lt was dark by the time Kakashi awoke from his nap, but he had no problem seeing the outline of Vexyne across from him. Her chest rose and fell in steady rhythm. He remembered that they had forgotten to reapply her bandages and mentally slapped himself. She would surely scold him in the morning for allowing her to get distracted. Her sensei didn't think the sun was the actual reason she wore them, but the same with his mask everybody had their own personal quirks about things.
He really had meant to go straight to bed once he woke up but somehow he found himself squatted down beside his unconscious student, peering at her face that was barely illuminated by the glow of the moon. It looked troubled, stressed almost. He wondered if she was having a bad dream or something. She didn't stir a bit though and it was really sort of frustrating. He sorely wanted to know what was going on in that complicated mind of hers.
His thoughts also drifted back to that story she had told him. Something was definitely wrong with it. You don't just wake up blind. Could it have been Orochimaru? With all the rumors flying around it wouldn't be surprising. Whoever it was, there was something that they felt in her eyes that apparently needed hiding. Kakashi just hoped that it was repairable. Vexyne did not deserve to live without seeing the world, and just think of the Konoichi she'd make! Why did life have to be so damn difficult sometimes?
"Do it again, Sasuke! I want to see you come at Vexyne with full intent!"
They had been working on being as silent and undetectable as possible Vexyne was great practice for refining how much you can suppress your chakra signature. She has been with them for more than a week now, and her progress has increased considerably. All of theirs have.
This time, Sasuke got almost close enough to her to smell the shampoo of her hair, before she counter attacked with a kunai that nearly slit his throat. She was toying with him, and she grinned while the bells jingled around her neck. She was sitting in the dirt with a circle drawn around her while a ribbon held the bells from the original teams first mission around her neck securely. Though this time, it isn't about teamwork. It was about pure skill, and so far, Sasuke had been the only one to breach the circle. It seemed to steadily be falling in his favor, however, because the pile of weapons Vexyne had available was steadily decreasing. Since she wasn't allowed outside the barrier it was inevitable that the mock fight would be ending soon.
This would be a relief to everyone involved, because they had been at it for 5 hours now. It was already getting dark outside, and it would only be a matter of time before Naruto whined about his stomach again. Kakashi was the only one who was beside himself at the improvements. He really hoped that her senses would stay strong once she got her eyes back. That was another thing, Tsunade was trying out a type of Genjutsu therapy to see the inner workings of her mind and try to find the seal. Even though there was always a possibility that it wasn't one, this was better than sitting idle. So far they hadn't found anything except that Vexyne had a lot of barriers in her mind, which was really surprising since she was usually so open about her opinions. When you think about it though, her circumstances are secretive to begin with. In any case, everyone was anticipating the answers.
Aside from the advances in recovery, Vexyne really hadn't had much contact with anyone other than Tsunade, Shizune, and her squad. This was decided by Kakashi, who wanted to let her get used to things before she mingled with the rest of the village. Now that she has shown herself capable it seemed she should met the others sooner or later. It was whispered about that Kakashi was training a new student, but he never confirmed or denied it, even to his fellow Jounin. Tonight he planned with the other Sensei to meet up in the forest for their monthly group lesson. It was something they came up with together while planning practice missions one night. Of course, everyone was on different levels of training but there were some subjects that they could teach together such as the issue of Seduction Missions, tactics commonly used to force information from captives, and just basic teenage stuff like health class and Sex Ed. This gives the kids a chance to mingle in a relaxed environment, and the teachers get a sadistic joy of embarrassing an entire group at once. What better place than this to reveal his special project?
"Sensei did you hear me? I asked you if we could finish this up."
Vexynes voice came out irritated but in a normal tone. Kakashi pulled out of his thoughts and looked over to his exasperated students. He chuckled "Yeah, go home for now. But remember, we have group lesson tonight so bring your notes. I expect everyone to show up this time," he added, shooting a glance at Naruto. The ninja only smiled and nodded his head. Vexyne was staring at her Sensei with a curious expression, though, and since her bandages had been abandoned with some coaxing, her eyes shone brightly with her pressing questions.
"Group lesson? Does this mean I get to meet the other students?"
"Yes. You have been doing excellent so far and I believe you could recognize one of us in a crowd, so I have no fears for your safety."
She pouted "I don't need you to become my father, Kakashi-Sensei. I could know your lazy ass drawling voice from anywhere. Naruto always smells like ramen, Sasuke walks like a cocky bastard, and Sakura-chan giggles a lot." Her tone was playful and she pointed in the general direction of her teammates. Naruto laughed loudly and Sasuke rolled his eyes.
"See! I told you Teme!"
"Hn. Shut up Dobe. She said you smell."
At this point, Kakashi rolled his eyes and sighed. "Alright everyone, go home now before I make you try for the bells again."
They hurried up and retrieved the discarded weapons before heading their separate ways. Sensei and student walked home in silence. There was no need for talking; both just simply enjoyed the others presence. Kakashi's chakra signature had become something of a comfort zone for Vexyne, especially since she was around him more than any other human being. Little did she know he was calmed by hers in the same way.
"So what did you end up buying with Sakura?" Kakashi asked, eyeing the various piles of folded fabric that were stacked neatly on his coffee table. It seemed that some had visibly less material than others and he was afraid that they might be thongs.
"Oh, just some cooler clothes for the summer." she answered from the bathroom. "I'm going to take a shower, so I'll show you in a second."
Kakashi nodded out of habit, and decided to wait idly in the kitchen. Her showers don't usually take long, and he had time to spare before the lesson. Just as predicted, within 10 minutes she was walking out with a towel in hand, but what she was wearing completely threw him off guard. Her outfit was the typical all black, but it was more mesh than anything. A wide band of fabric covered her chest, with a mesh tube top over it. Her shorts that used to go down to her knees were now resting above mid thigh, with mesh extending to her knees. Her gloves were now short and fingerless. The transformation was stunning and practical.
"Its a lot cooler now, even though I told Sakura I only wanted black fabric. Worrying over color is just a waste of time for me." she said, taking a new hair tie and twisting up the violet cascade into a high but messy bun. Kakashi was for once grateful she couldn't see him, because he was blushing madly and a problem was starting to rise again. Her body was so curvy and developed, it just tore his nerves all to pieces.
"Well.." he cleared his throat. "It looks nice. We should probably be going now."
He hoped his voice didn't seem too strained. It would really be an issue keeping himself under control while he was standing in front of the entire group giving a lecture.
Though Kakashi still felt uneasy about Vexynes new attire, there was no way he would deny her a chance to make friends. He would simply keep a close eye on her. On the other hand, Sasuke was extremely anxious about his teammate meeting some of the others. She was very attractive, and most of the guys that would be there were pervy. Kiba would surely make a move on her, and he was suspicious of that bastard Neji as well. He was so full of himself he would think he could date someone like her. Though he wouldn't admit it, he was also very aware of Naruto and Kakashi. He would just have to make sure that Vexyne stayed by him.
As usual, the lesson had already started by the time those two arrived. Guy-Sensei was on the platform about to lecture them more on the art of Seduction. Pointless as it seemed, if they chose to enter ANBU, at least once someone would have to go on a Seduction Mission. When Kakashi entered the clearing, with Vexyne in tow, Sasukes heart skipped a beat. He knew Sakura and her had went shopping, but he didn't realize they did THAT kind of shopping. Her eyes seemed to glow under the paper lanterns that were hung about the trees. Sakura, who had been sitting beside him talking to Hinata, turned her head and smiled.
"...And there she is now. Hey Vexyne! You look great!" she called out, bringing all the attention to the beautiful new girl that was joining them. She turned her head towards Sakuras voice and stopped with a smile and a wave.
"Thanks Sakura-Chan. I'll go over there in a minute."
Sakura turned back to Hinata. "That's the girl I was telling you about. I think her and Neji would make a cute couple since they're both really smart."
"She needs to get out and meet some people now that sensei is going to let her join the group. She is even getting a headband issued soon."
"I see... but still...I-I don't think N-Neji-kun.." Hinata started, her pale eyes flickering over to her cousin.
"Neji is really smart right? Maybe they have some things in common! You should talk to him for her! Introduce them during the break."
"I guess...b-b-but..."
He kept his face calm, but on the inside Sasuke was livid, and he really didn't understand why. Why should he care if his teammate got involved with someone? It wasn't any of his business. It was probably because she was blind, and some other person wouldn't know how to take care of her if something happened. Yeah. That's it. Because she was blind.
All the while he told himself this, a little flame in the back of his mind told him that maybe he was beginning to like this beautiful smart ninja.
Kakashi led Vexyne over to where his fellow Jounin were looking at him with slight confusion.
"So the rumors are true, aye Kakashi? Is this the new student I've been hearing about?" Asuma asked, taking a long drag from his half finished cigarette.
"Yes. Vexyne, this is Asuma-Sensei. He is in charge of Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji."
She smiled "Well, its nice to meet you Asuma."
Kakashi placed a hand on her shoulder "Her training has been coming along quite well."
Kurenai drew up beside Asuma with a gentle smile. "I'm Kurenai. I teach Kiba, Shino, and Hinata. If you need anything you can come to me, since I know how Kakashi can be." She shot a look at Kakashis' frowning face and laughed.
Vexyne blushed "Sensei is good to me, but I will keep that in mind Kurenai-Sensei."
"I had better get Vexyne situated now, and then we can get on with the lesson." her squeezed her shoulder gently "I'll introduce you more during the break."
She had cocked her head towards the sitting area, where people were chatting lively. "Alright, Sensei. I wanna go sit by my team."
He nodded, taking her hand and leading her to the bench where Naruto patted the space beside him. "Here Vexyne, I saved you a seat!"
"Thank you Naruto-kun." She let go of Kakashi and scooted beside the blond. Meanwhile, Asuma and Kurenai stared at them with wide eyes.
"What was that all about?" Kurenai asked, looking to her partner.
"She is blind. Did you notice the way she didn't look directly at us when we spoke? I heard from Tsunade that she had an injury, but I was expecting a broken arm or leg. This will be very interesting."
Kakashi walked back quickly, trying to ignore Guys annoying voice as he talked about some of the ways you can seduce people. It was really kind of gross, having someone like him educate people on sex. Gross and extremely disturbing.