CAMOUFLAGE OF THE HEART

Ch. 6: Secret Past Revealed

Kayomie yawned as she stretched in her bed… Actually, if her nose was working correctly, it was Kakashi's bed. How the hell had she ended up here? As she slipped herself out of bed and onto the floor, her emerald gaze spotted a note pinned to the sheet.

"Huh?" Kayomie muttered as she tugged it free and held it up to her eyes.

Kayo-chan-

Sorry for not waking you up, but after last night, you needed the time to recuperate. Anyway, once you're ready, meet me and Team 7 at the bridge as soon as you can. Don't worry; I'll take care of them if you're late.

-Kakashi

"Only kopineko…" she sighed as she changed into her clothes and retied her bandages over her wounded arm. "But how'd I get here? Last I remember, I was fighting Saiga and…" she softly felt her legs over after noting the extra tears in her pants. Her fingertips found bandages under every one. Kayomie also checked out the slashes on her side and belly and found them bandaged as well. However, as she changed those, her belly wound looked a little infected to her. "Geez, I guess I was more injured than I thought."

She wandered into the kitchen and, finding nothing else on the counter and didn't want to go on a search for anything, munched on some toast slathered in peanut butter. After a quick stretching out of her muscles, she performed a vanishing act and reappeared on one of the gates on the bridge.

Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke looked up at her, only to get surprised looks on their faces.

"What? You guys look like you were expecting someone else, you three," Kayomie replied as she nimbly landed before them.

"After the fight you were in, we were!" Naruto yelled as he hugged his sister tightly once he was sure she had her balance. Kayomie winced as she loosened the boy's grip.

"Easy. I'm still a little sore, bro."

"Heh, heh, sorry, nee-chan!"

"You couldn't have known that, so don't be sorry. Sakura, Sasuke, you two okay?" she asked, as she looked the two over.

"Yeah."

"Kakashi-sensei wouldn't let us fight!" Sakura complained as she walked up to the kunoichi that was her teacher.

"It's a good thing he didn't! You could have ended up seriously injured." In more ways than one, she added mentally. Sukai limped forward; bandages wrapped around her forelegs and her belly, and nuzzled Kayomie's hand gently. "I'm fine, Sukai. I'll be fully healed in a week. Two, tops."

Sai barked softly, a bandage wrapped around her head from where she had been struck by a kunai the night before, Kurai in a similar condition.

"You three look like you've been through the mill. What happened?" Kayomie asked as she rubbed behind the canines' ears.

"Kakashi and the animals fought Saiga. For some reason, after being hit a few times, he took one good look at Kakashi's face and took off," Sasuke said.

"Really?" Kayomie replied thoughtfully. That's odd. He only ever did that when I almost went beserk from my newfound power… No, it's impossible. Especially for Kakashi. He's not that good when he first learns a new technique… is he?

Kakashi appeared with a poof on the gate Kayomie had been sitting on a few moments earlier. "Hello, everyone. Good morning, Kayo-chan."

"Only friends and family can call me that, Kakashi, so find another nickname. Let me guess, lost in the path of life again?" she asked, as her eyes seemed to search for something in his face.

"Yes, and is that any way to treat someone who's letting you stay with him?" Kakashi asked as he landed before her.

"Since you're only doing that because of orders, yes, it is. Now, what mission, pray tell, is up for our students today?" Kayomie asked as she smoothed a strand of hair out Sakura's eyes.

Sasuke watched this in confusion. Why does she treat us like her younger siblings? He pondered to himself.

'Because, in a way, you are,' whispered a mysterious male voice in his mind.

"Huh? Who said that?"

"Sasuke, said what?"

"That!" he snapped at the kunoichi in his squad.

"Sasuke! There is no reason to snap at someone like that!" Kakashi retorted.

"Hang on, kopineko. Let me handle this. I doubt he would snap at Sakura for no reason… Besides, I see fear written on the boy's face. I'll take care of this," Kayomie murmured to her fellow teacher as she walked over to Sasuke, who had been pinned onto his back by a worried Kurai.

"Sasuke, what did you hear?"

"…." He didn't answer, his sharingan suddenly slipping through.

"Shit…" Kayomie muttered as her hands flashed through the signs that would allow her temporary access to another's mind. Kayomie softly placed a hand on the boy's forehead and allowed herself to enter his mind.

"Sasuke! Look, I know you can hear me, so you might as well answer! Sasuke?" Kayomie called as she stood in an inky darkness. It may have looked empty, but her senses told her otherwise. "Sasuke, I need you to answer me, not attack me. I know I should have asked first, but you were in shock and wouldn't have been able to hear me. So, do us both a favor and call off your defenses!"

"They aren't his defenses, my dear pupil, and you shouldn't keep secrets from your students," a familiar voice cooed from all around her.

"Saiga, release him. I told you last night; he and the others have nothing to do with this. This is between you and me, no one else. Keep it that way, or I'll be forced to take drastic measures," Kayomie replied with a deep growl.

"I wouldn't do that in here. You know what happens to an inexperienced mind when a difficult mind jutsu is performed in it," the man warned as he appeared before her.

Kayomie's green eyes narrowed in frustration. She had forgotten that this wasn't her mind, it was Sasuke's… and she wouldn't put the boy at risk if she could help it. "Then take it outside of his mind and into my own. This is OUR fight, not his, so why show up here?"

"Kayomie, Kayomie, Kayomie, have I taught you nothing? This boy is not only the last of his clan and bloodline, but he has the same potential that you did when you were younger. If I lure him close enough to the edge now, he'll have no choice but to surrender and let me teach him."

"Not on your life!" echoed Sasuke's voice from around the two jounin in his mind. Kayomie seemed to relax a little at this response from the Uchiha. If he still had rebellion against Saiga, there was hope that he hadn't been told anything yet.

"Sasuke, are you all right?" Kayomie asked aloud.

"I'm fine. How the hell do I form a physical shape?"

"Just focus on it," she replied with a laugh in her voice. "This is YOUR mind after all, Sasuke. You have the power in here. I'm just backup to let you know if ya need help, you got it." The woman's eyes watched as the boy's chosen form took shape. "You made yourself a little bit more buff than you are, but hey, whatever makes you happy."

Sasuke glared at his teacher before returning his gaze to Saiga. "What did you mean by 'in a way I am'? She has a younger sibling and it isn't Sakura or me."

"I mean that for years, she has considered the three of you her little brothers and sister. I'm beginning to see why. All three of you have a similar potential that she possesses to learn my jutsu."

A low growl emanated from Kayomie's throat. Both males looked at her to see her eyes blazing with anger. Sasuke blinked in alarm. "Before you reply for me, Saiga, what he means is that you three are still faintly innocent in some way. How depends on person to person. Last I checked, Kakashi also counted, but hey, Saiga always was a lousy teacher," she said, noting in satisfaction Saiga's face flush in anger.

"If I was so lousy, then how did you learn? You could never have figured it out on your own!"

"I didn't need to. Now, leave, before I reveal something that you wouldn't want revealed to Sasuke," Kayomie warned as she stepped forward towards the man. Her eyes flashed warningly.

The older man growled before slowly vanishing. "I WILL return, Kayomie, and you had better be prepared for me."

"Don't you worry. I will be," she replied softly before looking at Sasuke's stunned face. "What?"

"What the hell just happened here? What was he talking about?" The boy demanded tensely, his gaze digging into hers. His body was tensed in defense, waiting for an attack from her. The young woman's eyes softened slightly at this reaction.

"He was talking about something that I'll let you know once we're out of your mind. Basically, wait until I'm fully out of your mind and then wake up. That's all you need to do. And for the record, Kurai was broadcasting this into Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi's minds so you won't be the only one with questions. And we'll need to be somewhere private so no one else will know."

"Why?" he asked, confused.

"Because I don't like revealing my past where anyone can overhear, okay? I'm sort of touchy about that. What happened happened and no one needs to worry about me," Kayomie said as she slowly began to disappear as well. "Remember my instructions, all right?"

"All right," Sasuke replied, his gaze slightly more trustful.

Kayomie opened her eyes to see Kakashi glaring at her from where he crouched before her. "What, kopineko?" she growled, slightly annoyed.

"Why in hell would you keep this a secret from us? That man is a danger to the whole village, Kayomie!"

"We'll discuss this in PRIVATE, kopineko. Kids have big ears and even bigger memories and don't need to know about stuff like this. Besides, we already need to leave before attention is drawn here," Kayomie murmured as she stood, helping Sasuke to his feet. Kurai pressed against his leg worriedly. He glanced down at the wolf before ruffling her ears. She blinked in obvious surprise before licking his hand happily.

"There's a first. Who would have thought Sasuke would be nice to anybody?" Naruto teased. The boy glared at the blonde only to be restrained by Kayomie grabbing his collar and dragging him off.

"Come on. I can sense Gai from here. I don't need to put up with him if I can help it."

Kayomie released the boy and plopped down on a tree root in the clearing she had managed to find not too far from the village. She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back into the trunk.

"All right," she started. "What do you wanna know?"

"Well, you could mention what the hell Saiga was talking about when he said you were still innocent," Kakashi intoned. "You had already killed someone by the time you had left for the mission, so what did he mean?"

Kayomie's cheekbones reddened with a blush. "Basically, he meant that no guy had laid a hand on me sexually. Got it?" Kakashi smirked before she dropped his gaze. "Anyway, what else are you going to demand out of me?"

"How can Saiga be around now? You killed him didn't you?" Naruto asked softly.

"That's what I thought until yesterday afternoon. That's how I got separated from you, little brother. He made it seem like someone had called my name and I paused, which is when the crowd separated you from me. Then he showed up when I was close to passing out… That's why I didn't say anything about it. I thought that I was hallucinating…" Kayomie murmured, her eyes suddenly glued onto the stump Sai was seated on. "Then last night happened and now we're here."

"Why is Saiga after us?" Sakura demanded. "And would you look at us when you answer?"

Kayomie met Sakura's gaze with a smirk. "Why? Does it unnerve you?"

"Yeah, now that you mention it."

"Okay, then… Anyway, he's after you because, for some odd reason, you all have the potential to not only learn the mind jutsus, but you can also use them to their full potential. The last person Saiga stumbled across who was able to do that was myself. That and you three are young enough to be corrupted. Kakashi still has that potential, but it would take a lot more to break him of his ethics," the blonde explained as she toyed with a strand of her hair.

"What's so wrong about the mind jutsus anyway? Aren't they just like any other?" Sasuke muttered.

"Don't even think like that, Uchiha Sasuke! That's how Saiga can worm his way into the strongest mind, through doubts like that! The mind jutsus are dangerous and very difficult to control. They also are wrong. Think about how easy it would be to fight an opponent when you could predict their every move, and read every thought, Sasuke. Not only would it basically be a massacre, but it would be morally wrong to use those in battle. I myself have only used them in practice and to check on the mental stability of those I care about," Kayomie told him, her eyes resembling the emeralds the color copied. "Understand?"

Sasuke swallowed nervously as he nodded. Something about her when she was angry unnerved him. He had yet to figure out why, but it probably was no big deal.

"Anything else?" she said cheerfully, her eyes reverting to their happy state.

"Why does he scare you so much, nee-san? I've never seen you so freaked," Naruto commented softly. His sister met his gaze with a confused look on her face.

"Why would you say I was scared?"

"Well… I dunno. I just thought you were. I've never seen you fight so desperately before."

Kayomie smiled softly. "You have a point, Naruto. I don't really know. I just am. Anyway, since we're obviously done with the questionnaire, we might as well get training you three," she stated as she stood, brushing off her pants. "Kopineko, where do you guys train at?"

"The same clearing Hokage-sama trained my squad. It's the one not many else know about," Kakashi replied softly, his eye clouded in thought at how she had avoided the question.

Kayomie nodded. "Okay. On we go!" she cheered as she darted off, closely followed by her brother.

"Hey, wait up!" Sakura yelled.

"What an annoyance," Sasuke complained.

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­End of chapter!! Finally! Sorry it took so long! Okay, Naruto, take it away!

Naruto: Okay… I think… Anyway, next time on Camouflage of the Heart: Kayomie and Kakashi-sensei spar to show us how well they can fight against each other. That and Sakura was whining about how kunoichi can't be as tough as regular nin… Oh, and Kakashi-sensei gets Kayomie drunk.

Me: Let the hilarity ensue… Geez, this is going to be a little spooky about Kayomie…

Naruto: No kidding… Anyway, see ya next time!