Kakashi clears his throat as he begins to recall his mission outside the Hidden Rain Village to Tsunade
"Even the outskirts of the Hidden Rain are fiercely guarded so we had to maintain quite a distance to remain undetected. All the roads leading in and out of the village, are sporadically monitored for at least 2 kilometers so the village can observe travelers as they approach and leave. Even the open country surrounding the village is watched from outposts to spot anyone trying to arrive by less than conventional means. We did however find some rough spots in the terrain that could be taken advantage of as infiltration points, but they are such risky places to traverse that it is generally considered suicide by the locals and thus not strictly guarded."
"And did you draw up any maps?"
"Aoba did."
"Then I suppose I will have to wait for him to recover. Shibi, what did you find out?"
"The unnaturally heavy rains prevented me from using my flying insects to gather intel of the layout inside the village but the crawling insects did discover an unusual amount of guerrilla tactics being used amongst the populous."
"That is rather curious... And you, Masami?"
"Your suspicions were right about the lesser countries being in trade with the Hidden Rain Village, but not with goods. It seems many services performed by the Akatsuki have been receiving their orders out of that village. The Akatsuki services are rendered to the lesser countries because they can not afford shinobi from any of the five great nations. Also it seems there is some mongering going on as many lowlifes and thugs from the lesser countries are being recruited to service at the Hidden Rain."
"Hmm, I'll need some time to process all this information. Complete a check up with the medics and then you are all dismissed"
"Yes Tsunade"
The three shinobi speak in unison as Tsunade exits the conference room. They file out together with Shibi leading, but once out in the hallway Kakashi grabs Masami's elbow to have her hang behind with him. Maintaining a polite distance between their bodies, she casts her eyes downward and directs her voice towards him as they walk.
"Yes Kakashi?"
"Would you like to discuss the events of your mission at a location that is more beneficial to you or to me?"
Kakashi phrases his words carefully in case there are any prying ears. Masami catches onto what he really means and with her eyes still on the ground she quietly responds
"If you would not be opposed to coming my direction it would be appreciated"
"I don't mind at all..."
They enter a large room filled with hospital beds that are each partitioned off by curtains. Shibi, Kakashi, and Masami are all lead to their own bed and quickly examined by a team of medics. Shibi and Kakashi are quickly discharged by the medics after having been evaluated for nothing more than low chakra and minor bruising and abrasions. Kakashi picks up a small gasp from Masami and peeks around the curtain. The medic is gently trying to remove Masami's boot and she is quietly bearing her pain. Finally getting the footwear off, her foot and ankle are immensely swelled and discolored. The medic gingerly tries to rotate her leg while he exclaims
"Lady Masami! I can't believe you walked all that distance on this ankle!"
"I didn't have another option..."
She grimaces while he tries to test her range of motion before he finally performs some healing jutsu on her. After a few moments some of the swelling has dissipated and the discoloration has lessened. Lifting the jutsu, the medic speaks again
"Forcing yourself to continue on your injured ankle incurred quite a bit more damage to yourself. While I was able to repair your ligaments and tendons some, you are far from one hundred percent. I'm going to splint your ankle and send you out of here on a crutch. Don't bear any weight on it for two weeks then come back for a reevaluation"
The medic leaves to fetch a bandage and Kakashi steps into the examination area
"Why didn't you say anything?"
"It didn't matter at the time"
"You damnable woman..."
"You keep saying that as if it's going to change anything..."
The medic quickly returns and wraps Masami's ankle then hands her the crutch. She bends to pick up her bag when Kakashi quickly takes it from her
"Lady Masami, I will help you bring your things home"
"How kind of you..."
She responds in a flat tone with a raised eyebrow. The medic senses the tension and annoyance so he quickly leaves again. Kakashi and Masami exit the hospital in silence. The distance between them is even greater than usual, and they share no words as they walk through the village. They enter Masami's building then as she's turning the key in the lock, Kakashi looks around. When she pushes the door open, Kakashi suddenly picks her up and carries her into the apartment, swiftly closing the door behind them. He slides her up against the wall and kisses her deeply for a long moment before breaking away. He brushes the hair out of her face before pressing his forehead against hers and staring straight into her eyes.
"God, you have no idea how worried you made me out there"
Kakashi says tenderly as he brushes a thumb against her cheek. Masami rests her face into his hand and her eyes convey a slight tinge of sadness.
"I'm sorry."
She leans in to give him a short sweet peck, then asks
"Will you please start up some tea?"
"Sure"
As Kakashi moves to begin boiling the water, Masami sets herself to opening the windows. The evening has grown late and the stars are sparkling as the breeze moves in to chase out the stale air in her apartment. She seats herself at her table and Kakashi sets a cup in front of her and himself as they wait for the water. He reaches his hand across the table and holds hers. Stroking her knuckles with his thumb, he gives her a look implying he's ready for her to start talking. She avoids his eyes for moment and when she finally looks up into his face, she has a tear forming in her eye.
"Kakashi... I'm just a clone. I'm the result of a horrible experiment Orochimaru lost. I had a whole other lifetime ripped away from me..."
Masami refrains from sobbing but she can't stop a fat, wet tear from plopping onto the table. The teapot whistles and Kakashi leans forward to give her a quick kiss before wiping her cheek and getting the kettle. He steeps the tea and returns to the table, having only needed that brief pause to collect his words.
"You're not just a clone; You are so much more than that. You've carved out your own path in life, you are highly intelligent, a talented kunoichi, very gracious, lovely both inside and out, and most importantly you are the amazing woman I've fallen in love with."
Masami gives Kakashi a grateful smile as he pours the tea into their cups. He replaces the kettle back on the stove and when he takes his seat again, he moves next to her. After taking a sip, she sets the cup down on the table and leans her head on his shoulder. He wraps an arm around her and gives her a gentle squeeze. She lets out a big sigh before speaking again
"I was cutting through the Land of Wind when I got caught in a sandstorm. Orochimaru sought shelter in the same caves as I and that's where he captured me. At first he believed I was the Sayonakidori he tortured and experimented on decades ago... Well I suppose technically I am Sayonakidori..."
She trails off but Kakashi stops her
"No. You are Masami. My Masami."
He hugs her again and kisses her on the forehead. She takes another deep breath and continues
"When he realized I wasn't who he initially thought I was, he used some jutsu to tap into my mind and he found the memories of my old life. I discovered my parents, where I used to live, past friends, old hobbies, and techniques I knew... I knew Monk Isao when I was Sayonakidori... I can't believe he never told me... It was her? My? Father that Isao originally crafted the chakra zanbato for... Then again I guess he would have had a hard time explaining it to me... As Sayonakidori I was inclined towards a fire nature, and I was extremely proficient with it; far more so than I am now with any one of the elements I've been using throughout this life. Even back then I was still only a fair fighter with taijutsu hence why I learned that Mind Tapping Jutsu; I could use it either copy the moves of a stronger fighter and double team an opponent or throw an opponent off by mirroring their movements and giving them a frustratingly equal opponent to themselves. In my past life to begin learning the Plasma Jutsu I needed to be able to use more than one element simultaneously and my father helped me to begin harnessing lightning. Monk Isao took the training further by helping me learn how to use plasma in different formats. It was the plasma jutsu that caught Orochimaru's fancy and led to the capture and inhumane treatment of me or rather Sayonakidori. He thought I could be an even more powerful weapon if I could use more than the two elements I could already access. Initially he tried straight injecting me with the DNA of masters of other elements but when he didn't get any positive results, he thought of a more sinister plan..."
Masami stops to swallow a rising lump in her throat. She takes a longer drink of tea now to help wash down the sensation. Kakashi gently rubs her arm then kisses the top of her head
"You can stop for now if you want to, you don't have to explain everything tonight"
"No, I do. I have to try my best to get this off my chest, especially while it's fresh in my mind... He began cloning Sayonakidori and trying to impregnate her with her own clone. After a few unsuccessful trials, one finally took. Me... In utero Orochimaru began injecting me with DNA. He didn't add fire because he thought since I am a clone of a host who was originally enabled with fire, more would not be needed. So he added the other four elements, yin, yang, and the paralysis dojutsu... It's so strange having memories of being pregnant with myself... and giving birth unassisted..."
She stops and shudders for a moment and Kakashi takes advantage of the pause to speak
"The important thing is they are only memories. And while they may be memories of the person your genetic makings originated from, they are not yours. You've made your own memories and you are your own person."
"Yes and no... Another body and mind may have created those thoughts and feelings, but after having them revealed in my mind, I feel them just as truthfully and sincerely as if I had physically been there and experienced those things myself"
"I see... I'm sensing you want to visit Sayonakidori's home village... Am I wrong?"
"No, you're right... but I don't want to startle anyone either and make them think they've seen a ghost... Then again, as Sayonakidori my hair was all black as opposed to this almost garish purple it's turned into"
Masami picks up the heavy braid and lets it drop back down again. Kakashi smiles and lifts the end of the braid to untie it. It's true all of her natural black has disappeared now but he can't help admiring it's new color, length, and abundance
"I told you, I like it. It's very enchanting on you"
Masami props her chin on her hand and tilts her head to half smile at Kakashi as he undoes her braid and finger combs her hair
"Oh Kakashi, you sure do know how to make a lady feel beautiful"
"If I didn't make you feel beautiful then I must be doing something horribly wrong"
Still running his fingers through her hair, he slides his hand in close to her scalp and pulls her forward for another kiss. When they separate Masami notices his face struggles to hide a question or a doubt. She looks at him with a raised eyebrow and when he still doesn't speak she asks
"What is it Kakashi?"
"You said you sincerely feel all the memories of Sayonakidori's life..."
"Yes...?"
"Did she... have a lover?"
"Yes."
"Are you in love with him now?"
"No, of course not. I mean, I can feel a twinge when I think about him but my heart recognizes the difference between what Sayonakidori felt and how I feel about you now"
Masami gives Kakashi a reassuring kiss, then props her leg up on his lap. She unwraps her ankle and uses more healing jutsu on herself as Kakashi gently massages her leg. Still displeased with the condition of her injury he speaks
"I wish you weren't so stubborn."
"What difference would it have made if I wasn't?"
"I could've helped you..."
"Help me what? You were busy lugging Aoba"
Lifting the jutsu, her ankle looks better but only slightly. Masami slides off Kakashi's lap and gingerly bears weight on her injured leg. He looks critically at her before asking
"Are you sure you should be doing that?"
"I'm trying to encourage it to heal faster... Anyways, you stink"
"Well you're not bed of roses yourself"
She grabs his hand and looks at him playfully as she pulls him to standing
"How about you join me in the shower then and we'll rectify the situation..."
Masami winks at him and Kakashi only responds with a smile before following her back to the bathroom.
:::::
Iruka is getting ready for bed when he notices the lights on in Masami's apartment. Taking a closer look, he watches her opening the windows and smiling up at the stars. He's about to call out to her and wave when he spots Kakashi through her other window. Masami walks using a crutch back through her apartment and sits down at the table while Kakashi gives each of them a cup before taking a seat himself. A tinge of jealousy wells up in Iruka's chest as he watches them talk, then he finally has enough when he sees Kakashi kiss her. Iruka pulls away from his window and is ready to go push her flowers off his sill, but he stops as soon as he places his fingers on the pot. He realizes it would be a childish thing to do, especially when Masami didn't do anything to him outright. He deeply inhales the aroma of the flowers and carefully touches a bloom, appreciating the beauty. Sighing he thinks to himself
"Nice guys finish last I guess..."
::::
Across the village Guy holds back his tears. His Masami had taken a turn for the worse a few days ago and now in her already weakened state she is absolutely exhausted from all the coughing she's been doing. He holds her in his arms and rocks back and forth as he strokes her hair. She rasps to him
"Please Guy... I just want to see what it's like... at least once..."
"O...Okay"
He finally relents as he sucks snot back up into his nose. He opens his apartment door and peeks around to see if anyone is watching, then he scoops up his love doll and carries her away in the cover of darkness. At the edge of the village he finds a hill that looks down onto the world below and he seats himself against a tree, still holding onto his beloved. Her breathing becomes more strained as she gasps then whispers to him
"Oh Guy! I never imagined it to be so beautiful..."
As if he's seeing it through new eyes, Guy falls in love with the sparkling village spread before the two of them. The lights twinkle and shine and the river glimmers in the moonlight. The night is filled with the songs of nocturnal animals and Guy kisses his Masami on top of her head
"Are you happy?"
"Yes... very happy..."
Her words drag out as her breathing slows. Guy feels the burn of tears as they build in his eyes.
"I love you Masami"
"I... love you... more..."
"Marry me?"
"Already are... In our hearts..."
"Stay with me forever?"
Silence.
Giant tear drops fall from Guy and land on his Masami's face. Even though he knows she was not healthy for him, he still can't believe she's gone. Guy lifts her chest up to his ear and hears no breathing or heartbeat. Crushing his face into her small frame he cries out
"Noooo!"
The sobs erupt from Guy as he weeps over his lifeless love toy. He spends hours crying under that tree before he finally takes his Masami back to his apartment. Once inside the door, Guy calls out
"Hey, Nice Guy! Are you home?!"
Silence.
A stillness takes over Guy's face as he lays his Masami down in the box she originally came to him in. Sinking down against the nearest wall, Guy sits on the floor and pulls his knees to his chest. He begins to rock back and forth as he speaks to himself
"I'm alone... Completely and utterly alone..."
:::::
The next morning, the sun shines brightly in the sky and the birds are singing as Kakashi walks through the village. Suddenly Lee, Tenten, and Neji rush up to him out of breath.
"KAKASHI SENSEI! We've been trying to find you all morning! Please you must help Guy Sensei!"
Lee manages to gasp out. Kakashi takes on alarmed expression as he asks
"Where is he? What's going on?"
"We don't know. When we didn't him for training this morning we immediately knew something was wrong. We went to his apartment to find him and we heard him in there crying and it sounded like he was throwing and breaking things. When we asked him to let us in, he yelled at us to go away and leave him alone and that's when we left searching for you."
"Come on then, let's go check on him..."
When the four shinobi reach Guy's apartment, the door is unlocked. Walking inside they find a disaster area but Guy is not home. Kakashi takes on a serious tone
"Lets split up and find him. We'll divide the village into four quadrants, Tenten you search the northwest, Neji southwest, Lee southeast, and I'll cover the northeast. We'll meet back here in 2 hours. Go!"
They all branch off their separate directions but as Kakashi has known Guy the longest, he has the best idea of where to look. Not more than an hour into the search Kakashi approaches a hill to the east of the Hokage Monument. He finds Guy there, sobbing, crouched down next to a pile of rocks which look an awful lot like a burial cairn.
"Hey Guy... How's it going?"
"Kakashi... I just laid to rest my wife..."
Hearing the word "wife" Kakashi halts midstep and gives Guy a look of surprise mixed with confusion and concern.
:::::