To Write ' I Love You', On Her Heart
Chpt. 2 The Glow Of a Setting Sun's Fear. Bloody Vows
The sun was setting.
" Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around."
" That was a good one," Kakashi complimented, Yura happily smiled, " Thank you, it was dedicated to you," Kakashi made a mock gasp, " To me? Really?" She giggled, " Of course, Senpai, that's how I feel, why shouldn't it be?" " Well, people say that every Shinobi is nothing but an emotionless tool, so we shouldn't feel anything," Yura sighed, " People don't really understand, even the most ruthless Shinobi are human, no matter what," Kakashi nodded, " Hmm... The water is still a little cold..." Yura commented as she dunk her feet in the lake, Kakashi, sitting next to her with a book in his face, nodded, " Hai."
" I still haven't seen the fireflies... It kinda feels lonely without them," Yura whispered, "... Hai..." Kakashi watched her fondly with almost every passing minute, Yura, you have no idea how lovely you look when the sun sets, He thought smiling to himself once more, every time whenever they're together alone, he would always comment on how wonderful she's look, especially during the sunset, of course he never voiced them but he would always stare in a discreet manner, the way the orange lights set off by the sun glows on her skin, her hair, her eyes.
It was a pleasant glow, it actually reminds him of Yura herself! The way her gentleness and cheerfulness effects people, it's like the glow of a setting sun, it touches everyone, You remind me of an angel, Kakashi thought glancing back into his book. " Senpai, I'm sorry that I dragged you here," Yura said looking up at him with an apologetic smile, Kakashi smiled back in reassurance, " Iie... It's alright I don't mind," Yura nodded and suddenly giggled, " What is it?" Kakashi asked, quirking a visible brow, " O-Oh nothing, it's just that, I'm so fortunate to have a best friend like you!" Kakashi felt a small jab at his heart that he nearly drops his book, " What's wrong Senpai?" Yura asked cocking her head to a side, " I-It's nothing. It's getting dark," He commented, " Come on, I'll take you home, wouldn't want you to catch a cold before your very first mission with Team 7 now do we?"
Yura giggled, " I suppose not... But I don't want you to walk all the way back to your home on the other side of the village because of me,"
" No worries, Yura-chan, I don't mind." He replied waving a lazy hand.
" Well... Alright, but... Now that you reminded me, erm... That is to say..." Yura bit her bottom lip, a habit in which she wishes to live without, and Kakashi dubbed long ago, cute, " Do you think that the genin likes me?" " What's not to like? You're caring, gentle, motherly, but you're also strong," Kakashi nearly shuddered, " Very strong, And you're quick to defend others." Yura blushed at this, " I didn't know that much of me..." She then frowned, " But I'm not that strong, not as strong as you, I'm scared of... things" She slowly touched her left cheek and looked at her hand and winced, " Truth be told, I-I'm nervous Senpai," " Don't be," Kakashi said sternly, " Just get ready for tomorrow, it'll be a good mission," Yura nodded unsurely, One can hope, She whispered in her mind.
Mmm... There's hardly a cloud in the sky... Yura thought blocking the sunlight with her hand, squinting in the process, It's not gonna rain soon here, She stood obediently next to Kakashi, who mentally happily obliged, as Team 7 and Tazuna has finally stepped out of the gates of Konoha, Naruto, who was in front of the group, gave a happy leap of joy, " Yeah~! Alright!" " What are you getting all excited about Naruto?" Sakura asked with a confused and annoyed expression, " This is the first time I've ever left the village! I'm a traveler now! Dattebayou!"
" Yes Naruto-kun," Yura giggled, walking towards Naruto to give him a pat on his head affectionately, causing him to blush a little, much to Kakashi's dismay, " You most certainly are, and I can't wait to see what kind of adventures are in stored for us," Yura giggled some more as well as Naruto, Tazuna grunted, " Oi! Am I suppose to trust my life with these two runts? They're jokes!" They stopped laughing immediately, R-Runts? Yura thought sadly, she then ran behind Kakashi poking the dirt with her fingers with a saddened expression, " Mou..." Yura mumbled, " That was a little mean... I'm not a runt..." Kakashi chuckled as he placed a hand over Yura's shoudler, " Don't worry, they're with me. I'm a Jounin and so is Yura-chan, so you have nothing to worry about." Yura nodded, " Hey! Never insult a ninja!" Naruto angrily exclaimed pointing at Tazuna, " It's a big mistake! And I'm one of the greatest ninja ever! Someday I'm gonna be Hokage and you'll look up to me 'tebayou! I'm Naruto Uzumaki! Remember it!" Yura giggled cooed, " How cute...."
Sasuke, noticing her coo's, scoffed. He couldn't actually believe someone like her could be a Jounin, She looks too gullible, Sasuke thought, Too frail, He eyed those weapons strapped to her body, a sheathed katana hung lazily around her waist, and a metal Bo' staff that looks like it's about to break any moment, One's for attack... And the other... Defense... Like she could fight... Sasuke finalized in mind. Yura seemed too... Cheerful, too... Optimistic, and Sasuke finds it annoying to see that in a Jounin, if she really is one. I don't see how she and Kakashi-Sensei are friends, Sasuke thought looking away from Yura's giggling form, Let alone how he likes her. And worst of all, Yura enjoys being with Naruto. Enjoys it. Sasuke couldn't see how's that even possible, since wherever the blond goes, adults would shun him.
Sasuke's not stupid, mind you, he notices how the adults of Konoha treat Naruto. The thing is though, he never noticed this Yura being in the village, let alone living there as well. Sasuke finds that suspicious that she just popped out of nowhere, claiming to be Kakashi's friend, Sakura's aunt and being in Team 7. At least, Yura isn't as annoying as Sakura. Sasuke inwardly sighed in relief, But what did she meant by stopping... ' There'? And why is it that she can't remember her dream? Sasuke was up all night trying to figure it out, but nothing. So he decided to find out after the mission.
Yura turned around to noticed Sasuke looked the other way, Hmm... That's odd, Yura thought with a raised brow, I felt him staring at me... " ARGH! I'm gonna make you pay for it right now!" Naruto yells about to charge at Tazuna, Yura luckily grabbed the back of his jacket to prevent him from doing any harm, Kakashi sighed, " I told you, we're supposed to protect the clents not kill them." " Senpai's right Naruto-kun," Yura agreed, " Just please calm down,"
" Ettou... Tazuna-san," Sakura called out.
" Hai?" Tazuna answered lazily, " Your country is the Land of Waves right?" Sakura questioned, " Yeah... What of it?" " Kakashi-sensei, Yura-obasan, there are ninja in that country too, aren't there?" Sakura asked turning her head to them, " No. There are no ninja in the Land of Waves," Kakashi answered, " But in other countries, there are Hidden Villages, Sakura-san, Each with there own differetn customs and cultures," Yura quipped in a matter-of-fact tone," We're ninja reside, Sakura-san,"
" To the people of this continent, the existence of Shinobi Villages means strength," Kakashi said.
" Military strength." Yura added.
Kakashi nodded, " In other words, that's how they protect themselves, and maintain the balance of power with neighboring countries."
" The Ninja Villages are not controlled by any government," Yura said, " They're independent and have equal status." " Now a small Island, like the Land of Waves, has natural protection from the sea." Kakashi said." So, there's no need for a Ninja Village, Sakura-san." Yura said with a smile.
" The Five Ancient Lands that possess the Shinobi Villages are the Lands of Fire,"
" Water," Yura said.
" Lighting," Kakashi said.
" Wind," Yura added.
" And Earth, they each occupy vast territories, together they're known as the Five Great Shinobi Nations," Kakashi said, " The Land of Fire, has the village hidden in the leaves,"
" The Land of Water, the Village hidden in the Mist," Yura quipped.
" The Land of Lighting, the Village Hidden in the Clouds." Kakashi continued.
" The Land of Wind, the Village Hidden in the Sand." Yura added.
" And the Land of Earth, the Village Hidden in the Stones," Kakashi finished. " Only the Leaders of these Hidden Villages are permitted to have the name ' Kage," " Which means Shadow," Yura pipped, Kakashi nodded,
" There's Ho Kage,"
" Mizu Kage," Yura said.
" Rai Kage," Kakashi said.
" Kaze Kage," Yura said.
" And Tsuchi Kage. These are the Leaders, the Five Shadows that reign over thousands of ninja." Kakashi finished. Yura nodded happily, " That pretty much sums it up Sakura-san." Sakura squealed happily, " Hokage-sama is really important!" Yura eyed her neice suspiciously and gave a sigh, She's talking to herself again, I'm getting worried... " Oi!" Kakashi said, " You all just doubted Hokage-sama didn't you? That's what you were thinking." Both Naruto and Sakura nervously shook their heads, " Well, anyway, there are no ninja battles in a C-ranked mission, so there's nothing to worry about," Kakashi states patting Sakura's head, Yura made an agreeing sound, " And we're not gonna run into any foreign enemy ninja or anything like that, Sakura-san so relax," Kakashi chuckled. Yura then noticed Tazuna's face looking albeit nervous, I wonder what's wrong? Yura thought as she gave him a reassuring smile.
Walking over a small bridge, Yura hummed a tune to hopefully passed the time. Everyone relaxed alittle by the sound of her soft voice, even Sasuke. Kakashi momentarily closed his eye, remembering the times Yura used to sing whenever she was with Kazuhiko, or whenever she was bored, those were the times Kakashi would cherish the most, because her singing or humming would be the only thing to let him relax, only for albeit during a mission. Sakura remembered Yura's singing voice when she was small, it would always put her to sleep, and whenever she wasn't tired, she remembers trying to chase after the faraway voice to hear more but it would stop.
Sasuke remembers her voice, that tune, but not coming from Yura's mouth. Rather, it came from within the crevices of his mind, from a time he was happy. From a time he remembered holding onto a form, a smiling familiar form. With kind, gentle eyes and a loving warm smile, someone who he would always go to at a young age. His mother. His eyes widened in shock, he never thought about his mother in a long time. Not since... The Uchiha Massacre. He quickly turned to Yura's serene face and scowled lightly, that face, it's the same as his mother's. O-Okaa-san... Sasuke thought, balling his hands into fists.
Naruto closed his eyes and inhaled deeply with a serene face. Yura's voice was so calming and sweet that he remembered somewhere in his mind, of a time when Iruka gave him his first taste of ramen. When was that? When was it that Iruka was so kind to him? When was the old man and his daughter showed him careness? When was it that he remembered hearing that voice? He hadn't heard it in a very long time. To him, it felt like something was opening up inside of him, something that'll help him calm and relax. It gave him security. Like a mother would give her child... Naruto thought looking over at Yura, who stood next to him, Like a... Mother...
Yura felt something touch her hand, a finger. Naruto's finger. Still humming, she smiled softly at Naruto's embarrassed face and held his hand. So cute... Yura softly cooed, it was then, she noticed something in the corner of her eye, a puddle, Hmm? It hasn't rained in weeks... Unless... Yura's eyes widened albeit in shock, It's an ambush... She glanced over at Kakashi who gave her a nod of confirmation, Yura's brows scrunched up in frustration but did nothing. A few seconds later, chains moving in a quick speed passed through Yura's ears, along with Kakashi's mock gasp of surprise, Everyone turned around to see Kakashi wrapped in spiked chains, owned by two strange foreign ninja, " Do it!" One of them yelled and they pulled hard until Kakashi was sliced into bloody bits one the ground.
Yura visibly cringed at the sight, Sakura and Naruto gave loud shouts of shock, " Kakashi-sensei!" Yura then pushed Naruto out of the way as the two ninja appeared behind them. Chains ready to peirce them thorugh. But Yura pulled out her Bo'staff and hit the chains away, " You'll have to try better then that!" Yura yelled with a small glare, Sasuke jumped and threw a shuriken at the chains, embedding it and the two ninjas to the tree, Yura quickly took out a kunai and threw it in the shurkien to hold it in. Sasuke landed on the ninjas's armored arms and kicked their heads, but that was a mistake.
The chains broke loose and the foreign ninja split apart, one towards Sakura and Tazuna, the other towards Naruto. Yura ran and shoved Naruto to the ground, however, a spiked chain grazed her cheek albeit deeply, she winced slightly but soon forgotten the wound and closed her eyes to await for any possible attacks on her K-Kazuhiko...! She yelled in her mind. But it never came, instead, she heard gasps and Kakashi's simple, " Hi."
Yura sighed in relief, as Naruto tried to contemplate on how Kakashi was there, "... Senpai, you could've gotten here sooner..." Kakashi chuckled before turning serious, " Naruto, sorry I didn't help you right away, I didn't mean for you to get hurt," Kakashi apologized as he set the two ninjas against a tree and tied them up, " I just didn't think you'd freeze up like that. Nice work Sasuke, very smooth, you too Sakura," Yura gently patted Naruto head when she noticed his embarassed face, " It's alright Naruto-kun," Yura whispered, " This was your first attack, no one's blaming you or calling you a scaredy cat because of what happened just now, it's alright," Naruto stiffly nodded but glanced at Sasuke wearily.
" Hey." Sasuke called towards Naruto.
" H-Hai?"
" You're not hurt are you?" Sasuke asked with a smirk, " Scaredy cat."
Yura slouched, " A-And I was just hoping no one would too... Please don't listen to him Naruto-kun!" Yura said with a nervous smile, Naruto shrugged off her smile and was about to charge at Sasuke, but Kakashi called his name, " Stand still," Kakashi warned, eyeing Yura as well, " These ninjas has poison in there claws, we need to take it out of you quickly, you too Yura," Poison? Yura thought with a curious face, What is he...? Yura noticed Naruto looking at his hand, his bloodied hand, and her breath hitched up in her throat, B-Blood... H-How... She held in a gasp and a possible queasiness with her hand," By the way, Tazuna-san..." Kakashi called, Tazuna made a nervous sound, "... We need to talk,"
" These ninja are Chuunin from the Hidden Mist Village," Kakashi began as they formed a semi-circle around the two bound ninjas, " There specialty is relentless attack. They keep fighting no matter what the sacrifice," " How did you know about our ambush?" One of them asked with a glared, Kakashi nodded at Yura, who in turn took a deep breath and smiled as calmly as she could, " A puddle told us," She answered. " On a clear day when it hasn't rained in weeks, I've been noting myself and Senpai about it," " In that case, why did you leave it for the genin and the girl to do the fighting?" Tazuna asked Kakashi, Kakashi shrugged, " I could have taken them out quickly, But then I'd have learned nothing." Kakashi answered, " I had to know who there target was." Kakashi looked at Tazuna with a small glare, " And, what they were after,"
" Hmm? What are you getting at?" Tazuna asked with a nervous face, " This: I had to know if they were after us, ninja attacking ninja. Or if they were after you, the Master Bridge Builder." Yura placed a hand to Kakashi shoulder to stop him from talking and she continued with a calm smile still on her face, " Tazuna-san... When you put in your request, you asked for standard protection form robbers and highwaymen,"
" You didn't say there were ninja looking for you, hunting you down, " Kakashi intervened.
" If we knew this, it would've been a B-ranked mission or higher, our task was to simply get to your destination safely, and to protect you while you finish building your bridge," Tazuna looked away from Yura's stern gaze in embarrassment.
" If we knew we'd be fielding attacks from enemy ninja, we would've staffed differently and charged of a cost of a B-mission." Yura said.
" Apparently, you had your own reasons, but lying to us is not exceptable." Kakashi added, lazily glaring at the older man. " We are now beyond the scope of this mission."
" We're genin, this is too advance for our level of training," Sakura said " We should go back. And I really think we should treat for Naruto and Yura-obasan's wounds to get the poison out as soon as we can," Yura stared curiously at Sakura, What wound? She thought. Then Yura tasted something metallic at the left corner of her lip, her eyes widened in fear, S-Since when did...? She slowly reached to her face to touch the small amount of blood strolling down her face.
Yura's eyes dialated, her breath hitched, K-Kazuhiko...! N-No! She subconsiuosly looked at Naruto and nearly screamed, he stabbed his wound with his kunai, She closed her eyes and fell down on her knees after he said his vows, clutching herself, everything around her was becoming fuzzy and blank. The only thing she can think of was the blood, Kazuhiko's blood, the sinister laughter, that man's laughter. Yura began to shake.
Sasuke noticed Yura shaking, What's wrong with her? He questioned, " Oi. Yura-Sensei..." Sasuke said through gritted teeth, " What's wrong?" " B-Bl... O-Ood," He heard Yura muttered, " B-Bl... O-Ood..." She suddenly looked up at Sasuke's slightly surprised face with a desperate smile, reaching out to him, " K-Kazuhiko... K-Kun... I-I-I..."
She fainted.
" Oi... Kakashi-Sensei," Sasuke called Kakashi as he supported her head, " What's wrong with Yura-Sensei? She fainted." Kakashi looked alarmed and walked towards their direction, " Sasuke, did Yura say anything?" Kakashi asked while placing a hand to her head, Sasuke nodded, " Something about blood and a name... Kazuhiko..." Kakashi cursed under his breath, " Just as I thought," He muttered, " What?" Sasuke questioned, " It's nothing for you to worry about," Kakashi said with a smile, just hand her over to me and put a band-aid on her will you?" " What about the poison?"
" Hmm? Oh... Right... She can handle it, when she sleeps her body tends to heal itself of any body damage and can neutralize any poison that may come in contact, so don't worry." Sasuke scoffed, " Who said I was worried?" But deep down, he knew that he was worried. Naruto ran up to Kakashi with a worried look as well as Sakura, " Hey, hey! Is Yura-Sensei alright?" Naruto questioned, Kakashi nodded, " Yeah, don't worry, she'll be fine, she just... fainted when she saw your blood and you stabbing yourself." Hemophobia? Sasuke thought, That's odd to see in a Jounin... " Are you sure?" Sakura questioned, " Hai, hai. Let's just continue the mission, " Kakashi answered holding Yura protectively. Yura, in turned mumbled, " Kazuhiko..." Kakashi nearly winced, I'm not there yet, He thought, She's still in love with him...
As they walked away, Kakashi discreetly caressed her wounded cheek with his thumb, Yura... Upon your wounded cheek... I swear to protect you, Kakashi looked up in the sky, almost glaring at it to see Kazuhiko's grinning face in the clouds, And steal you away from Kazuhiko... Even if it means my life and never seeing you again!
KNL5- Whoa... This was a long chapter ne? Well, tune in next time 'Kay? See-ya!