Fading Love
By: Kaname Hatake
Recap-
"Lastly," the sensei stated, "we have a special addition. This team will have an extra member. Kaname Hatake? Will you please step fourth?" The blue eyed teen blinked in confusion.
"Me?" she questioned. Iruka nodded.
"Hai." Kaname warily walked the stairs to the sensei and received her red medic ninja headband. Life from now on would be… interesting.
Chapter 4: I'm On a Team with Sr. Cockatoo, Mr. Ego, and Mrs. Icy- Hot… Great.
++Reality hadn't hit Kaname until she found herself being shaken by Aya.
"Hellooooo? Kaname? Snap outta it!" Aya yelled, snapping her fingers in front of the Hatake's eyes. When there was no response, she made a small gasp. "I think she's in shock!" Her voice was dripping with false surprise, but still, no response. Aya sighed. "Look, it can't be worse than my team! I'm with Lee and Neji along with our strange Sensei, Might- Guy." Aya laughed when Kaname just slumped lower. Then, something hit her. getting a dark smile on her face, Aya did the unexpected. Lowering her voice, she leaned down to the stunned teen and whispered, "Hn… Baka…" It was a perfect replica of Sasuke's voice.
"ACK!" Kaname yelped, covering her ears with her hands, her eyes screwed shut. "No! Go away, go away! Ass hole!" Kaname continued to whimper. It wasn't until she heard Aya's suppressed laughter that she looked up to see her friend, not Sasuke.
"He." She said, still in SASUKE Mode.
"Aya," Kaname shook, anime tears running down her face, "you're cruel." Aya simply stuck her tongue out and gave her friend the piece sign.
"But really," the brunette with the signal strip of pink sighed, "it's really not THAT bad…"
Kaname laughed dully. "Not that bad, eh? It's just Sasuke. He irks me to no end. And then there's his ego problem! He thinks he's superior to everyone!"
"He is…" Aya muttered. She was in a headlock a moment later.
"Nani? I didn't quite catch that!" Kaname growled.
"It's… nothing!"
Aya laughed and then stopped.
"Hey, She's waiting for me over there, so I'll catch up with you two later, ok?" Aya was also best friends with That Girl; lord knows how someone as nice as her can be friends with someone as cold hearted as the White Haired Demon… Kaname smiled softly and waved goodbye as Aya ran off to meet Her.
-X-
Aya followed the path along the road a bit more to meet her best friend.
"Yo!" she greeted. The Girl merely inclined her head a bit.
"Any thing new?" The demon questioned. Aya's happy façade fell and went into stone.
"No, nothing new… Seriously, the girls too dumb to know anything." Aya chuckled darkly as the girl smirked.
"Good," she said, leaning back against the tree, "let's keep it that way." Aya smiled.
"No problem." Self consciously though, the teen wondered what the big secret was that The Girl was trying to keep from Kaname.
From what She had told her, it had to do with her memory lose. Anytime Kaname seemed like she had remembered something about her past or was close to, the eldest Sarutobi was to tell Her and have it taken care of. For whatever reason, Kaname's past had been a bloody one, one that should stay hidden in the depths of the snow forever.
Coming back to reality, Aya realized She was stairing at her… with a smirk… shit, this can't be good.
"What?" she innocently asked.
"Nothing really…" The Girl sighed as she pushed herself off the tree. "We'll be in touch." Faintly, Aya caught the white haired girl smile at her. Now that is rare! Something was going on.
"What's with the smile?"
"I'm not allowed to smile?"
"Well… I guess you are, but you always have a reason!"
"Maybe it's cause you're my best friend."
"I'm your ONLY friend!"
"Not true, I have Sasuke too."
"He practically OWNS you."
She sighed and sauntered over to the brunette.
"He doesn't own me, I just… I can't refuse him, okay?" Aya laughed.
"Okay, okay… you win." The girl smiled again and patted Aya on the head. Aya was a special friend. They had met when they were about eight, and they had become inseparable. I guess that was only possible because it was before the Uchiha massacre; before She turned her heart to ice. Aya was the eldest daughter to Sarutobi Asuma, followed by her sister Kaitlyn. Aya was pretty sweet to strangers, but the people who knew her know otherwise. Aya was a little devil in angel wings!
"That's a good bunny! Now, go get me more information!"
"Rodger!" Aya chirped.
As Aya wondered off to spy on Kaname, the wolf demons smile dropped.
"Why couldn't she have believed that I was smiling for her?"
Is it really so hard to think that no matter how cold she acted, she was still human? I guess we'll never know.
~x~
The next three weeks flew by. Team 7 went through ruff training via Kakashi. He had never taken a student other than Kaname, so he didn't go easy on the others. That Girl barely broke a sweat, and Sasuke and Daiske were toe to toe in everything, constantly bickering and attempting to beat each other, much like Naruto and Sasuke.
Now, Kaname was a different story. Each day seemed so much harder than the other. She barely got any sleep, and practically needed an ice bath after every session. By far, she was the worst on the team! If only she could just apologize to Kakashi and maybe have him help her with all the ludicrous exercise! But no! Whenever she thought about it, her stupid, stupid inner would tell her that he should be apologizing to her! Gah!
Groggily, the teen opened her eyes and peeled off her covers. Her head hung low as she stumbled into the bathroom.
"Good morning…" a low voice muttered in her ear. A kiss was quickly placed on the orangey-brown haired girl's cheek before she had time to register.
"Ah! Daiske!" she screeched. She clawed at her cheek as she punched the brown head out the door.
"Oi!" he yelled. "What the hell!"
Kaname's back was against the cool door as she attempted to cool her flustered face. "That's my line!" she retorted. "What the heck are you doing in my house, no, my room!" Kaname heard a shuffle of feet from behind the door before Daiske's soft voice replied.
"I, uh, Kakashi- Sensei asked me to make sure you were up. Sasuke and the other girl are downstairs too. We have our first real mission today." His voice got a little bit excited at his last declaration. Kaname smirked.
"Really?"
"Ya! So hurry up!"
Kaname didn't have to be told twice. She stripped down and dressed into her normal ninja clothing, her purple tee that showed a little netting and her leggings.
"Ready!" she yelled as she ran down the stairs.
"Took you long enough…" her dark haired teammate commented. Kaname stuck her tongue out at Sasuke.
"Very mature," Daiske smirked. Kaname giggled, suddenly in very high spirits. There first real mission… she couldn't stop saying it!
"We don't have time to be giddy Kaname," Kakashi stated. Kaname glared at him.
"Ya, ya, whatever…" she mumbled. The white haired girl looked over her shoulder at Kaname.
"Hurry up and eat, we don't have time to chit-chat."
"Is everyone grumpy this morning or what?" the Hatake whispered incoherently under her breath.
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
"Kakashi!" a loud voice rumbled. "It's time to embrace our youthful mission! Is your team ready?"
Everyone in the kitchen sweat dropped.
"Who the heck is that?" she questioned. Kakashi sighed.
"Our partners for the mission… Team—"
*BAM!*
The kitchen door flew open to reveal a tall muscular man with huge eye brows and a bowl cut. His green jump suit and jounin jacked completed his dorky look.
"Team Guy, at your service!"
Everything went silent. Behind Guy, who was still striking a thumbs up and a blindingly white smile, were Neji Hyuuga, Rock Lee, and Aya.
"Aya!" Kaname and The Girl said in unison. Kaname's was chipper, while Hers was questionable.
"Hey!" she smiled. The look on her face was one of embarrassment that read oh-my-god-I-can't-believe-this-guy-is-my-sensei... Then she smiled deviously at Kaname. "I never thought we'd all be on a mission together! And it looks as though Kaname and Sasuke have improved! There not at each other's throats."
Kaname looked over at Sasuke. His hands were folded tightly over his chest, and he was leaning against the wall next to her. Aya was right. Kaname still hated the sorry excuse for a human, but she had learned that he wasn't as horrible as he seemed. Last week when they were picking up trash in the river, Kaname had slipped and got swept away by the current. She almost went over the waterfall, but thankfully Sasuke managed to catch her in time. When he got her to shore, he actually looked… concerned. He even lent her his shirt… Kaname blushed a bit at the memory.
'What the heck!' she thought. 'Why am I remembering that?'
"What's next," Aya teased, "dating?" Kaname snorted.
"You wish!"
Sasuke just "hn'ed."
The boy with brown hair and pale eyes, Neji, stared intensely at Aya. Kaname couldn't help but notice a soft vibe coming from him. It was directed towards his female teammate.
"What about you two, eh?" Kaname smirked as she looked between Aya and Neji. "When's the honeymoon?"
Neji's eyes widened.
"What the fuck are you talking about?" he spat coldly.
Aya nodded. "y-yeah! What do you mean?"
Kaname giggled. "Geeze Neji-san, is your headband on a bit too tight? It was only a joke! I can tell you two are close, though."
Lee laughed heartedly. "Yes, my youthful teammates are full of surprises!"
Lee didn't say another word after receiving two deadly glares from his friends.
Kakashi cleared his throat. "Sorry to cut the fun, but it's time to explain the mission." Everyone's faces became serious as they gathered outside and next to the tall oak tree.
"Ok, here's the deal. Hokage-Sama has asked us to retrieve an important medical scroll that was stolen last week… It's said to be found in Tanzaku Gai, a town near Konoha. It's about a day's journey, so be prepared! We leave in 20 minutes, got it?"
"Hai!"
"Okay!" Guy said in a false American accent, "Let's gooooo!"
~x~
Team 7 and Team 9 ran through the trees, jumping from branch to branch. Kakashi was leading, with Guy following close behind, and then came That Girl, Sasuke and Daiske, Kaname, Aya, Lee and Neji.
Kaname looked over at Aya and smirked. "Aya, why aren't you next to Neji?" Aya hit her over the head and The girl smothered a smile and shook her head back and forth. As if taking in the possibilities, Aya changed her mind and hung her head out of embarrassment.
"I think I will go talk to Neji-kun…" then realizing what she called him she quickly corrected herself, "I mean Neji! Damn!" she muttered under her breath while The girl put an arm around her shoulders.
"Go get him, you little rabbit!"
The bunny like girl smiled at her nickname. "Thanks…will do…"
Kaname cheered in a high pitched squeal, taking on a slight Naruto-ish sound. "I knew it!" she crowed. That girl just shook her head out of annoyance, while Aya laughed softly to herself.
Quickly, Aya jumped to the next branch and gracefully flipped backwards over Lee, landing right next to her byakugan using companion. Neji brightened at the sight of his beautiful team mate, not that he would show it.
"Hey there," the Sarutobi smiled. Neji gave her a sideways glance and then muttered a hard 'hello'.
Neji growled inwardly at himself, 'Why didn't I say anything? I'm such a jerk! Look at her smile falter!" he yelled in his head.
Aya sighed. This guy was pretty harsh. He barely ever spoke, and when he did, it was to yell at Lee for failing at life. Sometimes, if she was lucky, she could strike up a conversation with him, but it only lasted a few minutes, and you could always look forward to an awkward silence afterwards.
Still, Aya had always been attracted to Neji. There was no secret there. But she had come to truth with the fact that she could just be attracted to him because he was strong. What could she say; she had a fetish for strong guys.
"So," she said, hopping today might be the day she could actually make good conversation with her friend, "this mission is going to be a piece of cake!" Neji merely grunted.
'Ok… not what I intended,' Aya thought. Maybe if I complement him he'll become more talkative… "You look so strong when you fight. Especially Gentle Fist Technique. How long did it take you to master?"
Neji's voice finally showed some emotion. "A few days. Why? You know you can't learn it, right?" Aya looked at him almost angrily.
"Yes. I know that. I just meant that you looked really powerful. Take a compliment." She spat with a steel edge barely etching into her reply. He again slapped himself for offending her. This is why he never spoke to her, in fear of embarrassing himself or hurting her. Aya looked away from Neji as she spoke.
"Neji…do you feel that strange chakra…?" Aya asked with fake worry filling her voice.
Neji automatically stiffened and activated his Byakuugan. "No. I don't see anything. Are you sure you felt it?" Aya turned tomato red and answered in a soft voice.
"No. I didn't feel anything. I'm sorry…I just meant to impress you…" Neji stiffened again, but this time from surprise. He turned sharply to face Aya, his brown locks flying.
"You don't ever need to try and impress me. You already do, Aya," he stated fiercely. Aya looked at him, electric green eyes wide.
"I-I-I…really?" she asked him out of pure disbelief. He nodded and softly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Eep! Neji-kun, you're the best! I'd hug you right now if we weren't dodging tree limbs!" The Hyuuga blushed a bit. She smiled and blushed too, but her face soon turned grave as she inclined her head toward the trees on her left. "Neji-kun…do you sense that chak-" Neji sighed.
" Aya really-" he broke off seeing a masked ninja with a gloved hand over Aya's nose and mouth, blocking her oxygen. Aya kicked violently and elbowed him in the gut.
The man grunted upon having the air knocked out of him. "Brat!" he rasped.
"Aya!" Neji screamed. The rest of the team turned around sharply at the sound of the beautiful teen's name being yelled out.
On a branch behind all of them, Aya was being held hostage by a tall man.
"Let her go!" That Girl yelled, her voice semi- strained. Kaname whipped her head to look at her white haired teammate in confusion. She knew that Aya and she were best friends, but never did Kaname think she would hear Her sound worried!
The man laughed. "I don't think so kiddies. Any of you come any close and this Kunai," he pulled out a Kunai and moved it over her body, "meets this beauty's throat."
"Let our youthful lily down, you un-youthful monster!" Guy- Sensei snapped, his hands balled into tight fists. Kaname glanced at Sasuke and he silently nodded. Then she looked at That Girl.
'We'll try that move!' she mentally ordered. That girl gave the Hatake a sideways glance and inclined her head. Next, That Girl mentally notified Daiske the plan using her telepathy. He smirked and grinned evilly, knowing what was coming.
A slight breeze blew through the air, static tingling Kaname's skin.
"Now!" Kaname yelled. In a moment, Daiske appeared behind the kidnapper and threw a punch. The Earth ninja dodged easily, using Aya as his shield, and sidestepped the blow. In return, Daiske reached out to grab Aya, who was currently in the open. Right as his hands skimmed past her arms, Sasuke flew past with his giant shirikin and threw it at the stranger.
The guy barely had time to react as he bent backwards, barley avoiding the near head on collision. Flipping, he had just enough time to see Her racing at him, her hand filled with demonic chakra. The hand went straight through his chest with a sickening crush. Blood spewed from his mouth as she wrenched her hand out of his stomach.
But something was wrong… he suddenly disappeared, and all that was left was a log.
"Fuck!" a voice yelled from below. The white haired girl looks downs to see a log instead of Aya in Daiske's shaking arms.
"Byakugan!" Neji yelled. Silently, he scanned the area. 'Damn, damn, damn!' he cursed himself. 'How could I have let this happen? She was right next to me! And I couldn't even help to try and save her!' Unexpectedly, an eerie chuckle enveloped the clearing.
"You think you can beat me with such armature antics?"
"He's up there," Lee yelled at Neji. The Hyuuga looked towards where the taijutsu-users finger was pointing. Up in a tree a couple yards away stood their friend and the Earth nin.
"All you need to do is bring me the scroll. Then, you get the girl," he smirked as fear flew through Aya's round orbs.
Neji, being the smart ninja, asked the million dollar question. "Will she be dead or alive?" The man smirked once again.
"Well, we'll just see when you deliver the scroll."
"Why is it so important?" Kaname screeched. "It's just a medical scroll!"
Aya's captor laughed. "Is that what you Hokage-Baka told you?" Everyone glanced around uneasily. "Heh, typical…"
"What's typical?" Lee yelled.
"It's TYPICAL that your stupid Hokage wouldn't tell you what that scroll REALLY is!"
That Girl gasped softly.
"It… can't be…" she whispered. The man glanced in her direction.
"Ah… Looks as if one of you bugs knows whats going on… I'll leave her to explain it to you." Before anyone could stop him, the villain and Aya disappeared in a puff of smoke. Lingering in the air were his final words. "Meet me in Otafuku Gai when you have it. Then, you can have her back…"
~x~
Team Kakashi and Team Guy walked sadly into their hotel rooms.
"Damn it!" Kaname growled, hitting her fist hard against the hotel sink. How could this have happened! The plan was bullet proof: get to Tanzaku Gai, get the scroll, and go home. Mission accomplished! How could Aya have been taken out of the equation! Kaname couldn't even fathom an answer.
That girl sat slowly on her bed. Her face was hard as the same questions flew through her head. She glanced at Kaname, who was warily preparing for a hot shower.
'Heh… what is with that girl and her showers,' she thought as she followed Kaname around the room with her eyes. Kaname, feeling the icy gaze on her back, turned and approached the girl.
"Okay," she stated, "let's clear something up." The Girl just blankly stared back at Kaname's gray blue orbs. The Hatake felt her lip twitch in anger. "I really don't like you, and you really hate me." That was a fact, not an analysis.
"If you say so," her female teammate sighed.
"But—"
The white haired teen looked back at Kaname.
"—we have to get Aya back… and to do that, I'll even work with you." The girl smirked and stood up, looking down at Kaname who was a good three inches shorter.
"Funny," her eyes flashed with venom, "I was about to say the same thing."
The brunette shifted uneasily, but didn't take her glare off Her.
"Glad we're on the same page," Kaname managed to say without stuttering. With that, Kaname grabbed her towel and exit to the bathroom.
-X-
'Does this kid ever shut up?' Sasuke wondered as Daiske hummed a song to himself. The lone Uchiha sighed and fell back onto his bed.
"Hey Sasuke?" Daiske questioned. The raven haired kids grunted in reply. "Do you think Aya-san is alright?"
Sasuke looked over at his dark brown haired teammate. Even though Aya and he weren't that close, he was still worried about her. She was That Girls best friend, no, only friend. You know, besides him… but he practically owned her.
Over the years, he had become accustom to seeing Aya and having a small talk with her sometimes.
"Aya is tough," he finally answered. "I can bet you that by the time we get there, she will already be out and running home."
Daiske seemed to brighten at the statement. "Good… She seems pretty important to Kaname. I hate seeing her upset."
Sasuke's eye brows burrowed together. Then he turned over, his back facing Daiske.
"Hn. Whatever." Then he got up and grabbed a towel. "I'm going to go shower."
"Is that an invitation?" Daiske smirked. A towel was furiously thrown at his face.
"Get your mind outta the gutter, Kyoto!" Sasuke growled, grabbing a different towel and disappearing out the door.
~x~
Kaname dipped her feet into the hot water to test the temperature. She sighed happily. 'Perfect…' the girl purred. Kaname peeled the fluffy white towel from her slim body and sank into the bubbly abyss.
"This is heaven," she moaned as she sank even further. Kaname's body ached. She hadn't run that far in a while. For a ninja, she really needed to step up her game!
The bubbly water came was up to her upper chest, enough to cover her thoroughly, so she turned the faucet off and let the silence sink in. Then she slid even farther than before, the water now covering her mouth, her nose still sticking out.
"Aya…" she mumbled incoherently under the water. Kaname still couldn't comprehend that her friend wasn't next door with her noisy team.
The Hatake didn't know how long she was in there, but she soon felt her fingers pruning. The water splashed as she sat up to grab her shampoo.
"1, 2, 3!" Taking a deep breath, she submerged herself completely under water, and then with a small gasp, re-emerged and began to lather the raspberry scented cleaner through her hair. After she washed it out, she conditioned, washed her body of the days grime, shaved, and rinsed the conditioner out.
Kaname took one last full body dip under the warm water, but lingered a moment. It just felt too good to move…
Just then there was a knock on the door.
"Hey, anyone in here?" The voice belonged to Sasuke.
There was no reply.
Kaname came back up, standing in the process. A bit of water splashed out of the tub. The girl grabbed her towel and wrapped it back around herself, and began searching for her brush.
Then the door opened.
Eyes round, the teen span around, water flying from her hair. In the doorway stood a blushing Sasuke.
"I, UH, UM….!" He mumbled, his face shock stricken.
Kaname started to shake as she clutched her towel closer to her body.
"P—PERVERT!" she shouted, hurling anything in sight at the man. "Stop staring and get out! Eek! " Sasuke had already begun backing out, but froze when a certain article of clothing landed in his hair.
Kaname gasped, he face reddening even more. Everything was still.
That Girl chose then of all moment to walk by.
"Nice hair Uchiha," she giggled as flicked Kaname's white underwear from off his head, not even bothering to stop to admire the scene. "Hurry up in their Kaname. Other people need there showers, too," she stated, her voice drifting from down the hallway.
Sasuke finally averted his eyes away from Kaname's naked-ish body and looked at the ground. "I… um… I'll come back later…" With that, he quickly spun on his heel and high tailed it back to his room.