher didn't immediately answer, Naruto hurriedly apologized. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I'm just your student, but I thought…. I thought you might want to talk about them."

"It's all right, Naruto. You're right. I should talk about them more." He started with Rin, though her name wasn't carved into the Memorial Stone. "The kunoichi on my team was kind-hearted, always ready to help anyone who needed it. The other boy...reminds me a lot of you. He wanted to be Hokage. They were good friends, though I was too stubborn to realize it until it was too late and they were gone. Without them, I wouldn't be who I am today, good and bad."

"What about your sensei?"

"He…. He was a singularly gifted shinobi and the kind of man I wish I was."

"He sounds really awesome!"

Kakashi nodded. "He was."

The Genin was quiet again for a moment. "Are...your parents still alive?"

"No. They both died when I was young."

"...Did you know my parents?"

Setting aside his empty bowl, the silver-haired nin rose to his feet. "Enough about the past. It won't help you master these seals."

The Genin watched Kakashi get up and dismiss his question. Well, Naruto wouldn't let him get away with it. He jumped up, pointing at his sensei. "Let's make a bet."

"A bet?"

"If I can master the seals, details and all, you're teaching me in a month, you'll tell me about my parents. You must know something about them. You're old enough."

The silver-haired Jonin raised an eyebrow. A month? It had taken him two weeks to fully master the first seals Minato-sensei showed him, let alone what Kushina had showed him afterwards. He didn't think Naruto would be able to do it. "I'll take your bet. But I won't reveal any information I'm not supposed to. And if I win, you'll let it go." He held out his hand and Naruto gripped it, sealing their bargain. "All right, then. Let's get back to work."


By the time Kakashi returned home, it was dark. He wondered how Amaya had fared with being cooped up. The living room was dark, so he went to her room. He found her curled in bed, though her sleep was disturbed by bad dreams. The kunoichi made unhappy sounds as she twitched. Kakashi climbed into bed with her, wrapping an arm around her. Amaya stirred at his touch and rolled slightly so she could see Kakashi. "Oh. You're home."

He didn't answer, only made a deep, contented noise as he snuggled tighter against her.

"I thought I heard Naruto earlier. What did he want?"

"Training."

"And did you oblige him?"

"Mmhhmm."

Amaya chuckled and turned all the way so she faced him. "What don't you want to talk about?"

Kakashi didn't say anything right away, which was an answer in and of itself. "I'll tell you if you tell me what you were dreaming about."

The tattooed shinobi chuckled again. "If that's the way you want it. I was dreaming about losing Naruto on my last mission." Her voice quieted as she spoke of the nightmare. "Except this time I wasn't able to beat that rogue nin. He made me watch as he killed the Genin."

The Copy-nin pulled down his mask and kissed her gently. "But you did save them."

"I know. Doesn't mean I'm not allowed to have nightmares. So, I fulfilled my end of the deal. Now you have to honor yours."

"All right, all right. I started teaching him seals. He bet me he could master them in two weeks. If he wins, I have to tell him about his parents."

Amaya frowned. "What brought that on? He's never asked before."

"I told him about Rin and Obito and Minato-sensei. Not their names or anything like that. Just...about them."

"I'm proud of you, my love." Neither of them spoke as what Amaya said sank in. She blushed and buried her face in Kakashi's chest.

The silver-haired nin laughed and raised her head to look at him. "Did you mean it?"

"That wasn't exactly how I'd wanted to say it." Amaya's blush receded a bit.

"Well, I'm glad you did," Kakashi said as he nuzzled against her.

Amaya, for her part, ran her fingers through his hair. "Cat's out of the bag now, I guess."

"It was never in a bag to begin with. You were just afraid to acknowledge it." Kakashi blinked and the kunoichi was on top of him. He grinned, placing his hands on her hips. "A man could get used to this."

"You're being punished. I don't appreciate my feelings being belittled."

"You need to come up with a better punishment then. Because I find this perfectly acceptable."

Amaya tried to seem angry, but he could tell there was no true resentment behind her words. She leaned down and kissed him the way she knew he liked. Her hand slid under his shirt, caressing the soft, scarred skin she found there. When Kakashi tried to run his hand up her shirt as well, he found himself restrained. He jerked at whatever bound him while Amaya sat up in triumph, sticking out her tongue. "Got you." She hopped lightly to the floor and sauntered off. Before closing the door behind her, she smiled. "Have fun. You won't break those chakra chains as easily as you used to."

Kakashi tugged again, harder, but to no avail. Shit. He'd fallen for one of the oldest tricks in the book. A memory surfaced, which made him grin and stop struggling. Amaya had done much the same thing when they'd first started dating and he'd tried to get her to have sex with him. He'd broken her chains easily and "convinced" her to reconsider. Later, she admitted it had all been part of her plan to do what she'd really wanted all along. He wondered if this was her way of saying yes again. A man could hope, at least. He would be patient this time, though, and plan, instead of jumping her in the shower. He was far too grown up for such a thing now. Then again, women claimed men never grew up.


All in all, it took Kaashi three hours to get out of the chains. Amaya was long asleep by then, so he decided to let her sleep. After all, she was only recently released from the hospital. If she wasn't allowed on mission or to train, the silver-haired nin figured sex wasn't allowed either.

No, he was patient and waited until the end of the week when the doctor cleared her for work. He realized, though, that Amaya had expected him to act far sooner. Consequently, she quickly wrested control of the situation. Which he was fine with.

Afterwards, the auburn-haired woman left a sleeping Kakashi for the warmth of a shower. Water cleansed her body of sweat and allowed her mind to wander. To an outsider, she admitted her actions would seem prudish, waiting as long as she did, but to her, they both needed to be sure of their feelings. She knew he loved her, and now that she'd said it back, more or less and actually out loud, she was certain in her own feelings as well. She giggled a little; at least it had been better than her first time, when Kakashi had decided the forest was as good a place as any.

Steam rolled in clouds in the enclosed bathroom as she stepped from the shower, drying herself off and taking a deep breath. Truthfully, she regretted waiting all this time. Years of limited dating or encounters on both their parts had ended the fun too soon. Not that more didn't follow, but still. They had both lost a bit of their stamina.

A glint caught her eye and she noticed the ring Kakashi had given her. Grinning, she decided to leave it on his counter. Let him wonder why she'd left it. Besides, she wasn't a dog to be claimed. Not yet anyway.