A/N Alright, this took a while, and I'm sorry in advance.
This kinda is and isn't a chapter. It's short for one. And also just a little 'insight' on Kakashi...i guess.
I just felt something was required since I'm planning to jump straight into Naruto's genin days next chapter...yay.
But i was planning to write a Kakashi insight chapter..an 'omake' and here it is...
So, I'm sorry it's a bit in substantial but I hope you enjoy regardless.
~Chapter 22 - THE REMINISCING OF HATAKE KAKASHI
When he first saw her, she was only a young girl, tattered and bathed in blood. To his surprise, despite her appalling condition she was alive, she had held on to that thin tether that kept her heart beating. His team had simply handed her off to the hospital and that was that. Intriguingly what should have taken months to heal occurred overnight. It was a saddeningly suitable bloodline for a ninja. Why so? Because even if she healed faster, it didn't eliminate the pain of being injured. A quicker recovery equalled to more dangerous missions which meant more life-threatening damage. She could be beaten to half-to-death several times over and yet her body would heal. A blessing and a curse when looked at from different perspectives.
She cleaned up well, and after the doctors and nurses had finished mending her broken body, she was nothing more than an endearing little girl. She reminded him of his sensei, with the same sunny appearance, but there was more to it than that. She held herself the same way, and that in itself, was odd. After all, how could an eight year old child share the same presence as a twenty something veteran ninja?
Miyu had a lot of secrets, Kakashi had learnt that very early on. He wasn't completely convinced about her amnesiac life but at the same time there was no other option for him to choose. He wondered, if it was merely a forgotten habit that she would consistently reach up to touch the rings on her necklace. Those same rings seemed to fascinate him, never mind the priceless jewel wedge between them, he was more interested in the familiar metallic sheen of the trinkets and the hidden inscription that had long worn away.
She smiled often. It wasn't like the ones Minato made, the wide grins that shared his happiness with those around him, no, it was more like Kushina's. The best word to describe it would be restrained. It was expression of happiness for sure, but it was one that remembered tragedy. Kushina he could understand, having lost her village it was almost a miracle she was still the cheerful redhead they knew. But what did Miyu grieve for when her memories were supposedly blank?
She was an Uchiha, Namikaze and Uzumaki. Her blood tied to those who founded the village and protected it, making it invaluable and at the same time infamous. Her existence was kept as hidden as possible. With his sensei rising to take the position of Hokage, anyone connected to him would be in danger of being a target. The girl in question chose to reside within the Uchiha. Fugaku and his wife welcomed her much to his relief.
She trained a lot for someone so young. With the war dying out it was a reprieve for most, but she used every bit of her free time training. Whether it was within the Academy, among his team or in her own free time. The blonde practised with unseen shadows, each time she dodged a punch he could clearly see the length of the attacking arm, each time she struck a vital he could see the mysterious form of whoever she was sparing with. Tall, that was the first thing he noticed, it was odd for such a small girl to always be aiming her attacks upwards… He hadn't realized it had become a habit to watch her until her fox of a nin-ken had started sitting beside him, both of their eyes intently watching her flowing form.
Suddenly and unexpectedly, he soon lost many important things. It was impossible to tell if he had cried with the rain that poured down his face but for sure he had lost more things than a friend on that day. He had felt it, as his hands pierced through her chest, the absence that was reflected in his own. There was no time for him to come to terms with it either, no time to grieve properly, as just a couple days after his sensei was seen rushing to Konoha's hospital with a corpse in his arms.
It was image engraved into his arms, the small girl whose company he enjoyed, was unconscious, unmoving in those strong arms…just like when she had first arrived. The smell of blood and burnt flesh assaulted him though he was a distance away, similarly the sound of a stray kunai hitting the floor as it dislodged from her brought him back to his senses. One by one he was losing his closest friends and now it seemed he would lose another. Kakashi had never felt so helpless in his entire life.
She was strong, spending an irritatingly large amount of time with Gai and Hayato, and yet for all her training, she wasn't invincible.
On the birth of the Yondaime's son she had disappeared. The result of that day, upon the frightening appearance of the legendary Nine-tailed fox, was unknown to a majority of Konoha. The only ones who knew the full truth were the Sandaime, Yondaime and Toad Sage. The higher ranked, well-trusted ninja were given a brief, edited version. Both he and Miyu had been among the few that had received the privilege of knowledge, but he was convinced she knew more.
Four years later she was kidnapped along with the Hyuga heiress. It was a small matter and one where both victims came out unscathed, but her hidden existence was now revealed to the world. The rumours had begun about Minato's love-child, and the blue-eyed Uchiha. It wasn't long before she had built up a reputation among the hidden nations.
Everything went by quickly and it became hard to imagine a Konoha without her. He had suspected it was around her comeback from Suna that his...feelings had changed. With his never-ending inflow of missions though, there was little time for him to ponder it. If he left for a couple days he would lose track of routine and find her spending more time with the Yamanaka as opposed to the Nara. When he was gone for weeks she might have newer clothes, and a different hairstyle, courtesy of Itachi's whims. And apparently, when he left for months, she had brought back an apprentice…
Kimimaro he liked. The kid was quiet, and together they could both enjoy watching Miyu train. He had quickly learnt that training was her outlet. Each time something troubled her she would go through complex kata or simply find Gai. He had watched her practised movements day after day and yet he only realized after, when it was far too late to offer his help.
He had never said that one certain phrase but he was sure she understood. For a long time the air between them was thick, and Miyu acted far more distant than he had expected, though living in the same house meant it was impossible to escape each other. He had finally begun to realize how difficult it would be to monopolize her as he wanted; especially since every time she looked at him, she was seeing someone else.
Who? That was his first question, something his jealousy demanded he answer. For one, he knew it could not be anyone in Konoha, or anyone still in the land of the living. No she looked as if she longed after a ghost.
He tried in earnest to prove his affections and he thought his attempts successful. If flowers from Inoichi would make her smile he would continue to give her bouquets. If a sword from a quiet blacksmith in Suna made her eyes light up he would continue to shower her in fine blades. Kakashi knew he would never fully understand her but he was fine with that. Her mystery was something that had intrigued him in the first place.
A month after they moved into their new home Miyu had settled into a rather depressed state. It couldn't have been anything to do with the Uchiha as the only ones she cared returned her feelings. So, without a clue, he had simply asked. Apparently she was fighting with her ninken, something he didn't quite understand. Kurama, was "being mean and unreasonable again" or so she had explained. All he understood was that the fox had changed something in her stagnated emotions.
She came back one day from who knows where, and just looked lighter, as if a heavy boulder had been lifted from her heart. She had promptly taken his hand to pull him closer and returned the favour he had given the day he confessed. She had smiled into the kiss and he had followed, his heart fluttering in anticipation.
On September 15th his birthday rolled around, one he had never particularly celebrated though this year it was different. It was a small gathering held in their isolated house, though most of Konoha's jounin's packed themselves in happily enough. The gifts flooded in along with the questions and he was pressed for answers.
Minato had given him a scroll he had 'borrowed' from the Hokage's forbidden stash, but only after he promised no harm would come to his precious niece-come-daugter. Kushina quickly pulled the overbearing Hokage off him, but not without a warning as she wrapped a knitted scarf tightly around his neck…very tightly.
From Fugaku and Mikoto he received a small gift of a clan scroll and their blessings, though the Uchiha head refused to cease his glaring. Likewise, their sons provided him with a quality blade cleaning set, but not without showing their dislike for the silver haired male as they clung to his blonde for the rest of the night.
Iruka had punched him. And though younger, he certainly packed enough that would leave his shoulder sore. He had also given him a useful set of hand-tagged kunai, one that was not only useful, but showed the amount of effort he had gone through to create them.
It followed the same pattern. Gift, threat, congratulations. An odd set by far, but it was obvious how many truly cared for Miyu. He would've been offended if he didn't understand their feelings and honestly he would've done the same.
His favourite present, had obviously come from his blue-eyed sweetheart. She had given him his father tanto, the same one that had been destroyed years ago. The guard had been removed, the handle changed, but he would recognize the blade's sheen anywhere. Often he had asked for it to be fixed but with so much of the metal missing when it had shattered there was little to be done. Somehow Miyu had repaired it, where she had found the ore for it he didn't know or care, treasuring it all the same.
It was only during the hug that followed he noticed the missing rings on her necklace, the odd gem looking meagre on the thin chain.
A/N like I said, short sweet and to the point
basically...i just didn't want it to feel to rushed in the next chapters..cause Kakashi and Miyu will be pretttttttttttty close...and its weird if I instantly jumped to it...not that I think this chapter did much to bridge that gap...oh well.
Also the whole 'niece-come-daughter' is a technically incorrect (originating from a latin word that I can't use without giggling)...I changed it a bit..
As always thanks for reading 3