Fading Love
By: Kaname Hatake
Before I start, I think you guys should know how old everyone is! Some of you are getting confused. Sorry!
Kaname - 13
Sasuke – 14
Daiske - 15
Ookami (That Girl) - 15
Aya- 15
The reason Daiske, Aya, and Ookami are older than everyone is because they were held back in the academy.
Daiske was held back because he never paid attention, Aya because she started the Academy late, and Ookami will be explained in this chapter!
Ok! Read on!
Recap-
"You bastard!" she snarled. "I should've known it was you!" That Girl ran at the man, her face and chakra furious beyond belief, but the man disappeared in a mirage of crow feathers.
In the sky, they began to recollect, but instead of the earth ninja Toshihero reappearing, the dangerous missing ninja, Uchiha Itachi appeared, glaring emotionlessly down upon them.
Chapter 7: Ookami
"Hello Ookami…" Itachi said from above the flabbergasted ninja's. His lips tuned up into a twisted smirk. "I told you I'd be back…"
Ookami stood there, her eyes fixated on the man, shaking. Her whole frame, as hard as she tried to contain it, shook uncontrollably with anger and fear.
"Uchiha," she spat.
Kaname tore her eyes from the villain to look at her team mate.
'Uchiha Itachi?' Kaname pondered. Then her eyes widened. She whipped her head in Sasuke's direction. Sasuke was shaking, his jaw clenched, and his fists balled, ready to fight. 'Is that… Sasuke's brother?'
"Hn. I thought I would have gotten away with the Toshihero disguise a bit longer than I did." Itachi's stated dryly as his cold, red eyes scanned the ninja, finally landing on Ookami. Her demonic blue eyes were glowing.
"You… bastard!" Ookami leapt up before anyone could stop her. Her normal grace was gone. She was in a rage as she threw punch after punch in his direction. Sasuke flew up behind her, kunai in hand, Sharingan ablaze. Itachi simply raised his arm and swiped it effortlessly away. Ookami and Sasuke were sent flying back to the group.
Kaname took an anxious step towards Sasuke, but a hand stopped her.
"Kakashi!" Kaname yelled. Kakashi looked at his daughter and shoved her behind him. Shocked by his blunt action, she remained still.
Sasuke shakily stood up. Ookami, already standing, looked un-phased.
"Uchiha Itachi," Kakashi yelled up at the ninja, "you are classified as a Rank S missing nin! Surrender now, or face the consequences!"
The raven haired man chuckled. Something in Kakashi snapped.
"Fine! Have it your way!" Suddenly, Lightning consumed his hand, and then he shot into the air.
"Oraa!" Kakashi's hand flew forth, attempting to stab the cloaked man, but to no avail. He had disappeared.
"You've forgotten, Kakashi…" a voice spoke low from behind the silver haired nin. Kakashi's eyes widened. "You're in my world now…"
The scenery around all the ninja began to change to black, white, and red. Something in Kaname continued to click, sending wave after wave of pain through her body. It took all she had not to cry out.
But the memories! They were so close!
'If I can endure this…! Maybe... just maybe…! I'll remember something!'
Itachi's eyes wondered over to Kaname's form. Her face was tense, and her eyes were hard. 'She's good at hiding her pain,' he smirked, amused. 'How long till she breaks…' Itachi was torn from his musing by the sound of another chidori coming his way. Elegantly, he sidestepped the blow, but this time, he reappeared behind Kaname.
The girl froze. White hot pain coursed through her body, radiating from the scar on her back.
"AHG!" Kaname yelled out. 'Did his presence make it worse?'
"Get away from her!" Kakashi and Sasuke yelled in a dysfunctional unison. Itachi merely laughed and pulled Kaname into his arms, holding her hostage. He smiled evilly.
"Would you like to lose another daughter Kakashi?" he said coldly as he pulled a kunai to the small girl's neck. "Or was the previous one I killed enough for you?"
Kaname's eyes widened. 'Another daughter… what?'
Kakashi's face was boiling with anger. He took a step forward, but all that earned him was a cry from Kaname as the kunai dug into her neck.
"Let her go, fool!" Ookami yelled. "Your battle is with me!"
Itachi continued as if she hadn't said a word. "You've found quite the replacement, though, haven't you? She's almost an exact replica." Itachi took his finger and traced it along the corner of Kaname's jaw. Despite the deeper cut it earned her, Kaname jerked away from his touch. Itachi leaned in to Kaname and whispered into her ear. "Kana was stronger though, you pathetic girl." His disgusting peppermint breath floated around her. She always hated peppermint…
Kaname took that single opportunity to mentally tell Ookami to strike. Even if the attack killed Kaname, she knew Ookami would take it.
And she did.
Ookami flew forward with lightning speed and tackled Itachi to the forest floor, sending Kaname flying out of his arms. She hit the hard ground with a thud. Aya rushed to Kaname's side, only to be thrust away by the said girl. Kaname's eyes were hot and angry.
"Kaname, your neck…!" Aya glanced worriedly at the blood that was trickling down and plopping into Kaname's gloved hand. Kaname quickly healed the cut, ignoring the blood as best she could.
'Kana… was Kakashi's other daughter…?' Kaname looked around. The world was spinning. It all made since now: why she had always been compared to a girl named 'Kana", why Kakashi was so protective of her, why they always moved around… It was to keep her safe.
Kaname saw Ookami and Itachi twirling in almost a dance like fashion, and hot, bright flames soaking through Sasuke's lips. The hot crackling of a chidori was also heard, and the sounds of Neji and Lee yells were scattered in the mix. Kaname looked up into Aya's bright green orbs.
"Help them…"
Aya nodded and took out her staff, ready to fight. Kaname stood up, but lost her balance and fell back down. Everything was still swaying, and she couldn't shake the pain any longer.
"Sasuke…" she mumbled as she looked around. Where was he? Why was he the only thing she could think about at the moment? She knew she should have been furious at Kakashi for never telling her about this other daughter, but only despair coursed through her veins.
"Ahg!"
Kaname snapped her head in the direction of the scream. Sasuke lay on the floor, fallen, with his brother standing over him, Katana ready to slice through the young boy.
It had to have been second nature. Through all the dizziness and pain, Kaname felt her legs moving—no –running. Itachi's sword was now coming down upon Sasuke, and Kaname could only do one thing: scream.
"No!"
Kaname dove in front of the sword. Her chest heaved up and down as the tip of the katana stopped right at the base of her throat. Kaname's back covered Sasuke, protecting him.
Itachi's eyes smirked. "Foolish brother… So you've found a new play toy?"
Sasuke growled and threw Kaname to the side and tackled his brother to the ground.
"Now, Ookami!" Sasuke yelled. A flash of white hair came out of nowhere, along with several other flashes. Ookami and three wolves descended on the Uchiha, while two other giant wolves tore Sasuke out of the mix.
Itachi yelled as he felt the over-sized dogs biting into his flesh and tearing at his form. Ookami swiftly appeared next to him and grabbed the traitor by the cloak, pulling him up to her face.
She didn't say anything; she just glared into his charcoal eyes. That's when Itachi's lips turned up into a deadly smile. Ookami, confused, didn't have time to react as his eyes began to swirl and mix into a bloody crimson. She gasped when she made eye contact and let the Uchiha drop. The world began spinning around the wolf girl.
'That bastard!' she screeched as she tried to keep conscious.
Kaname saw her teammate falter and let the Uchiha slip. "Ookami, look out!" she yelled. Itachi had already taken his sword and was thrusting it in her direction.
"I don't think so!" Aya yelled. Her staff intercepted the knife that was meant for the frozen girl.
"Ookami," she snapped as she pulled her away from the Sharingan bearer, "snap the hell outta it!" Ookami's eyes seemed to clear, and she shook her head.
'Itachi,' she cried mentally, 'you know I'm allergic to Sharingan… Yet you still—'she couldn't bring herself to finish her thought. 'No, he is a traitor. He's not the Itachi I used to know… I can't harbor any unnecessary feelings.'
Itachi began to chuckle. '"Well," he sighed, "this has been fun… I've needed a little exercise…" As he spoke, he began to disintegrate into feathers and reappear a good 10 yards from the group of Konoha ninja. He brought his hands into a seal and closed his eyes. "But I fear I must be taking my leave." When he opened his eyes again, everyone gasped.
They were standing exactly where they had been before they had learned Ookami's name.
"It was all a Genjutsu!" Sasuke cursed. He jumped up into the tree's to attach his brother, but Itachi just smirked and vanished in a puff of white smoke. His voice lingered behind for a moment.
"Ookami," it said. Ookami's rabid eyes flicked nervously about. "I'll be back… Heh, I hope next time, you're prepared…"
The clearing went silent as the voice disappeared.
Kaname's scar still throbbed, but her eyes were wide. She had remembered something else. The pain had been worth it.
After an eternity, Ookami turned to them.
"What are you all staring at?" she growled. "The village is in sight… move it!"
"Uh…" Aya stumbled with her words. "What just happened…?" Everybody looked around nervously, and finally towards Sasuke, who still stood on the branch his older brother had disappeared from.
Kakashi sighed. "Let's go… Hokage-Sama will want to hear about this. Sas-"
"I'll get him." Kaname volunteered. Daiske smirked at Kaname.
"Aw, forming feelings for the bastard?"
Kaname glared half heartedly at him. "You wish… At least then you would have something over my head, Mr. Polar Bear." Daiske's eyes widened, and then his hand was over her mouth.
"Shh!" he spat. "You promised not to tell anyone about Sir Whitie!" He nervously looked around to make sure no one had heard Kaname spill his secret about his stuffed polar bear.
Kaname laughed softly in his hand, and then removed it from her mouth. "Ya, ya… I won't. So go with the others, now." Daiske sighed and swung his arm over Kaname's small shoulders.
"If he touches a hair on you, I'll kill him, okay?"
"Oh, you bet."
Kaname smiled falsely up at the brunette teammate and waved as he ran to catch up to the others. The young girl dropped the act when she turned back to Sasuke. Kaname silently made her way up the tree towards him.
The setting sun was bloody and cast a red shadow over his features. It was kinda scary, but mesmerizing. His hair gave off a radiating red with its normally silky blackness entwined with it. His cold eyes shimmered with anger and hate, but something in him, deep down, looked broken and dead. Carefully, Kaname took her gloved hand and grabbed Sasuke's fisted one. He jumped slightly at the feeling of fingers intertwining with his.
"What are you doing?" he spat. Kaname looked at her feet, and then yanked at his hand. "Oi!" he yelped as he was spun into Kaname's arms. He froze.
Kaname's wrapped her arms around his large frame. "Don't look so sad," she whispered. "It makes me upset…"
"Why would you care?" he mumbled into her soft head, but he made no attempt to move. 'Kaname's hair smells like raspberries…' he thought. 'Just like Kana…'
Kaname didn't answer. Carefully, she took in the scent of Sasuke. Over the past months, his smell seemed to be something she couldn't get enough of. It was… intoxicating.
Realizing the enormity of what she had just thought, she abruptly punched Sasuke's arm and spun the other way and ran.
"What the hell, Hatake?" Sasuke yelled. Kaname laughed.
"Catch me if you can, sour puss!"
Sasuke growled and ran after her. 'This girl is gonna be the death of me…'
But somewhere deep down, he smiled slightly. She always knew when to be there and when to disappear, not like his annoying fan girls.
"Thank you Kaname…" he whispered ever so softly, making sure she didn't hear him. For if she had, she surly would have never let it go.
~x~
Night had struck Konoha by the time the two teams wearily stepped into the village. Hardly a word had been spoken on the journey home, that is, if you don't count the nonsense-able babble between Guy and Lee. The teams parted ways with a nod and an exchanging of glances before going to their homes. Kaname took a step in the direction of her house, but Kakashi stopped her before she could go any further.
"Kaname," he said quietly, "no detours this time. Please." The look in Kakashi's eye was tired and worried. After learning of Kakashi's other daughter, she had suddenly understood why he was so protective of her. Kaname frowned and pulled at her father's retreating form.
"Kakashi…" her voice quivered, "I'm so sorry about what I said before… I could never hate you," she whispered. "I love you like you are my real dad. I just… I just got so angry that I was always being told what to do, where to be, how to act… I'm a big girl Kakashi, and I can take care of myself, but my actions spoke otherwise… Please, forgive me…?"
Kaname was surprised when his large, warm arms engulfed her. He kissed the top of her head and smiled trough his mask. "I did a long time ago, sweetheart."
The small girl moved out of her dad's arms and looked into his eye. "But Kakashi… we need to talk… about what Itachi said about Kana…"
Kakashi nodded slowly and began walking towards the Hokage's office. "Tomorrow… we'll talk tomorrow." And with that, he disappeared into the night leaving Kaname to her thoughts.
~x~
The white haired woman shut her door tightly behind her. The dark room engulfed her soul and settled at the bottom of her heart.
Ookami swayed slightly before falling her knees, gasping and choking on the air around her as she sobbed uncontrollably.
"Pathetic," a voice whispered from above her. Ookami's head flew up to meet the ANBU leader's masked face. Her sister slowly bent down to touch her tear stained cheek. "My, my, how the mighty have fallen…"
Ookami slapped the hand away. "Don't touch me, fool." The ANBU's harsh laughed filled the once quiet house uneasily.
"Oh, come now! I can do whatever I please. I'm your sister!" She sneered the last word like it was a joking matter.
A dark aura surrounded Ookami was she spoke quietly. "You're forgetting one little detail, you damned ANBU …" Ookami rabidly put her hands in a seal formation and yelled.
"Release!" The ANBU's shocked face rapidly deteriorated in a cloud of smoke, leaving behind only Ookami. Her bangs covered her eyes and a dark smile played on her lips as she chuckled darkly.
"You can't defy me, because you are me!"
Her anger made her body shake. She walked slowly to her room where she slammed the door shut, breaking a small portion of the frame in the process.
She sat on her bed and let her furious tears fall and blur her vision. The 15 year old looked at her hands in her lap and looked at one wrist which was covered by a thin red ribbon. She took her long nail and sliced it off, letting the fabric fall to the ground. Exposed now were three tattoos on the small of her right wrist. From left to right were her clan symbol, the ANBU tattoo, and a small music note... A small, hot tear fell on the ANBU symbol. Unlike the other two, she had been born with this character embedded on her wrist.
"ANBU Leaders are not made, they are born…" she recited with a small 'huh' at the end. She learned this at a very young age. Her second teacher, not counting her father, was Anko. She taught Ookami everything she needed to know to fulfill her duty as the Leader. At times, the people she commanded would never take her seriously because of her ripe age of 6. She work harder and harder everyday to be equals with them, and finally, they learned to respect her as their chief.
And then there was that damned Uchiha Sasuke who almost ruined her good ANBU façade. Ookami's hand shakily went to grasp her throat where a black chocker laid. The red pearl that hung in the middle burned slightly at her touch. He was the reason she had to create that damned clone of a sister. Long ago when she first met the Uchiha's, Fugaku, Sasuke's father, cursed her. A little girl named Kana Hatake was apparently "threatening" the families safely, and he wanted her to protect them since she was the ANBU Leader and all. She, of course, refused, saying that Kana was only an eight year old kid.
For talking back, the bastard took a chakra consumed choker and slapped it over her throat! From that moment on, she was forced to go wherever they went, do whatever they wanted, until the day of the last Uchiha's death. That's why even when she graduated the Ninja Academy, she had to stay and wait another year for Sasuke to finish. From the moment she met the Uchiha's and still to this day, she has had to have a clone of herself do all her ANBU work. The only good that came out of that was that she could make the clone slightly older to accommodate her comrade's preferences.
Ookami's tears had slowly stopped and her eyes were now res and stung. Exhaustion overwhelmed her body and sleep sank in. Ookami fell back into her bed and looked out her window. The moonless sky seemed to suck her up, and she was soon fast asleep.
The images that began forming behind the unconscious girls lids could not be stopped. Dreams of her past forced their way into her subconscious, and before she knew it, she was reliving her most regretted day of her life.
It was the day Itachi left her…