Destiny of the Cursed
Chapter 5: Similarities
Flashback:
"Uzumaki Naruto VS Hyuuga Neji!"
"Gaara VS Uchiha Sasuke!"
"Kankuro VS Aburame Shino!"
"Nara Shikamaru VS Temari!"
"Nara Shikamaru/Temari VS Hatake Katana!"
The participants waited. "One month. To improve, train and rest. Dismissed!" announced the Hokage.
End Flashback
At the Hospital….
Katana looked from left to right. She still couldn't find him. Where was he? She went to the nurses' counter. "Excuse me, Miss." She said. The nurse in charge looked up and smiled. "Yes? What can I do for you, Hatake-san?" She was pretty well known in here. Kakashi had been sent a lot of times in the hospital when he was still in the ANBU Black Ops. And it was always her who took care of him. She was really young at that time, but she was mature and responsible enough to know that crying for him to come back wouldn't solve anything. "Ah, is Tou-san here?" she asked, directly going to the point. "Well… I saw him go in but, I'm not sure if-" Katana sighed and snapped at the nurse. "Tell me the truth. I know he's with Sasuke-kun but I don't give a damn about the Uchiha at the moment. I need to see Tou-san!" she told the nurse. The nurse avoided eye contact. She knew she was caught. Kakashi suddenly appeared out from a corner. "Hm? Katana-chan? What are you doing here?" he asked the girl. Katana looked relieved. "Tou-san, we have to talk." She said as walked out of the hospital. Kakashi followed close behind her. They stopped in a tree shade. "What do you wanna tell me?" he asked his daughter. "Tou-san…My opponent is either the girl from Suna or Shikamaru." She told him. He signaled for her to continue. "I need you to train me, please." She begged. Kakashi stared at her as if saying, 'I-want-to-but-I-can't.'
He sighed after a moment. "Katana-chan, I want to help but…" he looked at her… and regretted it. She did her famous puppy dog eyes at him. He sweated nervously. Now, how can he say no to that?
"I— uh… aw come on! Don't look at me like that!" he protested. "It's bad enough that I can't help you and now you have to guilt me!" Katana's head fell in defeat. "Fine, fine. But do you know someone who can teach me?" she asked. Kakashi rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Weelll, you could just train under Ebisu-sensei and with Naruto." He said. Katana's eye twitched in suppressed irritation. "You're asking me to train with the loudmouthed brat and that closet perv?" she repeated in her own words. Kakashi sent her a blank look. "Why does everyone call him a closet pervert?" he asked incredulously. Katana face palmed. "That's probably because he is." She answered back. She sighed.
This is getting me nowhere… she decided.
"I'm gonna find my own sensei." She said to him as she walked away. "Will you be alright?" called out Kakashi. "Yeah, I'll be fine! Goodluck training Sasuke!" Seeing her walk away, Kakashi smiled secretly. As I expected from her…
With Katana…
"Sighhh… I am so not gonna be fine!" she growled out, as frustrated as ever. She continued to walk. "Where the hell I am even going?" she asked herself aloud. A grumbling sound came in reply. It was her stomach. "Greatt…" she scoffed. She looked around and saw a dango shop nearby. She went inside. Approaching the waitress, she ordered 2 sticks of dango. Searching for a seat, she noticed someone familiar. "Gaara!" she called out happily. The redhead and his teammates perked up, not sure if what they heard was correct. Was somebody calling GAARA? Temari and Kankuro asked themselves. Even Gaara himself refused to believe that somebody called him. But the voice kept repeating. "Gaara! Gaara-kun! Over here!" Slowly, he lifted up his head. His eyes met a pretty girl. Er, a girl. What's happening to me? He asked himself, confused. Why is my heartbeat this fast?
He put a hand over his heart. Katana happily skipped towards the sand team. "Ohayo Temari-san! Kankuro-san!" she greeted. They nodded, dumbfounded that she'd even dare get close and talk to them. She looked at Gaara. Her smile faded. "I'm sorry if I upset you yesterday, Gaara-kun. I didn't mean to." she apologized and bowed before him. Again smiling softly, she bid her goodbye with her dango. The siblings were frozen with shock. Before she disappeared completely, Gaara stopped her. "Wait!" Temari and Kankuro stared at him. Katana looked back. "Hm?" she asked, mouth full of dango. For he first time of his life, Gaara didn't know what to say. "…. Train with us." He offered, though he wasn't quite sure why he did that. The other two had their jaws dropped on the table. Katana's eyes widened. "R-really?" she asked. Gaara nodded carefully. Katana chuckled. "Arigatou!" she said. "I'll meet you at the training grounds tomorrow at 7!" with that she went out.
Gaara sat down and stared in the blank space. He looked at his siblings. They looked away nervously. Again he stared blankly. Why…did I do that?
Katana's smile was wide as she strolled down the road. So far, this day was the best. "Lee-kun, please stop!" yelled a feminine voice. Alarmed, she ran towards the voice only to go to the hospital and see Rock Lee, still recovering from the damage he took, doing push-ups and physically straining himself. "Lee…" she breathed out horrified, before dashing. "Lee-kun! Lee-kun, Stop!" she shouted. Lee turned to the direction of her voice. "Katana…" he smiled before wincing painfully. He fell on the ground with a thud. "Please watch over him while I get a stretcher!" the nurse told her. She nodded. Kneeling on the ground beside the boy, she gazed at his face. "Baka ne…" she mumbled sadly. She stayed to watch over him until it was late afternoon. She decided to leave, since Pakkun would be home when Kakashi isn't and she should really not get him worried. Last time she did, it wasn't good, I tell you.
She turned right on a corner. Then left. Another right. She stopped abruptly. What the? She was back in the previous street she was walking on. What's happening? She thought. Is it some kind of genjutsu? A bone chilling chuckle sent shivers down her spine. "Long time no see, Katana-chan." It sounded feminine but thick with accent. She glanced back. A woman in a black dress, with long fingernails and black lipstick strode her way towards her. Katana couldn't move. She was scared and something about that woman made her blood boil. It was hatred, though she didn't know why. The stranger was awfully familiar. "My, my… Don't tell me you don't remember…" she teased her. Moving her hand near Katana's face, she brushed a stray hair. She looked at Katana in the eyes. Hers was black and gold. Just like what happens to Katana when her curse activates. Something snapped in Katana. She remembered and hoped that she didn't. "You…" she whispered with narrowed eyes. "You're the one who gave me this curse…." Slapping the woman's hand away, she got on a battle stance. She only giggled. "I do not wish to fight, only to talk." She said to the young girl. "But", she said, faking to be hurt, "since you're in no mood to talk, I'll save it for later. Bye bye!" With a wink, she disappeared. Everything around Katana seemed to swirl. "NO! Get back here!" she screamed but no one answered. Darkness engulfed her. She couldn't breath. "Ahhhh!"
"Katana!" shouted someone, and she looked up hastily. Light blinded her momentarily before she focused her eyes on Sakura's face. She relaxed and breathed in and out. "Geez, you scared me there for a moment." Stated the pink-haired girl, sitting beside her. She realized that she was still in the hospital, still in Lee's room. A dream…
"Creeeaaaakkk…." The door went. Both her and Sakura looked at the door, curious on who it might be. Katana saw a tuft of red hair. Her eyebrow rose. "G-Gaara?" The door banged wide open and in a blink of an eye, the two girls were trapped in sand. Katana struggled to move. "Gaara!" she yelled angrily. "What are you doing?" He ignored her and made his way towards the unconscious Rock Lee. Sand climbed up Lee's face. Sakura panicked. "No!" she said helplessly. Katana noticed something. Gaara wasn't acting normal. Something was off with him. Like he was forced to do this. He suddenly clutched his head in agony. It only made her more nervous.
"What are you doing here, you bastard?" Naruto screeched. Katana didn't know how he got here or how he even knew they were in trouble. He punched Gaara in the face. Shikamaru was there too, holding the sand boy in place by his shadow jutsu. Now that he was distracted, Katana grabbed a kunai from her pocket and slashed on the sand, making it loose enough for her to escape. She did the same to Sakura. Then she bumped herself into Gaara, her kunai still at hand. She pointed it to his neck. "Why are you here?" she asked harshly. She didn't want to sound so cold to him but he wasn't his real self. "I was trying to kill him." He answered her bluntly and glared, hoping it would scare her. It didn't work. She only glared back. "Why do you want to kill him?" asked Shikamaru. "Do you have a grudge against him?" added Sakura. "I'm going to kill him just because I want to." he said. Everyone in the room was shocked. "BASTARD!" bellowed Naruto. "If you get in my way… I'll kill you to." he threatened. "Go ahead and try!" dared Naruto but Shikamaru stopped him. The Konoha smart-ass tried bluffing. "You may be strong, but there's four of us. You're at a disadvantage." He told Gaara. "I will say it again, get in my way and I'll kill you." He said expressionlessly. "I won't get killed!" spat Naruto. "Even though you're strength is like a monster… I have a real one inside me." He smirked. Gaara only snorted. "A monster, huh? That makes the same for me. I was born a monster. Shukaku was placed inside me using sand… My own father did it to me." He explained. Shikamaru chuckled nervously. "What a weird expression of love." He commented. "Don't judge me." Said Gaara and for a moment Katana remembered herself in him. "To me, families are only pieces of flesh, connected to me by hatred and pain. I was spoiled since I was a child. I thought it was love." Katana's kunai went down, little by little. Her grip on his also loosened a bit.
"But that was before the incident happened…" he began speaking again.
"What incident?" Katana asked. A crazy lunatic smile took over his face. "For the last 6 years, my father has tried many times to assassinate me!"
"Wh-What?" Sakura exclaimed. "But I thought your father spoiled you?"
"They realized I was too dangerous when I turned 6. Now, all they want is for me to disappear… like the past. Then why am I alive? If I have no reason to live… then it's the same as being dead." Katana and Naruto understood him greatly. He's the same as us… thought the two of them. "I found a reason to keep living. As I continued to kill assassins, I came to this conclusion: I exist to kill every human being but myself… fight for only yourself and love only yourself."
I was alone back then…despised for what I am. Father sent assassins after me and I killed them too for the sake of living. But then I reached this village and found Kakashi-sensei…he was the only one to see me for what I really was, deep inside. My reason to live is to protect this village. Thought Katana.
But he… he continued to be alone since this day… he thinks no one cares for him…
I continued to live, for my goal is to be Hokage. He experienced what it means to live by killing others… Naruto thought sadly as well. We're all the same… but very different!
Sand rose up, ready to attack. Katana backed away from him. "Now… let me live." He stated. "That's enough!" a voice shouted from behind them. The genins looked. Gai-sensei stood there with a grave look on his face. "The finals are almost near. Don't get antsy. Unless of course, you want to stay here as well." He warned Gaara. Gaara dragged himself out of the door. "I'll definitely kill you guys. Just wait." He hissed before completely going out. Katana's face was blank. Earlier this day…he was so caring… What happened to him? Weariness took over her. She hadn't had a decent meal all day, she was dead beat and her body seemed to be heavier than usual. She tripped on her own two feet. Luckily, Naruto and Sakura caught her just in time. "You okay, Katana-chan?" asked Sakura. Katana's vision blurred by the second. "I..I don't know." She said. "Let's get you home then." Naruto and Sakura acted as her support and walked her to her home.
"Thanks guys." She said with a tired smile. They smiled back. "Are you going to okay by yourself?" asked Sakura, worriedly. Katana nodded. "Hai, I'll be fine." The other two walked away. Katana entered the house. "Pakkun? I'm home!" she yelled. A series of heavy footsteps echoed throughout the house. "KATANA!" shouted a panicked Kakashi, at sight of her. "Eh? Tou-san? What are you doing here? I thought you were—" Kakashi hugged her tightly. She stopped talking and realized that she was very late. "I thought we had a deal." Said Kakashi. "You broke it. When you weren't still home by 6, Pakkun went and told me. I was scared." He told her. Only to her would he be this open about his feelings. And this way, Katana felt special. She hugged him back. "Gomenasai, Tou-san. Something unexpected happened." She explained. Kakashi pulled back. He sighed. "Just— just please don't do that again. I thought you were hurt." She smiled. "Hai. I'll be in my room. Goodnight."
"Goodnight, Katana." He said.
Katana shut the door to behind her. Too tired to change into her pajamas, she dashed and let herself fall in her bed. Crawling underneath the covers, she went still in deep thought. "Fight for only yourself and love only yourself…" his voice echoed loudly on her mind. "He's not that scary…" she said aloud. "Personally, I think he's cute." She covered her mouth. What did I just say? "Oh my god… No. No, no, no, no. It couldn't be possible. I couldn't… like him, right?" she told herself. Then she recalled her past moments with him. The way she felt happiness fill her, how her heart runs a marathon when she looks at him… "I do like him…" she whispered. An idea hit her. She smirked. I just hope fate will be cooperative enough…Those were the last words she wished as sleep took over her.
End Chapter