A/N: Sorry for the horrible transition on that last chapter. I had it lined, tabbed, everything and fanfiction deleted it.

PS. Shout out to ANIMEMANGALUV3R, no pairing as of yet. ;) But we'll keep working on it right? :D This chapter will explore the relationship between Kakashi, Asuma, and Kagome.

Chapter 11

The road home stretched out before them. Zabuza was dead and it was all Kagome could think about. A long time ago she would have easily believed that everyone lived forever and that even the villains in her tale could find redemption. Now she was struck by her own naïveté. Zabuza and Haku weren't just dead, they had died realizing what they had become. They weren't monsters, they were victims of their circumstances but it didn't matter for them in the end. At least, where ever they were they were together. In front of her Naruto laughed and joked with Sasuke and Sakura. How could they go on like none of it had happened? She watched her sensei. How did he feel about this? Naruto's laughter cut like a knife and left a sour taste on her tongue.

"Sensei?" she asked quietly.

He cast a look down to the shadow at his side. He had been doing his best to play along with Naruto's rowdy behavior but when he looked into her haunted blue eyes he felt the battle's toll full force. The two Mist Ninja had been doing as they'd been trained. The others would find ways to hate them or pity them in their own way while he and Kagome seemed to understand the truth behind their deaths. The path of the ninja wasn't always clean. Sometimes it took you straight to hell.

"I know. Sometimes even the loss of an enemy cuts deep. He wasn't a good person but he did die an honorable death." He said looking toward the sky.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw her nod. The pain in her eyes still shone openly and he felt honored to be trusted with such emotion from her. Perhaps there was still a chance to help her. He still planned to talk to Asuma when he got the chance. If Asuma could tell him anything than it was a start. Keeping his senses alert he went through what he did know. Kagome was beaten and abused before she'd come to the village. Enough to destroy her ability to trust but no enough to break her completely. The exact circumstances surrounding her rescue were not known. In fact from what he knew only the team that brought her back and the Hokage knew anything about it. When she had recovered she'd been taken in by a young family that was later brutally murdered and she began to push people away again.

They traversed the rest of the way back in silence. Kagome spoke little but participated in conversations in nods and facial expressions. They all sighed with relief when the gates of the village came into view. They had been gone a week and they were exhausted. Kakashi relaxed a little. He had been unsure why but he felt that there was still danger on the last half of their mission. It felt as though they had been watched but as soon as the gates came into view.

"I'll go turn in the report. You four go home and get some rest." Kakashi ordered gently.

All but Kagome nodded. The girl still looked distant but she registered his order and turned toward home. Following her with his eyes he noticed the way the crowds seemed to part around her and then come back to swallow her. He wanted to help her just as he wanted to help Sasuke. So far both had pushed him away. Kagome, though, had built a wall up between them and left him to find the small windows in to her soul. Once or twice she slammed them shut on him but he felt he knew her a little more each time. Still, he thought as he walked away, he would speak to Asuma. He turned the report over to the Chunin on duty who noted that the mission should have been upped to a B ranked and not given to genin. He seemed surprised that the newbie team of four had handled it so well. Finally the paper work was done and he spotted Asuma speaking with Kurenai.

"Hello, Kakashi," Kurenai greeted as he walked over.

He nodded. "Asuma, can I have a word?" Kakashi asked.

The couple shared a look. Asuma nodded and Kurenai bid them both farewell. The older man led them outside and pulled out a cigarette. "You look like a man on a mission, Kakashi. What do you need?"

"I want you to tell me everything about Kagome Higurashi."

The man sighed. "Let's go get something to eat. There's this great little tea shop down the road." He led the way and as they sat down Asuma asked, "When do you want to begin?"

"As close to the beginning as possible." Kakashi stated as he settled into his seat.

The older man leaned back into his chair. "Before I begin I'd like to ask you something. How is she?"

"Good. She's working well with her teammates. I'm willing to bet that she's stronger than I am, certainly stronger than most people give her credit for. That beginning said she has been distant but I'm starting to get through to her."

Asuma smiled. "Good. When I saw her that day, when she stood up to get a more difficult mission….she was so much stronger." His eyes grew sadder. "She has become so much stronger than I ever expected. I'm glad.

"But you wanted to talk about the past. Kagome was about five when we found her. My team was on a secret mission looking for the cause of some recent destruction. In route we found a girl who had been repeatedly tortured and beaten and then left chained up to bleed out. The man holding her disappeared as soon as we arrived. Considering the state of the girl we let him go. She wouldn't speak to any of us as we carried her back but she did allow Hōshō to heal her wounds to the best of his abilities."

"That explains her aversion to him." Kakasi stated.

"Yes, well, two years ago she wouldn't have reacted that way. Anyway, after we returned I left her with the others at the hospital and returned to the Hokage to give my report. He understood our predicament and agreed to help her. Later that day she spoke to me for the first time. She told me that she wanted to leave. I knew she meant the village and that she was holding back from me. I let it go and soon she was released from the hospital." Asuma continued.

"And that was where the family came in? The Himuras, right? How did they get involved?"

"I don't know," Asuma answered. "The decision came down from the Hokage and we accepted it. He told me he wanted to put her under my protection but he had no way to replace me. So, when I was in the village I was told to watch over her and I did. She was so happy with them, though. They healed her and put light in her eyes again. When they died, all of that changed. The light died and she drew back into herself. The pain nearly killed her." His jaw tensed. "She pushed everyone away after that. The villagers began to whisper she was cursed behind her back and even the Hokage began to worry that she might be a threat to the village. He couldn't send her away, it wasn't in him."

"Do you think he should have?"

"No, it wouldn't have been right. She was so broken and afraid. The last time I spoke to her," he sighed. "She told me she was a bad friend to have and that if I got too close I'd die too."

Something in Asuma's statement made sense. Kagome kept distant from everyone because she thought she was the problem. Still, just to be sure….. "Was it a threat?"

Something flashed in his eyes but he only shook his head. "I think it was a wrning. Her family was killed, in her mind, because she had grown to love them. If she let me in then my death would be on her as well and that would be too much."

Kakashi kept his face serious. He had come to a conclusion already but he needed Asuma to reveal his own opinion before Kakashi could be sure of everything. "So that would explain the distance she keeps. She's afraid people will die if she lets them in. Are you positive she had nothing to do with the murders?"

Asuma's face boiled with rage. "I was with her, Kakashi. She was just a child, do you really think she was capable of doing something like that?"

"I know what she can do now. I watched her fight Jonin on that bridge and win. She's had to have been training for some time now. If she was training then…who knows, maybe she snapped. I was there too, Asuma. She didn't shed a tear."

"She didn't cry when they stitched her up or set her bones, either. She lived in pain for at least five years, Kakashi, nothing can compare to that." Taking a deep breath, Asuma tried to calm himself down. "Look if you want proof she still mourns follow her into the woods to her shrine." He grimaced. "Don't forget the meeting with the Hokage about the Chunin exams."

Asuma stood and left. With a sigh Kakashi left the table as well. He had never truly suspected Kagome had killed the family but he needed to know what Asuma felt for her. The need to protect her and his curt description of how they'd found her proved that Asuma looked at her as more than just a little girl. In fact Kakashi would dare say that Kagome had more family left than she believed and definitely wasn't alone anymore. The mission had proved that she belonged on Team 7 which left him wondering if the team as a whole was ready for the chunin exams.

They were all improving but the exam would test everything they had. Kagome was more than ready and Sasuke could easily match pace with her. Their experience set all of them back from the others who would be testing beside them but he could tell that they could overcome the set back. He shook his head. He would see what Asuma and the others did at the meeting and decide then. Heading home he collapsed and slept fitfully.