Chapter 8

Kagome stood up and turned to fully face the others. Tired muscles protested against the movement but she forced herself to stay up. There was the slightest bit off movement from Kakashi's eyes that gave her the slightest hint that he was trying to wake himself up. No one else had noticed her or Kakashi having gone off into their own worlds after the short interaction between her and Tazuna's daughter. Suddenly Kakashi shot up alert starling the others. Sakura jumped to his aid, pushing him into a sitting position and stabilizing him.

"Sensei are you alright?"

The others chimed in but Kagome just stood there waiting until they were done. Kakashi waved them off and then noticed her standing there. "Good you're awake. There's something I want to run by you, I was thinking it over while you were out. I don't think Zabuza is dead." The others made sounds of astonishment. She waited till they were done. "I couldn't figure it out at first but then I went over the whole thing in my head and it hit me. If that guy was a hunter nin they would have killed Zabuza then and there."

"Maybe they didn't want us to see." Sakura inter injected.

"Once a ninja is dead the secrets held in his body vanish."

"But he did kill him." Naruto yelled. "You checked!"

Kagome looked at Kakashi who nodded for her to continue. "If the hunter nin was real he would have chosen a more lethal area, guarantee the kill. The area of the neck that h hit wasn't. It is far more likely that Zabuza is alive and the boy is working with him on this."

"You've really thought about this. I'm going to have to agree with you on this one." He shifted a bit.

"What are we going to do then, Sensei?" Sakura cried out melodramatically.

"None of us are in any shape to fight, least of all me. We need to rest up and do a little training to prepare you guys to take on Zabuza. Shinobi strategy is to prepare before it's too late." Kakashi said.

"What about Zabuza? If he's still out there there's no telling when he'll come after Tazuna again." Kagome said.

Tazuna stared at the girl. He could have sworn the girl hated him and would rather see him in pain than protect him. The raven haired girl was stranger than he'd expected and now he realized he had been so wrong about calling her weak in her village. She was stronger than any of them.

"About that, Zabuza was put into momentary death, that's how I got it wrong. Anyone in that situation would take days for their bodies to heal and regain their strength."

A wide grin spread across Naruto's face. "So we train until then. Sounds perfect."

Kagome felt a smirk tug at her lips. Then she looked at their Sensei and frowned. There was no way he would be up to any fighting should their estimates be wrong, the man could barely sit up on his own, he probably couldn't walk. He was useless. She sighed and moved closer to him. He looked up at her and looked her in the eye. She hesitated for a moment. Healing his wounds would not only deplete her energy but would stop her own healing as well. Her muscles cried out in pain as she squatted down in front of him.

"Sensei, you're no good to us wounded. If we are attacked by other ninja or are wrong about Zabuza, you'll weigh us down." She said bluntly.

"What are you suggesting, Kagome?"

"I can repair the damage, if you want me to."

Kakashi stared at his mysterious student. He could sense she was holding something back, like what she was about to do would cost her something, yet she was willing to do it. He couldn't help but feel like she know so much more than she was letting on but at the same time it was like it wasn't his to know at all. It scared him to think what might be hidden behind those hard blue eyes. She was a mystery, a canvas covered in cloth and made to look like nothing was painted on it. No matter the weather she covered every inch of skin like she had something to hide. When he'd first seen her, when Asuma had first brought her to the village he'd seen the bandages and could only assume the amount of damage someone had done to her.

He nodded slowly. "Can you really? You took a lot of damage yourself, are you in any condition to be healing someone else?"

"I'll be fine, sensei," she said doing her best to leave her answer there.

Standing behind him she forced healing energy into his back and began repairing his chakra network. It seemed like he did this a lot without any sort of healing. By the time she was done she was slightly dizzy but managed to heal his physical injuries as well. She stepped back and watched with the others as he stood up straight on his own. He thanked her just as Tazuna's daughter came in to remind them about dinner. The shock was evident on her face and when she looked at Kagome there was worry in her eyes. She didn't say anything, just returned to the kitchen. As the group sat down a little boy came down stairs.

"Inari!" Tazuna yelled. "Come give grandpa a hug." The boy did so as he glared at each of them. "Inari, these are the ninja keeping grandpa safe."

"You're all going to die." Inari said.

The room was dead silent in the wake of his statement. Kagome raised an eyebrow at him and swayed a little. Suddenly she was thankful the rest of the room was intent on him and Kakashi wasn't watching her. As she steadied herself she couldn't help but wonder what had made the boy say that. He didn't know any of them so he couldn't hate them or want them dead. He had to have seen something that would make him believe it to be true. Looking at Tazuna her suspicions were confirmed.

"Inari, stop that! Don't be rude to are guests." His mother said sternly.

"But it's true, no one stands up to Gato, no one."

"Hey, listen, Inari, right?" Naruto, don't…. "I'm a hero. I'm going to be the hokage someday, believe it. So don't count me out just yet." Naruto said.

"Idiot, there are no such things as heroes." Inari said turning back upstairs.

"Inari where are you going?" his mother called.

"To look at the ocean from my room."

Biting her tongue in disbelief of her own actions, Kagome made a plate for herself and the boy. She walked up stairs calmly as if daring someone to stop. Sasuke was about to say something but there was something about the way she walked that stopped him. She was intent on helping the boy. So he turned back to the group's conversation.

"What happened?" Kakashi asked Tazuna.

"Years ago, when Gato first came to the mist, Inari's father stood up to him and tried to lead the others to do the same. He failed. Gato ordered the man publicly executed. Inari had to watch. Ever since he hasn't had much hope, none of us have. That's why we need this bridge."

(With Kagome)

Following the boy she found herself standing outside a door as she listened to him crying. Her old self was breaking through. She needed to help him so bad it hurt. She entered quietly not wanting to startle him. Placing his plat in front of him she leaned against the window sill. His sobs decreased as he turned to look at her. Trying to respect him Kagome just looked out on the waves that gave this country its name. Like everything its beauty was more than dangerous.

"What do you want?" he asked fisting his eyes.

"Just thought you might be hungry and didn't want you to have to eat alone." She still wasn't looking at him. "Do you want to talk about it?" His silence answered her completely.

She took a deep breath and just ate. Noticing she wasn't going to push it he followed suite. Every now and then he would stop and stare at her from the corner of his eye. She was so a peace in the silence it scared him a little. Everyone else always wanted him to talk. Tell them how he felt so that they could try and make him feel better. They just wanted to feel better about themselves, like they'd done something right. None of them actually cared and when he didn't feel better after a while they stopped asking and avoided him.

"I once knew a man who could turn in to a giant dog. He had the foulest temper. He was a bitter and jealous man. But there was this little girl, she helped him and then he saved her life. Melted his heart, he became one of the kindest men I knew, like a big brother who'd do anything for you." She looked down with a smile then she turned back up to look at the stars. "The little girl loved him with all her heart and when they'd visit we'd all watch as she collected fireflies or just danced in the starlight. She would say that the stars were fireflies or nymphs or ghosts and the man's servant would argue with her. I forget what he said but we would just sit there and laugh."

"What happened to them? The man and the girl and his servant?" Inari asked.

Her smile dropped. "They're gone; they died a long time ago."

"My father stood up to Gato and Gato killed him."

Her face darkened even more. Gato had to be the worst piece of shit human to walk this earth. She had known monsters almost all of her life but this man had ravaged a country all for money. No wonder Zabuza worked for him as a hired thug. They were an alliance of pure evil keeping the waves in a tight grip. Looking back at the boy she thought back to what had been said earlier. It was up to them to save the land of the waves or at least keep Tazuna safe to save it so that Inari could believe again. No amount of words would change him only their actions.

"I know it's hard to believe in a guy like Naruto or in a girl like me but we're here to help. That's our duty. Your grandfather will finish his bridge and we will protect him one hundred percent. I know it's hard to believe but we have to and Naruto is an amazing ninja and, no matter what, we will keep your grandfather safe."

She put her hands on his shoulders. His eyes were wide. Traveling done to where they touched and then following her arms back up to her face he saw the scars on her arms through a gash and could see her muscle beneath. They reminded him of his father's arms, strong and marked with evidence of what he would do for others. He nodded slowly once he had reached her face. She smiled lightly once again before taking their plates and leaving. He watched after her and then turned back to look at the waves.

(Downstairs)

Kagome joined Tazuna's daughter in the kitchen and helped to clean up. The others eyed her wondering if she would open up about what had gone on upstairs. Instead, she focused on her work beside the older woman. As soon as she was done she was gone. Sasuke almost followed her but it was Naruto who stopped him. The Uchiha forced himself not to say anything until he noticed the look on the blonde's face. He had never seen the other boy so serious before.

"Sasuke, let her go. She's used to being alone all the time. She needs it right now." Naruto said.

It had never crossed anyone's mind that despite the two being outcast by the village they might have accepted each other. They finished their meal in silence. Afterwards Kakashi went outside to see if he could find his loner student. There were so many questions he had for her. They started from the day she was found to the present. When he couldn't find her he headed back to the house and found Inari on the dock looking out on the waves. The jounin sat down beside the boy surprised at how easily his muscles responded and the lack of pain from his injuries. Whatever Kagome had done had fixed him up completely.

"I'm sorry about Naruto, he can be a little…over the top at times. But I bet you that's his defense mechanism. Without it he wouldn't be able to face the villagers who treat him like trash and refuse to acknowledge him at all. I'm willing to bet that he's forced himself not to cry about it anymore. You see, he never knew his parents and everyone in the village hates him for no real reason. Yet, he keeps going, swearing to become Hokage one day." Kakashi said looking out on the waves.

"What about her, Kagome?" Inari asked after a moment.

The jounin sighed. "She is an enigma, that one. The very first time I saw her she was seven, half dead, being carried in to the village on the backs of a squad that had saved her. She was so small. She barely spoke and no matter what she wouldn't show any emotion. Then, the next time I saw her, there was light in those eyes, a beautiful bright blue light. She looked like a real kid. But that's when it all went wrong. I was there when they brought her to see the bodies, the house. There was so much blood." Kakashi's visible eye looked sad. "The only family she'd ever known was killed, even the baby. I watched as her eyes became dull again, lifeless. She never cried for them. I don't think she can anymore, like she forced herself to stop a long time ago."

Inari was silent taking it all in. "She told me this story. It was about a man and a little girl. How she and the man would watch as the girl danced under the night sky. How they died. She seemed so alone, like she couldn't let anyone close."

"I suspect she thinks that." Kakashi thought back to that first day she'd gone looking for with an angry guilt in her eyes. She wanted out of the group so badly but somehow she'd convinced herself to stay. "Inari, I want you to remember something you aren't alone. Others are suffering too and they may look to you one day to save them, be ready and don't let them down."

Sorry it took so long. I'm in Highschool and super busy.