Hi! Sorry for the long wait: I had many things going on lately... Here comes a new chapter! I hope you'll like it :)
Chapter 8 - Judging a book by its cover
"You're late again, Kakashi" Ayane remarked, lying on the ground with her eyes closed.
She had been waiting for the older ninja for almost an hour. After about ten minutes, she had decided to start her chakra exercises on her own.
"Maybe I was there all along and you just didn't sense me" Kakashi replied in the most serious voice. "I guess after we're done with these chakra exercises, we'll have to deal with your chakra detection ability."
"Of course! I think I'll need some catching up with cycling as well: I'm not so sure I can still ride a bike! Oh, and I'm rubbish at maths but I'm sure you'll be able to help me!" I can't believe this guy! He just can't admit he's late...
"Actually, maths can be useful to a shinobi since they include logic which is essential to elaborate strategies" Kakashi put in.
I HATE HIM!!! she inwardly screamed. Come on, Ayane, keep calm and breathe slowly. Now you're going to talk to him quietly just like the collected young woman you are, she silently instructed herself.
"Could you stop acting as if I was a genin? For your information, I was about to take the jounin exam back in the Rain village."
She normally wasn't one to brag but she couldn't stand his sarcastic know-it-all attitude... Maybe her theory about Sakura's behaviour towards Naruto was wrong after all: her yelling at the blond genin wasn't a proof of affection but a way to redirect her repressed exasperation towards Kakashi...
"Well, even jounins have to train constantly to keep on improving- Ayane couldn't suppress a sigh: here comes the teacher tone again- because there is always the possibility to come across someone who's stronger than you. If you don't want to do it for yourself, think about the people you have to protect and who rely on you."
Zenji... Fujio... Aneko! Their faces flashed in front of her eyes. She was about to become a jounin and yet she wasn't able to save them...
"You know, I wasn't always able to protect my own teammates..." Kakashi trailed off as if he had read Ayane's thoughts. It was more likely though that he noticed how her face suddenly hardened and how her gaze had grown distant. "When you choose to become a ninja, you have to be aware that your life is at stake but more than that there is your village and sometimes the whole country with all its people behind you. That's why I think a shinobi must always question and challenge himself to go the extra mile and not rely on levels or abilities."
His own teammates? She had never really thought of Kakashi as a youngster who had learned how to become a ninja too... In her eyes, that made him a bit less detestable.
"What happened to your teammates?" she asked out of a concern which was genuine to her own surprise. She could guess what his answer would be though.
"They died in missions" he answered before getting his book out of his pocket. "Now, we're not here to have a chat around a cup of tea, are we? So back to training!"
Ayane silently executed his words by lying on the ground again and closing her eyes. It just happened to her that Kakashi's behaviour could be a way to prevent people to see the real him, just like that mask on his face. Could it all be a façade hiding old scars that weren't closed yet? Maybe she had been too quick at judging him after all.
"Has her memory been searched?" the stranger asked.
"Yes but nothing came out of it" Tsunade answered. "It looks like her memories of the event were erased. You'll find everything you need to know in this file."
After three weeks, the Rain country had finally sent someone to investigate on their fellow ninjas' murders. Tsunade didn't know about the tall auburn-haired kunoichi standing in front of her desk. But she guessed that if she had been sent on her own, she had to be an extremely competent shinobi. She'd have to ask Shizune to do a complete search on her. She didn't know why but she didn't trust the woman.
"Is she under surveillance?" the Rain ninja asked while having a quick look through the file.
Had she ever been taught to look people in the face when she was talking to them? "She is not a prisoner, is she? Moreover, she is my niece: I know her and I trust her" Tsunade bluntly stated, her voice firm and slightly louder than before. She might be speaking as Ayane's aunt there but she still was the Hokage and had to be respected as such. Luckily for her, the Rain woman looked up from the file the instant she heard Tsunade's tone had changed. Is it me or is she standing straighter all of a sudden? What an impressive and commanding Hokage I make! Tsunade inwardly complimented herself.
"I'm sure you do, Lord Hokage. But do you know what she will do when she recovers her memory? Are you sure she won't try to take revenge on the person who killed her sister and her teammates?" the other woman questioned.
Who does she think she is talking to in that condescending tone? Tsunade now officially hated her. However, this was her opportunity to make sure the Rain pest didn't get too close to her niece.
"I guess that too much precaution is better than none. I will have one of my ninjas keep a close look on her" Tsunade pretended to consent.
"I'd also need to spend quite a lot of time with her. I may find a way to trigger her memory recovery" the Rain kunoichi went on.
Anything else, honey? Tsunade thought wryly. "I'll arrange a meeting between you, Ayane and her guard then. You may want to see my assistant, Shizune: she'll find a place where you can stay." I'll just make sure it isn't too nice though, the blond woman mischievously added in her mind.
"Thank you, Lord Hokage" the other one replied, taking her leave.
It felt strange to Ayane to be in her sister's room. On the one hand, it was like Aneko was still here with her. But, on the other hand, it made her ache for her presence even more. For now, she chose to cling to the first impression...
While opening Aneko's white wardrobe, she fell upon her sister's dress. Aneko had never been into girly stuff and that was probably the only dress she had ever had from the day she had been able to decide by herself what to wear. It was a plain white summer dress yet Ayane had always loved it. She left it where it was though because she knew the dress wouldn't fit her: she and her sister didn't have the same figure...
Then she directed her attention to Aneko's photo albums which were stored in a box at the bottom of the wardrobe. There were family pictures as well as pictures Ayane had never seen before. Some were photos featuring Aneko and some of her friends among whom she recognized Iruka-sensei. Others pictured Ayane's sister with her former team back to the time when she was a genin. There Ayane stopped on one of Aneko's teammates who looked younger than the other two but also oddly familiar: a serious-looking boy with jet black hair, dark eyes and a pale face. Girls might have find him cute though he wasn't Ayane's style at all... However hard she tried, she couldn't put a name on that face. Lately, I don't remember anything anyway, she thought bitterly.
When she closed the album, her eyes fell upon something that cheered her up a bit: a pile of shoe boxes! She and her sister were the same size and Ayane loved shoes... Actually, "fixation" would have been more appropriate in her case. She was the owner of an impressive collection of shoes of all sizes, styles and colours. She had left most of them behind her when she and Aneko left for the Rain village. Anyway, over there, all you really needed was a good pair of wellies... It had been quite comfortable to her to find them all again in her old room when she came back to Konoha. Many of them were presents from Aneko who used to offer her a new pair on every special occasion.
The shoes she took out from the first box were really worn out but the second pair -white sandals with silvery threads forming a discreet pattern of arabesques and flowers- fitted her a dream. All the expectations she had built as to the third box were shattered when she found out it didn't contain shoes. But when she realized she had discovered her sister's old diaries, she soon forgot about the shoes, or almost...
It was quite easy to guess by the state of the cover which one was the most recent. They all had a lock on them. She could have broken them easily by turning the metal into ice. But, first, she wasn't supposed to use her ninja techniques yet. And, then, she remembered that she tried that trick once when she was younger and, when she opened Aneko's diary, an exploding tag reading "if you don't close me in three seconds, I'll explode in your nosy face" greeted her. She didn't take any foolish risk: she closed it on the spot and never tried to peek into her sister's diary again.
Yes, Ayane was a curious girl but, if she ever was to read Aneko's intimate thoughts, she wanted to do it in a fair way, namely by finding the code opening the lock. Even though reading her diary would bring her sister back to her for a moment, she also feared to find out things she shouldn't know about...
While she was lost in her thoughts fiddling with the diary, a photo fell out from it and fluttered down under the bed. But Ayane didn't notice it.
"How are the lessons going, Kakashi?" Tsunade asked.
"Ayane is making quick progress." And she's also quick at making a fuss, he inwardly commented. "I think she'll be able to start training again on her techniques very soon."
"Good. I'll schedule an x-ray to see if her chakra vessels are okay then. By the way, a Rain ninja named Shimazawa Reika has just arrived to investigate on what happened to the Rain team" she went on, her voice quivering a bit at the mention of her niece's murder.
"I know her. We worked together on a mission in the Rain country." Actually, we did more than just work together... I hope I won't have to meet her.
"Then, you must know she is specialized in getting information out of people and that she is apparently a mind reader."
"She is indeed" he agreed. And her mind reading could have proved tricky more than once. Luckily, Kakashi had the sharingan which probably helped him avoid many inconveniences with the Rain kunoichi.
"I won't hide the fact that I don't particularly trust her. I'm afraid she could go too far with Ayane to get the information she needs. Moreover, our investigator pointed out the fact that Ayane might want to take revenge on her own. That is why she needs a guardian" Tsunade explained.
I don't like where this is heading, Kakashi thought. It smells like trouble...
"That guardian will be you, Kakashi. To fulfil that mission, you will have to move in with her" Tsunade concluded. She was now looking intently at him, leaning on her elbows with her chin resting on her folded hands.
What?! No way! Up to now, Kakashi had had many dangerous missions but this one was going to drive him barmy. He could handle training her because when the session was over, he could go back home and think about something else. But if he had to live with her, his home would be her home as well and that meant he would have no way out... When that bloody mission's over, if I outlive it, I should have at least the right to retire earlier or even on the spot... Being a ninja was definitely a risky job! Of course, he couldn't say that to the Hokage who happened to be the girl's aunt...
"Are you sure I'm the best suited to that mission, Hokage-sama? She might be more comfortable with a woman" he tentatively pointed out, hoping it would be enough to make her change her mind though he seriously doubted it.
"I'm sure you are, Kakashi, and for many reasons" Tsunade began. That was starting off badly for him. "First, you went through the same ordeal she's currently in. Then, you are her present teacher: she is used to you now. But, still, you aren't too close to her which means you are objective enough to find the most appropriate way to deal with her."
Kakashi knew that Tsunade-sama was a convincing and clever woman who always had the last word in every matter. But, still, he had to try his luck and fight for his freedom and sanity. Moreover, since he was training her, he felt like he was turning into a second Gai, always lecturing her about how to be a good ninja. Maybe that was what was frightening him the most...
"You said Ayane could wish to start a crusade against the enemy. You know I couldn't stop Sasuke from doing so. How do you know I won't fail again?" he sincerely asked, feeling a pang of sadness at the mention of his lost student.
"I don't think you failed, Kakashi. You did your best and so did Naruto and Sakura. You were always there for him... Anyway, Sasuke and Ayane are different cases. Moreover, you seem to know that Rain ninja which is a huge asset."
That made four to two for Tsunade: might as well say that the match was pretty much lost for Kakashi...
"And I'm not sure it's good for Ayane to remain alone in that big house full of memories" the blond woman added.
5-2!
"I'm not much of an entertainer" Kakashi put in. 5-3: a ray of hope?
"I'm not asking you to entertain her. I just want you to keep an eye on her. Consider her as you new student! I'd like you to be in my office tomorrow morning with Ayane to settle all that" Tsunade finished off her argumentation as well as Kakashi without knowing it.
Game over! An annoying teenager plus an ex-lover and mind reader: this was going to be hell...
Tell me what you thought about it! Thanks for reading :)