DAY SIX

Anko had been looking for Kaiko (and Kakashi, but then she didn't seriously looked around for him since he was impossible to find most of the time) since yesterday but it seems the couple – Kaiko and Kakashi -- had been too hard to locate. Nobody in the village have seen them, and the search is already getting on her nerves. Well, she had been quite busy herself, but now that she had all the time in the world, she wanted to spend it with her new, but currently missing friend.
She had been to Kakashi's place, and man, it was a total mess! He never really struck her as that kind of guy – disorganized, carefree, although he seems a little bit lazy – but then people are people and there can never be enough surprises as far as they're concerned.
Something drawed her attention while she was passing by the teahouse and Anko was almost sure it was Kakashi. She followed, stealthily, and with all the speed she could produce, tried to catch up with the suspicious being.
"Kakashi?"
It was him, his back towards her,his feet planted firmly to the ground.
"I knew it was you! I've been looking for you since…"
He turned around and shot her a look.
"Is there something wrong?"
That look again. He's angry, she thought. "Ok. I'll just talk with you later."
She turned her back and left him with those trees, plants and that stone monument Konoha had built in memory of all the deceased ninjas worth remembering.
But then, something kept nagging at the back of her mind. What the hell happened?

Her body felt as if an entire cavalry have trampled over it, and any normal human being would require a long, fulfilling rest to restore strength. But then, after the swift change of activities in her life, her wellbeing is the least of the problems she should worry about.
Her brows snapped together as the pain emanating from every nook and cranny of her body intensified. Struggling to sit up, it felt as if her body weighed more than a crate of rock. She wanted to sleep but the pain prevented her from doing so.
A shuffling of keys alerted her senses. She looked up.
It was the man from last night, the one with whom Kakashi had spoken a word or two. He does seem like a kind man, with kind eyes, and probably just about her age. But then, she remembered… Kakashi had kind eyes, too.
"Breakfast." He settled a bowl of something on the floor and then handed a folded garment to her.
"Thank you."
The man acted as if he didn't hear her expression of gratitude and slammed the door close. Kaiko unfolded the soft garment and realized that she was given a decent set of clothes. She hurriedly dressed up and glanced at the contents of the bowl. Grains of rice swam in a creamy fluid… doesn't look so appetizing to her but she had to eat. This is better than nothing.
Kaiko was halfway through her tasteless meal when another shuffling of keys came from the other side of the wooden door. A click and the door opened, giving way to a familiar face… although this time, the usually happy face was sobered into a straight, emotionless mask. The half-finished bowl of food fell to the floor in a loud clatter.
"Anko." Her first impulse was to hug her, but she eyed her immediately. Don't.
"Anko, I'm so…"
"Who are you working for?" her words were clipped.
She just stared at her, wide-eyed. She had never seen her this… this frightening. It seemed as if one wrong move would secure her a sure ticket to the grave.
"Answer my question!"
"I… uh…"
Anko took one step closer. "Who are you working for? I'm not asking again."
Kaiko bent her head and stared at her lap, her eyes beginning to water. "I'm so sorry… I was from the forest far from here and… they sent me to investigate about the…" the water filling her eyes was beyond control so she allowed them to fall, soaking the garment covering her lap, "the Lazarus Eye. We – they – thought it was in Konoha."
"They?"
She wiped her tears with her hands. Better spill her guts out. She's not coming back anyway. She's going to be locked here for the rest of her miserable life. "The Shinrin Bandits."
"And where are these Shinrin Bandits?"
She shook her head.
"Where?!" something in her voice spelled danger in bold letters.
"I don't know!" she finally looked at her interrogator with teary eyes, "they took me here.. I thought that was their only purpose but then they started to do nasty things to me and I started screaming…"
Kaiko's control finally collapsed. She sobbed in front of Anko, and that kind-eyed person guarding the door. "I'm so, so, sorry… it's not like I want this to happen." She hid her eyes with her hands and sobbed some more. "I wanted to stay, but then he forced me to take it… he scared the hell out of me… he…"
The door closed. Anko had left her.

It was hard. The minute she agreed with Kakashi's bargain, a weird feeling resumed at the pit of her stomach. He was his cold, ruthless, calculated self, and Anko have learned long ago not to mess with that side of the copy ninja. But she had to know the truth, weaving reasonable lies just to satisfy her curiosity was never going to work with her, anyway. So, after weighing the pros and cons of it, she decided to turn around and pound the man with questions. He was unrelenting at first, but after a minute of silence, he served her a suspicious bargain.
"I will tell you," Kakashi had said, "but you have to do something for me."
"What thing?" She had asked, eyes narrowed with suspicion.
"Just say yes, damnit!"
"Okay. Okay. Now where is Kaiko?"
He answered her without hesitation. "She's locked in. I took her there."
"Locked?!"
"She stole the Lazarus Eye. Lucky for me I was able to find her… and her accomplice."
She quietly digested the details like a student in a lecture room.
"I killed his accomplice, and dragged her to prison, then headed straight to the hokage for a report."
A period of silence. Anko realized he was done with the talking. It was her turn.
"And what is my end of the bargain?"
"You will do the questioning."
And so, here she is, Mitarashi Anko with a cold and wretched heart, walking the streets of Konoha Village and waiting for the one-eyed ninja to come around. It was hard, seeing her cry like that. Part of her wanted to reach out to the person… she is a woman, too! And she understands the manner of men that could scare any female out of her wits. She knew her plight was true. She knew Kaiko was in pain. Maybe she did lie, but lies are nothing but individual words pieced together! Her eyes and her sorrow, those are two things which cannot form words to express themselves. She is a woman, and a woman feels the emotion of another. What she had felt in Kaiko can never lie.
"Where?"
She nearly jumped in surprise. It was Kakashi, again appearing from nowhere, who spoke and popped her bubble of thoughts. "What?"
"Where is it?"
"The forest."
"Where exactly?!"
Anko shook her head. "She couldn't tell. It appears some men took her to Konoha."
Kakashi cursed before making a turn at the corner of the road. He anticipated this, although he preferred her to just spill her damned guts.
Anko knew what he was planning to do, and she didn't like it. Typically, Kakashi was the type of ninja with sure, calculated actions.. but with the current situation, Anko feared that his actions would be too calculated for his own good. Grabbing him by the wrist, she used all the strength the academy had taught her to restrain him from taking another step. "Kakashi," she began, "you're being too personal on this. It's not right."
He didn't answer. She wasn't finished.
"I will ask the hokage to transfer this mission to me."
He snatched his hand back and left without a word or a glance back.
Dear Kaiko, Anko thought as she watched the infuriated ninja disappear into the crowd, what have you gotten yourself into...

Another sound from the other end of the door, but this time, the door was quick to open and the visitor was already several inches away from her when she rose.
"Tell me where your damned camp is!" he said sharply.
"I don't know.." she answered in a small voice.
"I have ways of making you talk, Kaiko, I swear, you wouldn't wish for me to use it."
"I said I don't know!" she screamed. "Is that so hard to understand?"
"Kaiko…"
"What's wrong with you people?! Don't you even understand plain language? I--DON'T--KNOW!!!" She was hurting, inside and out. It was the first time for him to call her by name since last night, but it was also the first time he raised his voice like that. And it scared and angered her at the same time. Maybe she could take a few blows, but now, she'd had enough. If they are going to lock her up like this, the least they can do is leave her in peace. "I was taken here by the same men you killed that day. They were to escort me to Konoha Village because I didn't know a thing or two about where this place is. I know nothing about anything. I just take insults. Do chores. Take more insults and then do more chores."
"What, now you want me to believe that you're that stupid?" he snapped, remembering all the lies she had told him, which he had also believed.
"I am stupid!" she said, almost helplessly. "Because if I'm not, none of this would've happened. I'm so sorry, Kakashi… I'm so…"
"You should be." He said, spitting the words out before hurriedly leaving the scene.

Anko stared at the map in utter disbelief. Since Kakashi was too loyal a ninja to disclose information about his current mission – the Lazarus Eye – she decided to research about it herself. She found out, however, that research materials were quite scarce. Save for an old book about rare mythological figures, she never really found anything of significant relevance.

According to the said book, which was written by a traveler from several decades ago, the Lazarus Eye was considered a sacred gem in the northern island of Semai. The Lazarus Eye, which the author referred to in a more local name, chooses who among those from the royal bloodline was to rule in the following years. Only the ruler was allowed to touch the sacred gem, since the people of Semai believed that the gem "has the capacity to provide guidance to the one in possession". Also, in the island of Semai, the rulers were worshipped as gods, partly because of the "guidance" provided by the sacred gem.
Based on her understanding of the written record, this said guidance isn't just symbolic in nature.

The book would've been helpful if not for one very important problem:
Anko had been staring at the map for quite sometime, but she could not locate an island, even a village or country, named Semai.

Although it was as impossible as looking for a needle in a huge haystack, Kakashi began his search for the camp of the Shinrin Bandits. Half of him expected her lack of cooperation from the very beginning, afterall, it was her home. Despite whatever those rascals have done to her – if that part of the story were true -- .she wouldn't have reached this far in life without them. He could understand her loyalty, but the fact that she decieved her is something unforgivable. It wasn't just her fault though, Kakashi felt that he also had his shortcomings as a ninja of Konoha. He had become soft, and thus made himself an easy prey for the Shinrin bandits.

He revisited the very place where Kaiko was assaulted by her three escorts. Then he carefully traced the path to where he had seen her and her accomplice. It dark at that time, but he was able to see some footprints, mostly left by Kaiko herself. And these footprints made him skeptical about Kaiko's stealth skills… but then, maybe she's not really trained as a bandit. Maybe she was telling the truth, her role with the bandits merely involved domestic chores.

Realizing his thoughts, Kakashi groaned. So now, his wretched little brain is convincing him to believe her little tale.

She virtually dug the entire library for old maps. A small voice at the back of her head kept urging her to continue the research, despite the previous dead-end. And her gut feeling was right. Locating a yellowish map with torn edges, she compared it with the latest map. There it was, the island of Semai.
Marching her way toward the shelves, Anko swept her gaze in search for the oldest history book she could find. There. She took the book and carefully scanned the pages. Nothing. She spotted another one. None.
Anko sighed. The research only made her feel more confused than before.

Kaiko wasn't asleep. She could indetify audible sounds of movement from nearby, but, she had convinced herself that she didn't care. All she needed was rest, and that's what she's going to do. Rest and hope that she'll never wake up.
"Kaiko.."
Anko? Oh.. the witty card player. She recalled the hilarious card play between her and Kakashi, and the outrageous prize at stake. Her shoulders shook. It was funny.
"Kaiko.."
She opened her eyes. A hand was by her shoulder, giving a gentle shake as if to wake her up (so that was responsible for the shaking fo her shoulders?). Wake her?! Maybe she had fallen asleep somehow. And nope, her hopes of not being able to wake up didn't happen.
"Kaiko, it's me, Anko."
Why the gentle voice? Her eyes narrowed into slits. This woman is up to something.
"I just need to ask you something."
She was getting up from her previous lying position.
"Please don't tell Kakashi I asked you. He'd kill me."
Who cares. He'll kill you, and then me, and then everybody's happy. She was sitting on the floor, legs crossed, hands on her lap.
"Why are you after the Lazarus Eye?"
She arched a brow. "Why are you asking that now?"
"I'm just asking… please just answer me. It might save your life."
She slumped back to the wall and eyed her. "Why now? You never asked that earlier… haven't you figured it out for yourself?"
Anko wouldn't miss the mockery that lined her words. "Kaiko…"
"Since you all got me figured out, this question is of no importance."
"Just answer it dammit!"
She jumped at the curse. Anko was serious. "Why, I need to steal it, of course."
"Why?"
"Because it is something they all seem to want so badly…"
"And why did they send you and not the other bandits?"
She shrugged.
"How valuable is this Lazarus Eye?"
Again, she shrugged.
Getting impatient, Anko slammed her fist on the floor and looked straight into her indifferent eyes. "I don't think you're innocent, Kaiko, but I believe you're not that guilty either. There is something else here, something which I think you and I know nothing about."
"That's not surprising…"
"Kaiko, do you know anything about the island of Semai?"
Her eyes glowed with sudden interest. "No. Why?"
"It is connected with the Lazarus Eye."
Kaiko exhaled. "I swear, Anko," she said in a more gentle tone, reminding Anko of the unfortunate girl Kakashi had saved, "I don't know much about the Lazarus Eye. Stealing it was assigned to me because, well, they thought a woman like me would make a good spy."
They were darn right about that, Anko thought.
Silence.
Kaiko was watching her in that brief period, but Anko barely noticed her gaze because she was too preoccupied with her mental notes. "You do believe me this time."
Anko shrugged. "Still a gut feeling, until I get more evidence that will prove you innocent."
It was nice for her to think of her as innocent, but Kaiko felt guilty about this whole thing and realized that it was her turn to pay her for her troubles. "I'm sorry Anko, but I'm not innocent. I really intend to steal the Lazarus Eye. And if ever that eye gets in here, either by accident or by mistake, I will take it and leave without second thoughts. I will do that. So you don't have to prove otherwise."
"Oh." Anko considered this revelation.
"And I don't care if Kakashi hates me. I did decieve him at some point."
"At some point?"
Kaiko's eyes were dopwncast as she spoke, "My feelings for him were true."

Maybe Anko was right. He was taking things personally. His mission involved safeguarding the Lazarus Eye, but not long ago he was plotting his revenge against the bandits.
Thanks to Anko, he was back to his real self.
I'm really sorry, Obito… he swept his eyes across the monument until Uchiha Obito's name leapt up to him. I can be stubborn sometimes… A faint picture of his comrade came to mind. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Kakashi had apologized endlessly, but for him, it never seemed enough. Even if his apologies would be as often as breathing, he wouldn't be able to bring his friend back.

Apologies cannot turn back time.

But he apologized anyway. He apologized to Obito for not being able to save his life instead. And since then apologies msde its way into Kakashi's daily activities. He apologized, though the words never really came out, he always apologized to Obito even for things that no longer concerned him. He apologized just to make himself feel good… and it does wonders to his mood most of the time.

He whispered his secrets to the engraved name. He informed how badly he wanted to look into the eyes of the men that used his girl. His girl. Damn. She stopped being his girl the very minute she decided to steal the Lazarus Eye. It was embarrasing, being caught in his words, fortunately Obito is his best friend. It would never surprise him. Kakashi pictured his young friend laughing, or chuckling, while teasing him in a sing-song voice: Kakashi has a girlfriend.
But she's not her girlfriend anymore. Even if she did try to apologize to him… even if words came – and were needed -- in that time of desperation… even if it does seem like apologizing was her only way out. Regardless of the nature of the apology, Kaiko did say sorry. Even though apologies cannot turn back the hands of time, she apologized anyway.

He looked up, admiring the twinkling of stars as he swept his gaze across the navy sky. Anyone acquainted with the Lazarus Eye would marvel at its twinkle, and how it rivals that of the stars. Amazing, really, if not for the destructive capacities it possessed. No, Kakashi wasn't referring to its mythological powers. He refused to believe that such a small thing can bring absolute power to anyone who takes it into possession. No, he refused to believe that the Lazarus Eye is capable of granting the simpliest of wishes. Contrary to what the people of Semai believed to be true, the Lazarus Eye meant nothing to him other than the troublemaker that is was. Wars were waged, innocent lives were taken… all in the name of the Lazarus Eye. He was dazzled by its glow, but the blood along its beaten path disgusted him. How could such a small thing create such a huge commotion?

Men, he thought, are still savages despite the aging of humanity.

A twig was stepped on.

With the agility of a feline, Kakashi hid atop one of the many trees that surrounded the monument and watched. There was somebody else in there, somebody he didn't know… an intruder. Behind the bushes? He was too careless in that little noise he made, Kakashi thought. An intruder would've been more cautious. But a friend or somebody from around here would've made its presence known, instead of hiding in the shadows.

Peering in the darkness, he could see one… two… three… passing by, hoping to remain unseen in the darkness of the evening. He could see sihouettes, but identifying their faces or clothing were impossible in that distance.

But he was able to think of a way to make them reveal themselves.

Kakashi took a kunai and threw it, not a few inches away from where the first silhouette was. Then he quielty crawled his way down the tree branch and into the bushes, situating himself closer to where the silhouettes were spotted. He once again peered into the darkness, struggling to look at the three men walking past his hiding place and sneaking stealthily (in their poor efforts at stealth) to where the kunai came from. He would've laughed out loud himself, the three stooges were stupid enough to fall for his trap. This would be easy…

By then, Kakashi figured, the three stooges were stupid enough to be intruders.