I do not own Naruto. I do own this fic…and Ayame. And if I'm not mistaken…

1. Kakashi's technique is "Lightning Blade"…so…I kinda threw in my own twist on it. Hope that answered your question Animaman.-and no Kyubi enhanced sorry

2. Whoever is the question marks, Yes damnit, she got raped. --''

3. Sousuke, patience is a virtue J !

4. Vegeta, you can sue me but you won't get a dime lol

5. Airstep, yep, quiz, you cleared it up ;-) good job!

(Figured I'd help out a bit cuz I guess pulled a Kakashi? Lol)

Now You Notice Me

Kakashi knew what she meant and spun around, watching a figure come out of the thicket.

Ayame turned, aware of his every move. She watched him cautiously, nearing the students in a defensive stance, ready to defend them more than herself.

Kakashi glared as a man, roughly 6 ft 10 inches stood before them, a sickle in his grasp.

'No wonder she was so terrified of tall people…' Kakashi remembered…

Flashback:

Ayame laughed, as if nothing happened, Kakashi smirked at her poor excuse for a shadow clone.

Two people passed, one was abnormally tall, the other was about Kakashi's height now. Ayame's eyes widened as she ran behind Kakashi, who was barely taller than her.

He looked back to her and then back to the guys, "What's the matter, Ayame?"

"They're so tall…"

End Flashback:

The man cast a raked look over Ayame, examining her every curve. She felt ashamed, dirty, and alone.

Until Kakashi stepped in between his gaze and her body. She looked up quickly at his back, shocked that he noticed what was happening inside her.

"She has ripened much, hasn't she boy?" the man neared Kakashi slowly but arrogantly.

Kakashi already knew he was a powerful opponent. This would be a fight till the death, regardless of his feelings for Ayame.

"Ah yes…you." the man stopped a few feet short of Kakashi's solid frame as he refused to back away from the man, for doing so would give him more distance to cover to Ayame. "I remember you well."

Kakashi cast a bit of a glare towards the man, showing that he was not amused by his presence.

Sakura and Naruto looked to each other as Sasuke heard what was going on. 'He…knew Kakashi?'

The man cracked his neck quickly and smirked, "You were her little friend." Kakashi tensed.

"So, she wasn't a random girl but you were watching her." Kakashi translated.

The man nodded, "My name is Kokushibyou." (Black Death)

Kakashi sighed, "Suits you."

Kokushibyou glared at the shinobi, "This is why I had to get her away from you."

Kakashi quickly looked up at his opponent's eyes, black as night.

"You were always around her, I knew you two liked each other. And your happiness pissed me off." he smirked and neared Kakashi and brought his sickle to his side. "You were the smart ass and she was the sweet one, innocence does not belong in a ninja."

Kakashi looked up at him with a more intent look in his eyes, "Is that why you took who she was? Is that why you had to change her so much that she'd never trust another man?"

Kokushibyou smirked, "Yes. She needed to realize that ninjas did not know innocence once they were such. They were to see bloodshed, to feel hate, betrayal, and death on their hands."

Ayame shuddered at the memories that plagued her mind. She felt, once again, rough hands, bone breaking grips, harsh words, and cold steel upon her esophagus. That sickle. How she hated that weapon since that day.

It happened then.

Not at night.

Daylight.

Which is why she perfected in the shadow jitsu. She hated beams of sunshine, happy days at the beach, highlights in her hair, everything that had to do with innocence and light.

Kakashi was listening to Kokushibyou's words as he told Ayame every detail of what he did to her.

While Kakashi was training his lightning blade.

Only about a mile away.

He had caught Ayame as she was heading to meet Kakashi that day for practice. Was through with her before Kakashi figured anything was amiss. Silenced her with his sickle upon her neck and his hand upon her mouth and nose.

Her tears slid upon her cheeks, Kokushibyou smirked at the memories, and her whimpered "Shi". He knew who she was praying for. And he never came.

"You failed. You didn't come when she needed you most." Kokushibyou dwelled into Kakashi's mind.

Now it was Kakashi's turn to feel ashamed, alone. He lowered his gaze.

"Shi! Don't listen to him! It wasn't your fault!" Ayame cried out.

Kokushibyou smirked, "Who's fault was it?"

Ayame glared, "Yours."

That gave Kakashi the burst he needed. In an instant, he was engaged in hand to hand with death himself.

Kokushibyou's sickle swung around Kakashi and came towards Ayame and the others.

She quickly pulled her daggers out of her boots and blocked it, flipping backwards and shooing the students away.

Sakura was pushed by Naruto out of the way, "But we want to help!"

"No." Ayame ordered and ran towards Kakashi and Kokushibyou, "This is going to end. This nightmare!"

As Kokushibyou kicked Kakashi into a tree, Ayame dug her daggers into his back, barely missing his vital organs.

Kokushibyou turned quickly and grabbed her by the neck, hoisting her up. Kakashi walked up slowly, seeing the look in her eyes. They were no longer green as she gave the purest look of evil towards Kokushibyou.

When she mastered the shadow jitsus, she mastered them to every ounce, her body could become an actual shadow of anything she wanted. She could hide in them, even the smallest as a pebble on the ground or a blade of grass.

But this was neither here nor there. She was going to create her own. And Kakashi was going to barbeque this bastard.

They might have to eat him on a kabob!

Ayame's hair turned black, matching her eyes. Kokushibyou smirked, "Is this a trick you have up your sleeve?"

Kakashi smirked behind their opponent, "Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, meet Kage, the Shinobi."

The students gasped as she returned Kokushibyou's smirk as his eyes widened in horror, "You…you are…you've become -the- Kage?"

Naruto laughed, "She's famous!"

Sakura cheered, "You bet! Everyone knows of Kage!"

Sasuke smirked. "And feel terror in the name."

Kakashi became serious and started focusing his chakra into his hand. Kage didn't let off her smirk as her shadow began to grow around her, as if a black mist surrounded her. She didn't have to chant it, she didn't have to say a word. She had to only think her phrase and her opponent would have no mercy.

'Shadow wind.' her glare became glassed over as the black wind surrounded Kokushibyou's body, suffocating the air out of his lungs in a tornado effect. The winds swirling around him at a rapid pace as if it was another natural phenomena.

"Lightning blade!" Kakashi's lightning in his hand wrapped around the tornado.

Shadow Lightning was in the making. As the wind vacuumed the air out of the nose and mouth, the lightning entered his body through the ears and eyes, all of his pores. No longer did it attack the outside, but with the Shadow Wind also in effect, the lightning was instantly vacuumed into the body as if it were breath.

Kokushibyou couldn't let go of Kage as the lightning paralyzed his movements.

But in only a few moments, he combusted, Kage quickly turning back into her fair green eyed, red haired self and Kakashi slid, barely catching her.

She shuddered a bit, "Lightning…hurts."

Kakashi smirked, "At least the attack wasn't fully on you."

Sakura and the others looked around, "What happened to that guy?" she asked.

Naruto shrugged, "He…disappeared. He just, blew up!"

Sasuke was even impressed, "So. That would be Lightning Wind?"

Kakashi and Ayame glared and said at the same time, "Shadow Lightning."

------------

Kakashi carried Ayame back to the town with the three following him.

Sakura and Naruto bowed, heading towards their own homes and Sasuke trailed off on his own route.

Kakashi smirked, at least they knew when they needed "alone" time.

More or less, he needed to get her all rested up again. She endured a lot today. It wasn't everyday you saw your attacker, killed him and lived to tell about it!

He also knew she needed rest for letting herself be taken over by the shadow of her jitsu. It wasn't her doing all the way, when she was cornered into life or death in Kokushibyou's grasp, her mind let the shadow world take over.

For once you've mastered the shadow jitsu, it wouldn't let you die that easily. And if it did, you weren't meant to know it's full extent.

------

When they entered Kakashi's home, he laid her on his bed and stepped out to get her warm tea.

When he returned with two cups, she was by his window, looking out, seemingly relaxed by just the sky.

"Ayame, tea?"

She turned towards him and nodded, "Thanks Shi." she said quietly and walked over towards him and sat beside him on the floor, sipping it slowly, her eyes closed.

He watched his shadow of darkness look as though she was sunbeams upon his pillow, comforting and a new beginning, a new day, a new opportunity.

Ayame looked at him in that instant, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Kakashi was caught off guard and didn't reply back.

"Shi…"

He cleared his throat a bit.

She set her tea down at the same time he did and he looked up at her. She reached up slowly.

He froze, tensing up as she lifted his headband up a bit and smiling at his Sharingan. He pulled back as she went for his mask.

She stopped quickly, "Sorry, but it's been years since I've actually seen your full face. Why do you hide it? There was nothing wrong with it last I saw. I'm sure you don't have anything that bad under there now."

Kakashi thought quickly, "Cold sore."

Ayame snorted and launched at him, falling on top of him as he tried to move away. She wrestled with him, neither really realizing they were just being playful as they once were.

When he held her hands away from his face, she looked down at him and smirked.

Before he could push her away, she bit the fabric and yanked it down quickly. He took a quick breath as she examined him and she smiled, "I still don't understand why you hide it."

Kakashi sat up and let go of her hands, pushing her away and pulling the mask up, "Only one other person besides me I'd rather have view my face. I like the mysterious look." he gave a corny smile.

"Who is the other person?" she was hurt that he didn't want her to look at his true face.

"You."

She was confused, "But Shi…you just pushed me away."

Kakashi stood up quickly and walked to the door, "When you forgive that thing for what he did to you and start to trust me more than you do like you used to, then I will take my mask off for you again."

With that, he walked out.

She stopped breathing for a moment and thought of his words. "Oh…Shi…" she never realized that her isolating herself from everyone, including her most trusted friend, the one she loved the most, would make him isolate himself as well.

She didn't know she meant so much and to see her in so much pain and distress that it killed his inner child, burying it deep beneath a mask that should have never been placed upon his face in the first place.

She ran after him.

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Reviews please