Okay, so here's the next chapter in Snow Falling on Konoha. As always, I do not own the series Naruto. That belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. And my co-author and I would like to thank everyone for reading this. It's our first attempt, so it's rough. We appreciate comments, as long as they are not flames. So, review if you can! ^_^
1. Enter Yuki: The Girl with No Past
It has been over nine years since Yuki was found. Sadly, she does not remember anything past that time. It upset him knowing that she did not know where she came from. Even though he was curious, Kakashi took care of her as if she were his own daughter. All the poor girl knew was her name and that was all. Her only connection to her past was a dragon pendent that she always wore around her neck. When Kakashi asked about the pendent she would reply, "I don't know who gave it to me. But, for some reason it gives me strength."
From time to time Kakashi looked back on the time when Yuki first called her, "Father."
Kakashi awoke from a nap and looked around his room. Yuki's bed was empty. It has been nearly two years since he found her outside Konoha Village but she still had some scars from her unknown struggles. Kakashi got out of bed, threw on his shirt and vest, then went on his little venture to find Yuki. He heard running water coming from the bathroom. He knocked on the door and heard a voice say, "Come in!" Kakashi smiled under his mask at the sound of her voice. He opened the door and found her on a step stool leaning over the sink putting something in her left eye. Kakashi looked down at the counter and saw one red eye contact still in the package. "What are you doing?" He asked laughing inside.
Yuki turned to him and he saw that her left eye was red while the other was its normal blue color. She put her hands behind her back, tilted her head, and smiled saying; "I'm just like you, Daddy!"
Kakashi would smile at those times. Even though they were not biologically related, he still cared for her even while they trained.
Today was a big day for Yuki and Kakashi. Yuki was extremely nervous but Kakashi always reassured her. Yuki trained hard for this day and now was the time to see if it really paid off. Kakashi pulled the chance to work with Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke so that the four of them could work together. Yuki and Sakura had always been friends ever since Yuki began at the academy. With this in mind, Kakashi always tried his best to have them train together.
It has been two weeks since the mission in the Land of Waves and everyone was still pretty worn out. Yuki did not join them on this mission because Kakashi knew that her skills were not as up to snuff as Naruto and the others'. For today's training session Kakashi wanted his students to work more on their chakra control. He told them to meet in a secluded area in the forest outside of the village. As usual, Sakura and Yuki were the first ones to show up. While they waited they played grass whistles to pass the time.
"Hey, Yuki," said Sakura. Yuki put down her blade of grass and looked at her friend. "I've been thinking. We've only seen Kakashi-sensei when he's working and teaching us new skills. What is he really like as a person?"
Yuki wasn't quite sure why Sakura would ask such a question so as a small joke she gave an impish look and said, "Why? Do you LOVE Kakashi-sensei?"
"Oh my GAWD!" shouted Sakura. "Are you serious!? You're sick, Yuki! Sick! You know I like Sasuke!"
"I'm kidding, kidding!" Yuki laughed while hugging her sides.
"Now that was hurtful." Both of them stopped laughing and looked toward the road. Kakashi stood there holding Naruto and Sasuke by their collars. "I always considered myself a handsome man. Why do you have to ruin it for me, Sakura?"
"I-I was kidding, Sensei!! Well, not really, but…" Sakura's face began to go red. Yuki suppressed a laugh.
"Okay, I get the picture," said Kakashi. "Anyway, I found these two feuding in an alley on the way here."
Naruto broke away from Kakashi's grip and pointed at Sasuke shouting, "I keep telling you HE started it!"
"I don't care WHO started it I'M ending it!" shouted Kakashi. "You all should be acting like ninja but you're still acting like naïve children! Grow up!" He dropped Sasuke and walked over to Yuki and Sakura. Yuki laughed as Kakashi, Naruto, and Sasuke joined them in a circle.
"Why are we here today, Sensei?" asked Sakura.
"Because you're all still a little worn out from the mission in the Hidden Mist Village, I thought we could work on your chakra a little bit more."
"ALRIGHT!!" shouted Naruto. "What are we gonna do, Kakashi-sensei? Are we gonna climb trees again?" I'm sure I can beat Sasuke this time!! Naruto looked over behind Yuki and Sakura and pointed saying, "Are we gonna walk on water!?"
Sakura shot a deathly look at Naruto. "Who do you think he is!? A God!? You're so clueless, Naruto!"
Kakashi leaned over to Yuki and whispered, "It's amazing how sane I am at this point." She laughed and replied, "I don't think they're that bad."
"Well, anyhow." said Kakashi. "Let's get started. Today, I would like to teach you how to transfer your chakra to each other."
"Why would we need to do that?" asked Sasuke.
"As a team you must support each other even if it means that you must combine your chakra. Now close your eyes and focus." The group did as they were instructed. "Try to collect some of your chakra and transfer it to me."
"So we're basically meditating," said Sasuke.
"We are meditating." said Kakashi. "In order to transfer your chakra, we must be calm and collected or else it won't work. The chakra will disperse the moment you try to project it, a waste. Now, begin."
The group all closed their eyes and began to meditate. Many minutes went by and Kakashi continued to read. He noticed something in the corner of his eye. Yuki had flowers blooming all around her. This was not strange to him. As he raised her he noticed many strange things around Yuki that occurred in nature. When she became sad it would begin to rain, when she was angry it stormed, and when she was happy the sun always bathed the Earth in its radiant light. She was truly a unique individual.
There was a loud snap but due to their extreme focus the children did not hear it, however Kakashi was another story. He didn't want to leave them so he created a shadow clone that ran into the forest. Kakashi saw Naruto shaking from the corner of his eye.
"It's probably just a deer, Naruto." Kakashi assured him. "Don't worry about it."
"It's not that," said Naruto. "I-I can see it." Kakashi looked at Naruto in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"It's there! It's trapped but I can feel it…the Nine-Tailed Fox!" Naruto was shaking rapidly now and the others stopped meditating and looked at Naruto.
"Why am I seeing this?" Naruto asked. "Why now?"
"This is unusual," said Kakashi. "We must see the Third Hokage about this," said Kakashi.
His shadow clone came back reporting it had seen nothing, but Naruto was still fearful. Sakura looked at him with concern while Sasuke scoffed at him. Yuki, however, seemed very calm. "Naruto," she said. He opened his eyes and looked at her. "It's an inner test. In order to help your friends, you have to help yourself. The fox is your inner fear given physical form. You have to show it that you're not afraid. That is what Kakashi-sensei taught me."
Naruto gawked at her and mused to himself.
"My fear? The fox is my fear?"
Naruto looked at his hands and tried to summon up all of his courage. He stood up and shouted, "I'm not gonna get scared by some dog the pound rejected! Believe it!"
Yuki smiled. She knew he was still terrified but at least she knew that he would try to overcome it. Sasuke looked at Yuki and asked, "Have you come across something like this before?"
"Yes," she answered. "In my dreams I often see a silver dragon. Its teeth and fangs were dripping in blood. I asked Kakashi about it and he told me that it was just my fears trying to get the best of me."
"We should go," said Kakashi. "We will try this again tomorrow."
The group gathered their things and set out back to the village. Fog began to roll in and their visibility decreased with each minute. The children gathered closer to their Sensei to stay together when they ran into him after he stopped.
"What's wrong, Sensei?" asked Sakura.
"We're surrounded." He answered.
"What do you mean?" asked Sasuke quietly.
"He means what he said, boy." came a grisly voice.
"This is interesting surprise," said another.
"Yes, not only did we find the girl, but we found the boy as well," said another voice from behind.
"Give us the children and we'll let you live," came a female voice on the right.
"You think I'll hand them over that easily?" Kakashi scoffed at the voices and said, "You're a bunch of fools."
"Then we'll have to take them by force!" A total of eight figures jumped from the trees and surrounded the small group. Kakashi spread his arms and said, "I won't let them take any of you."
"Don't worry, Yuki," winked Naruto. "I have an idea." He made a few hand signs and said, "Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!!" Hundreds of Narutos surrounded the group and charged at the unseen enemies. All were suddenly knocked back by an invisible force and Naruto was thrown into Sasuke. "Get off me, Loser!" Sasuke complained. He, too, made a few hand signs and said, "Fire style! Fireball Jutsu!" He made an "okay" hand gesture and blew a stream of fire that expanded into a large fireball. During flight the fireball was quickly put out by an unseen force. "What's going on?" asked Sasuke.
"It's the mist!" said Sakura. "There's something strange about it!"
"What do you mean?" asked Yuki. She could feel it but she wanted to see if Sakura was sure of what it was.
"I'm not sure." said Sakura. "But it's almost like it's canceling out any type of jutsu we try to throw at them."
"Yes, good work, Sakura." said Kakashi.
"Hmm, the other girl shows some good skill. But she is not good enough! You'll have to teach them a lot better than that, Kakashi!"
Kakashi sneered at them and asked, "How do you know my name?"
"We know all about you!" exclaimed the mysterious female. "You're the copy-cat ninja from Konoha Village. You're in our bingo book if Zabuza didn't already tell you."
"You're from the Hidden Mist Village!?" said Kakashi.
"Around there." She laughed.
Kakashi looked at the group and said, "Keep on your toes!" He faced the mist and charged into it. "Kakashi-Sensei!!" shouted Naruto but he was gone. The group surrounded Yuki and prepared for the worst.
In the mist Kakashi snuck up from behind a mist ninja and slit his throat. Kakashi turned from his kill and saw another ninja charge at him. Their knives met in a fury of sparks as Kakashi parried his attack. He swiftly tripped his opponent and stabbed him with another kunai-knife. What's going on? He thought. They're fighting like amateurs. "Sensei, look out!!" Sakura called to her teacher. Kakashi looked above him and saw another ninja ready to strike. He brought up his kunai to deflect the blow but it was kicked out of his hands and the ninja tackled him to the ground. She was cloaked in black so that the only physical feature that showed was her hands, feet, and her eyes. Her eyes disturbed him for they had the fire of a great and terrible beast, like a tiger ready to pounce on its prey.
"Sensei!!" cried Naruto. Kakashi looked up toward his comrades hidden in the fog. Damn!
"What's the matter?" she taunted. "Worried? Ha!" She twirled a sword in her hand and thrust it toward his heart. "This is too easy!"
There was a loud thunk as her blade went through a log. "Clever," she growled. Kakashi jumped from the trees and charged back at her. A kunai came up from behind but Kakashi was too slow. The kunai struck his right shoulder and he collapsed to the ground. Sakura called out, "Sensei!" . Kakashi slowly returned to his feet and just before the female ninja attacked, he blocked with his own kunai. Sakura started to run to them but he yelled, "Stay back, Sakura! It's not safe. Stay with the others."
"But Kakashi-sensei," she objected. "You're injured and we need to heal it before you bleed to death."
"I'll be fine." He reassured her. "It's not that deep. Besides, if they wanted to kill us they would have done so already."
"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked.
"These guys are after something…or someone." Kakashi answered. "Well?" he yelled at the woman. "What are you here for!?" The woman's eyes only gave an icy response. Her eyes grew wide as she seemed to look behind him. She pushed Kakashi away and retreated into the thick mist. There was rustling in the trees from all around. Once it stopped there was a light patter of feet touching the road. A dark figure could be seen in the mist ahead of them.
"You are Kakashi Hatake, of Konoha Village, yes?" said the figure in a pleasant yet professional voice.
"I am," answered Kakashi. "And who might you be?" The figure came closer until the figure was clearly visible. It was a woman who appeared to be the same age as Kakashi, if not a year younger. She wore a leather jacket that seemed to create a cape behind her legs. She also wore black jean pants that ended at her bare ankles. Her black-pink hair covered the left side of her face while the rest of it was held in a long pony-tail that ended at her back knees. Her eyes were the most disturbing part about her. They were a gold color but showed they same beastly gleam as the other woman. She held a sword that Yuki found very familiar.
"Why not ask the young girl in white?" She said. Everyone looked at Yuki who was shocked that a stranger would point her out. The woman seemed a little hurt when she looked into Yuki's eyes. "What a shame." She shook her head. The events from that day must have wiped her memory clean. She thought. She pointed to Yuki and said, "You, come closer." Kakashi immediately got between them and said, "Hold on! We don't even know who you are. If there is anything you need to say, say it now!"
The woman lowered her hand and said, "Very well." She pointed to her chest and asked, "You have it, don't you?" Yuki looked at her puzzlingly. She, then, remembered her dragon pendant and pulled it out. The blue stone glowed brightly. "That's the one." said the woman. "Do you remember how you got it?"
"No." said Yuki. "I've had it for as long as I can remember."
"I see," said the woman. She held her sword so that all could see the three blue stones that shimmered in the slowly recovering light. "The stone on that pendent is the same as the ones on her sword!" exclaimed Sasuke.
"Exactly," said she. "I am Kocha Tsukikage and I am the one who gave you that pendant."