Hey everyone!! I now this update is late but, I have been catching up on missed schoolwork and taking hard Honors tests and notsleeping at night. I will try and get the next chapter up as soon as possible, promise.
Now, time for a little surprise I came up with while I was supposed ot be writing an essay on Le Morte D'Arthur.
CHAPTER FOUR: Long time no see
Kakashi's eyes were trained on Rayne as they traveled. So focused on her back he was that he didnt notice they had arrived at the home of Hige Tomohiro until Rayne was knocking at the door.
They had been a quiet bunch as they traveled. The only one who attempted talking was Kotetsu, who had managed to get Rayne to say a few sentences each time befor ehe gave up trying and they fell into a tense, uncomfortable silence once more. They hadnt stopped for a rest, none of them wanting to stop moving and have th esound of there moving bodies quieted, leaving only complete silence. And so, not stopping had them about three or four hours ahead of schedule and at the door of Hige Tomohiro.
Kotetsu stood next to him as they waited for the door to be open. A few seconds later and the light brown door of the mansion slid open to reveal a large man with dark brown hair that was greying at the temples. He had the build of a strong man who had worked all his life and an intelligent face.
"You all must be from Konoha, Im Hige Tomohiro. Come in," he greeted in a deep voice, stepping aside to allow them to enter.
Rayne was halfway through the door when a small gasp escaped her lips and she turned to the man with wide round eyes.
"Uncle Rian?" she whispered, shocked.
Hige stared at her, scrutinizing and trying to place her adult face. After a moment of some serious squinting and hard thought he let out a surprised little gasp.
"Rayne? Is that you?"
Rayne's face lit up in a smile and she threw her arms around one of two of her living relatives. The big man let out a throaty laugh and squeezed her in a bear hug until she gasped that she couldnt breathe. Once her let her go he held her at arms length and gave her a once over.
"I cant believe this. My little Rayne all grown up...Its been too long since I've seen those pretty blue eyes of yours, Young Lady," Hige said as he released her and gave her a stern look.
Rayne immediately looked down, "I know Uncle. But...well, a lots been happening and I havent heard from Izumashi in over eight years..."
Kakashi stared at his ex-fiance in amazement. She looked like a child that was explaining what they did wrong to their parents.It was adorable. He had never seen her like that before and he decided to make sure he got the whole story and found out more about this Hige-or, Rian--which ever one it is!
Hige kept up the stern look for about thirty seconds before smiling and kissing her on the forehead.
"Well then, it seems we have some catching up to do, dont we young lady?" he said, taking her hand and guiding her into the house, Kotetsu and Kakashi following behind silently and wondering what was going on.
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"Well, it seems you've been busy," Hige said after Rayne finished telling him what had been going on for the past thirteen years. "So much has changed since my sister passed away...I cant believe you were already married! You, the very stubborn little girl who swore up and down that she would never marry and be one of those 'weak woman who chase nothing but kids all day and couldnt defend themselves against a mouse'."
Rayne blushed at the memory before replying with a small smile, "Well, I wasnt completely wrong, Uncle."
All three man raised an eyebrow and Hige asked, "Oh really? And in some way you were right?"
Rayne grinned slyly, "Well, I was wrong about the kids, I like that part. But, I always knew men were no good."
Kakashi's eye widened and Kotetsu coughed on the tea he had been drinking. Hige however started cracking up.
"Aw. Rayne. Always looking for a way to preserve that pride of yours. I dont know where you get it from. Your mother wasnt in the least bit restless with her simply life with you, your brother and your father. But you, you were always sneaking out to play in the woods and making little wooden kunai. I remember a time when we were frantic, looking for you for three days. Then one night theres a knock on the door and its a ninja from the land of fire saying they found you playing with their training dogs. You were only, what, eight then?"
As he reminisced Rayne stared down at the elegant carpet as if it were the most interesting thing she had ever seen. While Rayne examined the floor, Kakashi looked around at the house--more like mansion. The living room was large and expensive looking. The walls were wood with dark cherry stain and there was a large fireplace on the back wall. Large chairs were spread around and two couches were placed in front of the fireplace. It had a rustic feel to it and Rayne wasnt in the least surprised. Her uncle had always loved older things.
"Uncle, please, spare us all and refrain from recounting the past," she pleaded uncharacteristically.
Kotestu frowned and playfully elbowed Rayne, "Aw, come on Rayne. Let him tell some more stories."
Hige chuckled and to Rayne's embarrassment nodded. "Okay, one more for tonight. There will be plenty of time for story telling later. Hmm...lets see...Oh! I have one. Would you boys like to hear the story of the time Rayne was caught with a boy when she was fiftteen?"
Rayne's head shot up and she looked mortified. "Uncle if you say one word about that I will kill you. Understood?"
Hige just laughed, "Threatening to kill your old Uncle, huh? Thats mean, Rayne Darling."
Rayne, knowing he was going to tell it with or with out her consent, just sighed miserably and sank back into the couch.
Hige rolled his eyes, "Such a drama queen. Now, where were we? Ah, yes, okay well, when Rayne here was fifteen she was quite taken by a young man who was about seventeen at the time. His name was Haruya I believe. Well, one day Rayne didnt come back from training and we got worried. You see, we were so worried because rayne was never late. Never. So, izumashi and I went out looking for her. Izumashi was frantic, that was his little sister that was 'missing'. Well,we had to have been looking for hours, asking everyone we saw if they had seen her, finally we came to one of her friends, Misana, and she told us that she had seen Rayne with an older boy. Izumashi, as expected, immediately thought she had been taken. I, having known of how she felt, tried to convince him to come home but he wasnt having it. We found out the boys address and Izumashi broke open the door." He stopped and chuckled at Rayne who had groaned and buried her face in her hands before continuing.
"What we found was a very embarrassed looking Rayne and a startled looking Haruya. They had apparently been kissing and we had interrupted them."
Kakashi looked over at Rayne and was shocked at the idea of her being embarrassed at all. He couldnt picture a teenage Rayne, unsecure about how she looked or having a crush on an older guy. He was annoyed at himself at the small pang of jealousy he felt over her having had a crush on another guy and even worse-kissing him.
Rayne, having felt his gaze refused to look up from her hands and muttered lethally, "Hatake, if you dont quit staring at me I'll burn all your damn books."
Kakashi quickly looked away and Kotetsu and Hige laughed, Kotetsu stopping when Kakashi gave him a death glare.
"Rayne, you shouldnt be so embarrassed. Every woman has such a story. But, I doubt many can end it the way yours does," Hige tried to console her.
"How does it end?" kotetsu asked curiosly.
"Well, after bursting through the door and catching some guy making out with his little sister, he attacked the guy. Haruya fought back and soon they had bloody noses. Rayne who, I presume, had still been in shock seemed to finally get that they were fighting and seriously trying to hurt eachother. She took two pillows off the couch and hit them both so hard they flew to opposite ends of the room. Haruya decided it was best to quit and offered Izumashi his hand. Izumashi took his hand and yanked him down, starting the fight again. Rayne grabbed eight kunai and pinned them both to the floor by their clothes.
Rayne yelled at her brother and told him that she was a girl and he couldnt go beating up all her boyfriends or she would never get a guy.
He said that her being a virgin for the rest of her life suited him just fine.
She punched him square in the jaw and said her sex life was none of his buisness.
He said she had better not have a sex life or he would have to kill the guy.
This earned him a glare and she actually muttered some words even I hadnt heard before. After she let them both up Izumashi dragged her home and they argued the entire way back. By the time we made it back to my parents, I had the worst headache of my life.
After that day Rayne didnt talk to Izumashi for about a month, stubborn as she was. Her brother hated it and eventually apolgized to her and even Haruya, who Rayne had decided not to see anymore. I left about a week and a half later and hadnt seen my neice until now," he concluded.
The room was silent for a moment before Kotetsu started cracking up and Rayne actually looked up from her hands to glare at him.
"Kotetsu, if you know whats good for you, shut up," Kakashi advised the other man. Kotetsu ignored his wise advice and Rayne flung a well-aimed pillow at him, hitting him in the head and knocking him to the floor.
"Next time it'll be a kunai," she threatened, her cheeks still bright red. Kakashi gave her a small smile and was surprised when she returned it.
"If you repeat this to anyone, that means Kurenai, Shizune, Asuma--anyone, Hatake, those books of yours will be fire wood. Understood?" she threatened, this time with a sense of playfullness behind it.
"I wont tell unless you want me to."
"Thank you," she said, a little startled at how suddenly he had grown serious. It was then that she realized he was so serious because he was trying to tell her she could trust him. Trouble was, just keeping a secret wasnt enough to gain back the trust that she held dear and that he had destroyed.
Hige noticed the tension between the two and recalled that Rayne had said her and Kakashi had been engaged and that she had two of his children. Wow, his little Rayne was a mother of four. How time changes things, he thought with an inaudile sigh before clearing his throat and standing.
"Well, I would love to sit here and tell more stories about Rayne but, we have a mission tomorrow and we all need our rest. Kakashi and Kotetsu, there are two guest bedrooms at the end of the hall, pick one that suits you. Rayne, you can have your mothers old room." When she looked surprised and confused her explained, "This was the house your mother and i grew up in. Her room is right next to mine. But, before you go to sleep I wish to talk to you."
Rayne nodded, sensing that he wanted to be serious now. She nodded her goodnights to Kotetsu and Kakashi and followed Hige to his room. Kakashi and Kotetsu went to their rooms, Kakashi taking the one closet to Rayne's and forcing Kotetsu to take the one further down the hall.
"Uncle, what is it you want to talk about?" Rayne asked, sitting in the armchair opposite the bed, on which her uncle sat.
"A lot of things. First I have one question that I would like you to answer for me." When she nodded he continued," What happened between you and Kakashi Hatake?"
Rayne tensed up at the quetion and looked anywhere but at him. Finally after a minute she sighed and met his concerned gaze. "We were engaged but then I lost my memory for a few weeks and during that time, Kiana, the woman he had been on the mission with, wormed her way into getting him in a room alone. As soon as I left the room she went in. I had been talking with Rontu for about ten minutes before coming to a decision that I would stay and try and get my memory back instead of leaving, like I had originally wanted to. When I came to tell Kakashimy decidion I opened the door and found them," she swallowed before continuing, "I found them kissing and I got my memory back abiut ten seconds later. Then I ...I called off the marriage and told Kakashi to leave. We handt spoken in two weeks when Tsunade asked us to do the mission. Now he is trying to win back my trust..."
Hige was quiet for a long time, thinking. Finally he asked, "And what about Kotetsu? How do you feel about him?"
Rayne smiled, "Uncle, he and I are only friends. He is a great man and friend but...I dont see us being anything more anytime soon. Or at all for that matter.I only brought him along so I wouldnt be alone with Kakashi and because I find it easy to talk to him," she explained.
Kakashi , who had gotten up and walked over to the door, being careful to stay completely quiet he perched himself just outside and began to listen quietly.
"Why wont you give Kakashi another chance?" Hige asked curiously.
Rayne sighed, "Because I promised myself that I wouldnt stay with a man who I didnt trust completely. I dont trust him anymore, Uncle. I'm sticking to my word."
"Its that pride of yours again."
Rayne frowned, "There's nothing wrong with pride," she replied stubbornly. She wasnt egotistic and she knew she wasnt the best ninja in the world nor did she think she was the best looking woman to ever walk the face of the earth. She just took pride in her accomplishments abd her kids. She had a small amount of pride but it was a tiny amount that she guarded with fangs and claws.
"No, there is nothing wrong with pride at all. But, it wont keep you warm on a cold night either," he countered sagely.
She looked up and gave him a small glare. "I'll be fine on my own. I still have my kids and Rontu. I dont need anyone to warm my bed any night." Her voice was clipped and Hige noticed she had tensed again.
Kakashi, who had heard what she said frowned and closed his eyes. But, for all the times he had been called a genius, his incredible mind failed him when he tried to think of a way to get Rayne back.
Hige raised an eyebrow but decided not to pursue the topic any futher and instead asked, "What is the mission plan for tomorrow?"
Rayne relaxed her glare and frown and, grateful for the change of subject, gave him a small smile and began to discuss the mission in the tone she kept for such important buisness.
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This was kind of a filler chapter. I thought I'd give you guys a little insight into a teenage Rayne and also, I havent talked about her family and so, I added this little twist. Hoped you liked the length, I have made it a goal to make the chapters a lot longer form now on...Im shooting for more than 2000 words each chappy, maybe 3000.
Next Up: The mission begins. We meet Yoro. Rontu comes back into the plot (I know some of you have been missin him) and Kakashi gets a taste of what its like to be truly jealous.
Review thank yous for chapter three go to: rukia23 (veggie fried rice sounds good to me!), KittynJenn ( Disney was AWESOME! I felt like a big two year old. Oh, my friends tell me that Deathnote is good but I've never watched it. Would it be worth it?), KeitaPekoe (Aw, I hope you get to go to disney yourself. It was like goign back in time to being a kid again), SickOfPenNames (Hun, I would be less evil if you responded to one of my PM's, you have me worried!) and last but in no way least, Starlitangel (heres the new chappy youve been waiting for. Hope it was worht it. Oh and I like...any and all cookies! Im not picky ;D). THANK YOU ALL FIOR REVIEWING! YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST.