Chapter 10

When dinner was done Kagome left the house quietly. Since she had been with the bridge builder all day she was unable to do anything but the weight lifting she'd done in order to help out with construction. If she wanted to get better she would have to get some practice in on this mission. She stretched as she walked. It was an excuse to look over her shoulder at her silver haired shadow. He had made an excuse to follow her. His curiosity was strange. Most people in the village were openly hostile to her and would ignore her silent exits. Naruto was one of the few people who always tried to connect to her and get her to talk. The other two ignored her out of instinct and a conditioned reaction. But Kakashi knew more than the three of them, she knew where she'd seen him before. He had been an Anbu when her family had been killed. He had stood by as she had been accused and as she had mourned in silence. It was for that reason he was curious about her.

Eventually she came to a small clearing. Kakashi watched from the shadows as she brought out a sword and created a clone. The copy was perfect and as they danced Kakashi couldn't tell the difference between the two. Either she had been lying about kenjutsu being a weak skill for her or she was overly critical of her own skills. He was sure it was the later. From what he had seen she had confidence issues that were reinforced by those around her. He silently watched her recover from the dance only to begin a moment later. Even her stamina was above genin level.

"Like what you see sensei?" the real Kagome asked as she dispelled the clone.

"Your sword play is better than most I've seen. Most Jonin can't boost that level of skill." He said coming out of the shadows. "If that is your worst skill the thought of the others scares me. You could easily pass the Chunin Exams now if you wanted to." He gave her a serious look. "However I need you to stay with the team for now."

"Why?"

"You make them better. Sasuke cares more around you, Naruto thinks he can learn from you, and Sakura envies you enough to work hard to surpass you. Without you they won't have that. Plus, I could use a good healer on my team for my own sake. I'm bad at taking care of myself, you've seen that." He stepped closer. "There's also the fact that I want to try and prove to you that you are not alone." She glared at him. "Don't give me that look. I know what you've been up to. You don't care about yourself because you think no one cares about you. You heal others first, you hunt and gather for the people of this country, and you train alone. Why won't you let anyone get close to you?"

"It isn't safe. Goodnight, sensei." She said walking away.

He sighed. She was an interesting girl. Sakura had mentioned her nightmares and Naruto told him about how they had been comrades at the academy. It was Sasuke that had told him about her private training sessions. Heading back to the house he made plans to see Asuma as soon as he returned to the Leaf. If anyone knew anything about Kagome it would be him. He watched as Kagome entered the house and then stayed outside to watch the stars. He wondered what danger surrounded her. He wouldn't deny its existence, after all Kagome had been broken when she'd come to the village and her family had been murdered. Sometime later he went inside to his pallet.

The next morning he watched Kagome help with breakfast yet again. When she noticed he was watching she looked away and pretended not to notice him. His other students came down in shifts. Sasuke was first. The prodigy noticed the girl and moved to help her silently. Kakashi silently wondered if the boy had feelings for the strange girl. He smiled under his mask. Just then Sakura came down. She too noticed the way Kagome and Sasuke shifted around each other.

"Where's Naruto?" Kakashi asked.

"Still asleep." Sasuke said.

"I'll go wake him up." Kagome said quietly.

Later as they ate breakfast Kakashi watched as Naruto tried to get the others o spill on how to complete the training. "Naruto you have to work it out yourself, just like Sasuke." Kakashi said. "Girls, I'm sending both of you with Tazuna. Time is running out. Zabuza could still be recovering or he could be planning his next assault."

Kagome nodded seriously understanding his meaning but Sakura squealed. Wincing the black haired girl stood and helped to clear the dishes. After their conversation Kagome knew that Kakashi was only sending the other girl to prove that Kagome would challenge her. She knew there was more to it though. He wasn't selfish enough to keep her there for their gain. Apparently she stood to gain from staying as much as they did. Finishing up she joined the others at the table.

"So, Kagome what did you do yesterday?" Sakura asked.

"Nothing really. I helped with some of the construction since it was so quiet." She noticed the way the other girl's face fell.

When Tazuna was ready the three of them left for the bridge. Before hey made it too far Kakashi called out that Kagome was in charge in case anything happened. It made Sakura's shoulders slump even more. Kagome said nothing even after they made it to the bridge. Like she had the day before she keep her senses focused on the surrounding areas and then to be sure sent out a few clones to be sure. He men welcomed her back and set her to work doing unskilled labor. At break she found Sakura sitting with the bridge builder. As they ate a man came up to the bridge builder trying to quit. Kagome sensed that Tazuna wasn't truly angry with the man, definitely disappointed but the bridge builder understood. For all Kagome's caution, nothing happened. They headed back a sunset to find dinner waiting.

"Where's Sasuke?" Sakura asked.

"Both of the boys stayed behind to try and finish their training. In their defense they were getting closer." Kakashi said smiling beneath his mask.

After dinner Tazuna's daughter made up plates for the two. Kagome went out to the dock and watched the stars. Working all day had tired her out and her muscles hurt too much to train anymore. As she laid back looking up at the night sky she remembered what she'd told Inari the night before. Rin always made up stories about how the stars came to be. When she'd gone to sleep Miroku would tell them how he stars were kami and souls who guarded over the human world. She wondered if her friends were up their now watching her, never mind that she knew that they were balls of hot gas.

"So nymphs or fireflies or ghosts?" Kakashi asked.

"Another friend said they were spirits watching over us." She said calmly.

"I like that story better. Do you believe it? That your family is up there watching over you?" he asked gently.

"I want to believe it. Why do you want to know so much about me?"

"I want to be sure I can trust you. Also I want to show you we can be trusted. Whatever happened is in the past. Moving on is the only path."

"It's not my path though. I have to do something else before I can. But you understand that don't you, Kakashi-sensei?" She sat up tilting her head back. "If they're up there I want to make them proud and put them to rest. They don't need to watch me forever."

"If they are watching you wouldn't want them to see you suffer either."

She looked down sadly. I'm sorry. Please, forgive me but I will do his for you. I'll finish this so you left nothing undone. Find peace, for me please. "Goodnight, sensei."

That night she dreamt of battle and, for the first time, it didn't take place in the feudal era. It was the team's fight with Zabuza. It was going well until the water clone had her pinned. Suddenly Naraku was there in the woods watching her struggle. The smile on his lips made her blood run cold and her scars ache. Fear crushed her as Zabuza continued to press on her back and she could hear the others fighting behind her. She braced herself against the rocky shore and pushed up. This fight hadn't ended badly. They had won.

Smirking she picked up her sword, "I am not weak."

Waking with the dawn she felt refreshed. She went out to do a little training seeing as the others wouldn't be awake for a while. Sometime later Kakashi joined her. Tazuna sent Inari out when breakfast was almost ready. The silence between the two was more companionable now. She went upstairs to clean herself up. Coming back she saw that everyone was up besides Naruto and assumed the blonde had come back late and was therefore still sleeping. She smiled softly at the thought. Sitting down, though, she could sense the seriousness coming off their sensei.

"We'll all be going to the bridge today. It's been too quiet these past two days. That means that Zabuza has had two days to recover his strength." Kakashi said. "Kagome, what have you been doing to keep watch on the bridge?"

"I've been using shadow clones to keep tabs while we were there. I didn't find much. Some animal tracks and a few human tracks but they all lead back to huts in the village. There were a few times I thought I sensed the bridge was being watched but I could never find the source." She said honestly.

"We head out in ten minutes. Get your things and be ready. You will all need to be prepared." Kakashi ordered.

They all nodded seriously and the others went to get their things. When Kakashi gave her a questioning look Kagome patted her leg. As usual she had everything she needed on her person. Kakashi made a mental note to ask her what she was so afraid of that made her carry weapons everywhere but he let it slide for now. The girl might be mysterious but she had proven trust worthy so far and for that he could live with her mysteries. He watched her help Tazuna's daughter in the kitchen as they waited for the others to come back. Once the others were back, their gear secured, they left for the bridge. As she left Kagome placed her hand on Inari's head, just barely ruffling his hair. There was weight to it. A promise. We'll be back. Everything will be fine. She pulled her hand back with a sot smile and walked away. The bridge builder pretended not to see the way her faced dropped as soon as she knew the boy wasn't looking. She looked hardened and it scarred him.

Kagome knew she shouldn't try to comfort Inari but after conquering her dreams she felt stronger and with Kakashi on her side…Well she was healing again. It was wrong. The last time it ended badly. She was stronger now, better. And her friends could fight back. For now though, she pushed the thoughts rom her head and focused on the task at hand. Zabuza was out there and the mist was heavy as they approached the bridge.

Tazuna's family was safe as Naruto ran for the bridge. The fight had begun and he was late. He wasn't going to let his teammates down.

A/N: I will not be rewriting the bridge scene as it would take forever and I don't want to transcribe it from the manga or the episodes. It happens about the same but with Kagome helping them. Really, I want to start on the next phase which starts with the Chunnin exams.