Chapter 8- I wanted to tell you for so Long…

"Kiki…" Kakashi managed to say before I held my hand up.

"There is much to explain but we must finish this task first." I said as I turned and watched as Zabuza got up and tried to make his way over to Haku.

"Oh Haku…I'm sorry I never said thank you…I just wish I could go where you are going.." He said before he fell again.

Naruto looked away in sadness.

"Don't turn away. When you live like a warrior, this is how it ends." Kakashi then said but I knew his focus was still on me.

Suddenly I turned my attention over to where Sakura was kneeling and hugging Sasuke and noticed he has awaken.

"Looks like your team mate pulled through…" I said as I motioned for Naruto to look over where they were.

"Look Naruto! Sasuke's alright!" Sakura said with excitement.

"Looks like Haku was a good soul after all. He didn't want to kill Sasuke so he only hit non vital points just to knock Sasuke out." I said with a smile.

"Well will wonders never sees. Amazing." Kakashi said as he too looked over at Sasuke who was now standing.

"Hey! Yoohoo! Don't get too comfortable! It's nice you got the other guys out of the way but who is going to pay us now that Gato is gone?" One criminal asked in our direction.

"Looks like we'll just have to hit that village and see what they got." Another criminal said.

Not good…All of them are low on chakra and I'm not suppose to help now that Gato is gone…but I have a feeling that something good will happen next.

"Come on Kakashi Sensei you must have some sort of jutsu that can get rid of these guys…" Naruto said.

"Not right now, I used up too much of my chakra." Kakashi stated.

The men lunged forward and just as I was about to intervene, there was an arrow that shot from the sky and the criminals stopped. I looked back and saw that boy from earlier with the whole village who came to protect themselves.

"You forgot one very important thing! If you're going to come to this village, you're going to have to come through all of us!" One of the villagers said as the others cheered.

"Inari!" Naruto said with excitement at the boy.

"-chuckles- Heroes usually show up at the last minute ya know!" He said.

Naruto then performed a shadow clone jutsu and Kakashi had just enough chakra to summon a great deal of his own clones. I laughed at the criminals faces as they ran for their life back to the ship. Hopefully they won't cause too much more trouble.

Everyone in the back cheered and I smiled with a tear in my eye from all the happiness and accomplishment this village has gone through. I then directed my attention over to Zabuza and summoned my reaper sight to see that his soul was a light blue. Looks like he has made amends.

I walked over to him as well as Kakashi.

"Looks like it's over…I suppose you're here to take my soul too…" Zabuza said to me.

"No…your soul is going to a different place." I said.

"…Before I face my consequences, Kakashi…I have a favor to ask." Zabuza said.

"What is it?" Kakashi asked with a hint of anger.

"Take me to him…I need to see him one last time before I go…" Zabuza asked.

Kakashi lowered his head band and gave a face of sadness and peace…it reminded me of the face he showed me just before I died... He then bent down and took out all of the spheres from Zabuza's back and tossed them aside until he was relieved of the pain. He then gently turned him over and picked him up and I walked behind him as we made our way over to Haku.

The strangest thing happened. It began to snow…but it was the middle of the summer…

"Is that you Haku…are you weeping?" Zabuza managed to say.

I've never seen a more powerful soul to inflict physical features like this snow to fall…

We made it over to Haku and Kakashi carefully laid him down right next to the boy and backed away to stand next to me and Naruto.

"Thank you Kakashi." Zabuza said with great ease to his voice.

I watched as Zabuza raised his injured arm with great strength to touch Haku's face.

"You were always by my side…I owe it to you to be by yours in the end." Zabuza said.

"I just wish that I could go where you have gone…Haku." He then said as a large beam of warm sunshine hugged our bodies and the ground below us.

Just then, Zabuza's soul turned pure white like the snow and I watched as it slowly lifted from Zabuza's injuries and floated delicately to the sky.

"You will join him there Zabuza." I said when all was finished and the clouds moved away to reveal warm sunshine.

"I will do a proper and honorable burial for them." I then said as I walked in front of them.

I did some hands signs and opened my wolf sight eyes for better chakra support.

"Secret Art, Heaven's light jutsu." I said as I used the sunlight around us to wrap brightly around their bodies and then compressed tightly until their bodies disintegrated and the ashes turned into bright sparkles as they floated away in the wind.

I dismissed my wolf sight till I looked completely normal and looked over towards Kakashi and his team.

"Kakashi sensei, who is this…" Sasuke asked as he weakly walked towards Kakashi.

"…An old team mate from the village hidden in the leaves." Kakashi said with sadness as he looked at me.

"An old team mate! From our village!?" Naruto shouted in disbelief."

"Is she a rouge ninja?" Sakura asked.

"No…I'll explain a little later…for now, please trust me with your health…from what happened in this battle, it seems Sasuke and Kakashi has lost a great deal of blood." I said as I walked towards them.

"How do we know you aren't an imposter?" Kakashi suddenly said seriously.

I looked at him in shock and then eased up and smile.

"Under your left glove, you still wear the bracelet I wove for you to match mine when we first became ANBU together. We said that these bracelets do not come off until we fulfill our dreams…yours was to keep the village safe till you die and mine was to finally bring peace to all the nations. I hoped they would also bring us luck and help us to survive." I said as I moved my right reaper hooded sleeve away to reveal the bracelet I had on.

Kakashi looked at me with wide eyes and then removed his left glove part way to show the bracelet I made him. The leather and small ropes kept sturdy throughout all these years and I was really happy to see he still had his on.

"Yours however, was not so fortunate…" He then said.

"Wow so you do know her for real Kakashi sensei." Naruto asked.

"Yes…she is not our enemy." Kakashi said as he placed his glove back on and turned to help Sasuke walk across the bridge and I walked with them back to this Inari's house where his mother cooked dinner. The bridge builder came with us as we walked silently over to the house.

"Naruto, who is that lady with you? She doesn't look familiar." Inari's mother asked as we walked in.

"She is a shinobi from the Hidden Leaf. Kakashi sensei knows her." Naruto said as him and Inari walked over to sit at the table.

"Would you like to stay for dinner Ms…" Inari's mother asked but couldn't really confirm my name.

"Tsukiko Akamine. Please call me Kiki and sorry but I have already eaten." I said as a lie since I broke a small rule to interact with anyone outside the mission.

"Well welcome into our home Kiki. Thank you for helping out Kakashi and his team." She said as she turned to start on dinner.

"No problem…well I should get to work. Is there a room that I can tend to them?" I asked.

"Yes, please do it upstairs in the spare room. I'll bring you clean water and bandages." The mother said kindly.

"Alright Sasuke, you first." I said before he got up and led me upstairs to the spare room.

The mother followed behind us and placed an empty bowl and another bowl with clean water and bandages on a small table in the middle of the room. I only needed the bandages for Kakashi since I won't be able to completely heal the gash. She left the room and Sasuke stood for me as I began my work.

He winced a bit as I carefully took out the needles and placed them in the empty bowl.

"If you're from the hidden leaf, how come I never see you? Why is Kakashi so surprised to see you?" Sasuke asked seriously.

"Well I'm going to be honest with you…although I doubt you will believe me." I said as I worked my way from his legs to his back.

"Try me."

"I used to be in the Anbu with Kakashi. Then one day on a mission, my soul was taken from me and I was forced down into hell where I became a reaper against my will." I said as I made my way back to the front.

"What!?" He asked in surprise.

"Kakashi was my team leader. I don't know if the mission was a success or not…" I said before asking him to remove his shirt.

He removed his shirt and I used reaper sight to heal the holes in his body. The process was quick and painless and Sasuke was relieved that I didn't poison him or something. He remained silent again until I was finished.

"Thanks. I'm going to go clean up." Sasuke said plainly as he put his shirt back on and walked out.

I began to wash my hands a bit before the door slid open and closed. I didn't have to look to see who it was.

"I'm sorry." I said as I looked at him.

He looked at me in pain.

"How are you here? You died, I watched you die." Kakashi said seriously.

I looked at him sadly and rubbed my neck a bit with a nervous feeling…

"I was in hell." I simply said.

"Hell? Why?" He asked in the same serious tone as before.

I didn't want to answer him…it's been so long since I've even seen him and I wasn't prepared to answer.

"Why did you have to go…" Kakashi asked again with a bit more anger to his tone.

"I can't tell you…I wasn't supposed to allow myself to be seen by you..." I said as a reply.

"That's not good enough Kiki. Give me something!" He said.

A tear escaped my eye as I watch his expression turn from sorrow to anger.

"I am the reaper for the devil…I come up to the surface for missions to take souls…that's what I did today with Gato. His soul was evil so I was ordered to come and take him down." I said with seriousness to my tone.

"How come you never came to tell us you were still alive…if that is what you are now." Kakashi said with anger.

"Please don't be mad…I wasn't allowed to make contact with you. The devil locked me down in hell until I gained his trust…" I said.

"That shouldn't stop you; you were the smartest ninja in Konoha. Why didn't you find a way to come see us?" He asked again.

"And what would you have done Kakashi? Huh? You think I could just slip myself right out of this situation? It can't work that way, my soul is gone." I said with sorrow and anger.

"Your soul maybe gone but I know you still have a heart…..what was that wolf you had with you?"

"That was my comrade Calcifer. I trained him to help me capture souls." I said as I looked at the ground.

Kakashi moved forward to stand in front of me but I kept my sight to the ground. What he did next was very un-expecting…he wrapped his arms around me and hugged me…

"Kakashi…" I said with a bit of a sob as I hugged him back.

The warmth of his body was seductive…it's been a long time since I've been held like this…We stood there for a few moments and just hugged…I didn't understand why but I feel as if Kakashi still felt the same way towards me like he did before I died.

"Kakashi please remove your vest and jonin uniform so I can stitch you up." I said with a dead tone as I got out a needle and threat.

He looked at me sadly and then did as I told him. I looked back to see that his mask was still on. No matter, I only needed to see his chest and he was wearing a half ninja mask shirt. He was much more built than I remember. He used to be muscular but it seems that now that he's finished growing, he's become tall and a very well built man. I walked up and touched his chest with my heated hand and then grabbed a wash cloth from the water and began to wash away his blood. He just looked down and watched me as I worked and then winced a bit slightly when I began to stitch up the wound.

"Sorry…it's going to sting a bit…" I said as I continued.

He still didn't say a word but just watched me as I finished up my work. I then used my healing jutsu to close up the wound a little more so the scar wouldn't hurt as much as it healed. I then healed all the other wounds he had and he soon left the room to wash up too. It was time for dinner just as we finished. I waited a bit upstairs while they started but then decided to take a walk outside. Just as I left, Kakashi grabbed my arm in the doorway with a fresh clean jonin shirt on.

"I'm not going anywhere…I'm just off for a walk…I'll be in the woods." I said soothingly to him.

He nodded and let me go so I could walk into the woods. The night breeze felt nice on my skin and the moon was high and brighter than ever. I jumped on a branch and sat down to watch the trees dance in the wind and the moon sing her song to the twinkling stars. All I could think about though was Naruto and the others back home. A few moments later, I felt the presence of a person standing on the same branch as I.

"Kakashi…why were you here with your team? This had to have been an A ranked mission…" I said with a hint of anger.

"It was only meant as a C rank mission. We were only supposed to guard the bridge builder from thieves and thugs that would attack while Tazuna and his workers built the bridge but he lied at the admissions office and didn't mention that high leveled shinobi like Zabuza were after him." He explained.

"Naruto or any one of you could have died." I said in the same hint of anger.

"I wouldn't let that happen. He maybe our number one knuckle headed ninja but I promised you that I would help him find his ninja way…I would do whatever it took to keep my team safe."

"Thank you…What…what happened….after I… died?" I suddenly asked a long few moments later.

"We took Lord Jimbo in and Asuma was successful in stripping him of the forbidden death jutsu…then that was it…your funeral was held a few days later…" Kakashi said with hidden pain to his tone.

"My funeral…wish it didn't have to turn out that way." I said as I looked at him.

"If only I just made sure the enemies were dead…then this wouldn't have happened…"Kakashi began.

"Stop it. My death was not your fault…don't you dare blame yourself…" I said with a bit of a sob.

"I'm just glad you were okay and that you survived and became a sensei. I don't have to worry about Naruto so much now that he is with you…although I doubt life was easy on him after my death…" I said with more tears.

"Well I did survive but I'm still far from okay…" He said as he walked a bit forward and sat close next to me.

A few moments of silence have passed and then I breathed heavily once before turning to look at him again.

"I love you." I said to him.

He looked at me wide eyed and turned his expression into sadness.

"I've wanted to tell you that for so long… I just wish I was able to tell you that before I died…" I said sadly as I reached my hand up and touched his cheek.

He closed his eyes to my touch and I leaned forward to kiss his masked lips. He opened his eyes again in the kiss but closed them to savor the moment. This kiss sent sparks of a happy sensation through my fingertips…I've always wanted to do this but I never thought I could…not after what happened to me…I slowly eased away and wiped away a few tears as I stood up.

"Wait where are you going?" He asked with sudden worry.

"I can't stay any longer. I'm glad I was able to tell you those things and I'm also glad to see that Naruto is okay and I entrust that you continue to train him. I see a lot of Minato in him. He has a wise soul…it'll serve him well as he grows. Please notify the Hokage of my situation but for now, there is nothing I can do about it. Treat me as a rouge ninja because no one knows who I'll be coming after next." I said as I held his cheek one last time.

"Please…I just got you back…" He said.

"I'm sorry Kakashi…thank you for loving me. Just know that I love you in return." I said as I opened his hand and placed the forget me not flower in his gloved hand.

"Don't forget your promise to protect the village and Naruto. I'm counting on you!" I said with a smile.

He was going to try and stop me but I already did the hand signs and teleported myself back to hell.

Once I reached my space in the wolves' den, I let my emotions out for once and hoped that no one saw.

"Kakashi…please protect him…please stay alive long enough for me to figure something out…" I said as I looked at the wolves sleeping all around.

I calmed down a bit but I could tell my eyes were a bit puffy as I walked over to Calcifer and Chiya. I needed my mother…so I cuddled up neck to Chiya so her body could keep me warm and comforted and she woke up to see me distressed.

"Love does great things to a person…I know you'll find a way to be with him." She suddenly whispered to me as she snuggled her muzzle into me.

I didn't hold the ability to sleep but I just laid there with them until it was my time to report to the devil.

She's right…I'll figure out something…