Chapter CI

For a While…

I stop training when the sun's light begins to fade. As I promised Naruto, I let him do what he wants, although I ask him not to wander too far. Quickly, the teenager disappears from my field of vision. Not at all worried, I lie down near a tree to read Make-Out Paradise. With my sense of smell, I roughly know where he is; his strong scent, which is strangely pleasant now, makes it easier for me. Of course, I can no longer fall asleep without Naruto's venom, but I still take a nap… Maa, sort of. I put my open book on my face while crossing my arms behind my head. I enjoy the moment without thinking about anything.

At sunset, I feel a familiar presence approaching me, and this presence is Sakura.

"Yo!"

"I've been looking for you all day, Kakashi-Sensei," she grunts sternly. "What are you doing here? You should be home recovering. I remind you that you're seriously injured."

I let out a sigh and remove the book from my face. She glares at me and isn't happy to find me here; her face speaks for itself. "Where's Naruto, by the way?" she adds worriedly.

"He's wandering around," I say nonchalantly as I sit down. "You don't have to worry. He's not very far."

Sakura looks at the bark of the tree that Naruto scratched earlier. The damage is chilling, as if a big cat had attacked it. The scratches are deep, having dug several centimetres into the trunk that didn't ask for anything. After this brief analysis, she turns her stern gaze back to me. Her frown betrays her distrust.

"You're here to examine my injuries, right?" I say.

A leaden silence sets in, getting on my nerves. Her facial features darken; this doesn't bode well.

"Kakashi-Sensei… You couldn't walk on your own before yesterday. Ino told me that you were already on your feet that very evening as if nothing had happened. And now I find you here. What's more, you seem to be in great shape and not at all suffering martyrdom."

'Damn it,' I blurt out to myself. I'm caught red-handed…

"Show me your injuries," she orders me.

I hold her gaze, which pierces me right through. My heart races and I frown. I don't want to undress and reveal one of my secrets about my body… Alas, if I refuse, I'll become suspect, and knowing the young girl, she'll do everything she can to discover my nasty secrets. I'm backed into a corner. I have no credible lies to tell her. If I had kindly stayed home, she wouldn't have asked me to see my injuries so soon. But I didn't want to spend an entire week between the four walls of my apartment. I'm tired of being trapped inside. I honestly need some fresh air. Because of my own whim, I find myself in trouble now.

I avoid her gaze with a sigh. Since I can't do otherwise, I resolve to take off my jacket. Inevitably, I lift my shirt and chainmail. The effect is immediate. Sakura holds her breath as she contemplates the state of my torso. My body was badly battered, and bruises marked my cracked ribs that no longer hurt. Such damage implied at least a week of convalescence.

The kunoichi gets down to my level and examines me with her medical ninjutsu. "No way," Sakura says in a trembling voice. "Your ribs are healed and your internal injuries have completely healed…"

I know perfectly well what she's going to ask me next. I wait for her to stop her technique before briefly lowering my pants to show her my thigh. I don't need to see her face to know that she's flabbergasted. The wound will soon be healed. Such a speed of healing is beyond belief. "Sakura… Please don't tell anyone."

"Huh? I… I beg your pardon?! Your body makes miracles, and you want to keep it to yourself?! I'm telling you that—"

"Sakura!" I bark, finally returning her gaze. "You're gonna keep this to yourself! No one must know! Got it?!"

My words force the teenager into silence. I tremble and grind my teeth. To say that I'm anxious would be an understatement; I'm dying of stress. I feel like I'm alone, left to my own devices in the middle of a pack of hungry wolves, with the task of protecting a lamb that they covet as an appetizer, making me the main course afterwards. For the first time in my life, I'm on the defensive; not once have I relaxed my vigilance since I left the hospital. I can trust Sakura… Yet, I distrust her … everyone. Little by little, paranoia gets the better of me…

I take a few deep breaths to calm myself down. "Sakura… That mark on my neck has changed some aspects of my body. As a result, I've inherited the chakra devourers' regenerative ability. That's why my injuries are healing at lightning speed now."

"How … how long…?"

"I found out shortly after my leave."

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"Even if I'm still human, even if I'm not becoming a chakra devourer… This could well prove the opposite. I'm gonna end up as a lab rat, a guinea pig that will be studied, examined, tested … day and night. I'll inevitably be locked up, even chained up… And Naruto… Naruto will be too."

A silence settles in.

Sakura sits down next to me. "I understand your fears, Kakashi-Sensei … but we'll find out sooner or later. This kind of thing won't go unnoticed. You're putting off the inevitable."

"I know…"

I can't hide it forever. As she just said, I'm putting off the inevitable. With my insufferable bodyguard circling me like a vulture, suspicions must already be crossing Lady Tsunade's mind. All it takes is for me to be injured, enough to earn me a visit to the hospital, to find out the truth.

"Kakashi-Sensei... Can I be honest with you?"

I look back at her, see that her face is disgusted, even green. I can easily guess what she's about to tell me when she covers her nose with her top.

"Is it just me or do you suddenly stink of death...?"

I let out a lament of despair. I'm still giving off damn pheromones… "I'm terribly sorry," I apologize flatly, rolling my eyes. "Ever since I'm marked, I've been able to produce pheromones that give me this putrid smell when I'm under too much stress. And I don't know how to make it stop…"

"It doesn't bother you!?" Sakura wonders. "Forgive me, but I feel like throwing up…"

I let out another complaint. "Sorry… I don't know why, but I can't tell if my body is projecting them or not…"

"Is it why you smelled so bad during the probing session and your hospitalization?"

I nod. "Alas… That said, I should be able to control this annoying phenomenon if Naruto manages to… Maa, I hope so…"

I close my eyes. I take deep, long breaths. I join my hands, focus on my entire being and nothing else. I analyze all the sensations translated by my senses. I have to find the trigger that is responsible for the production of these pheromones, which are seriously starting to ruin my life. I fear that it's a substance that my body secretes… It makes me sick just to think about it.

However, I feel something strange. As I focus on the back of my neck, the hairs on my arms stand up. I feel spied on to the deepest part of my soul. I hold my breath. I can't say what it is … but it's dark … very dark… Quickly, I perceive with precision a presence not far from me. It moves… It's horribly familiar… It's a chakra that I'm detecting… I frown. I have no words to explain what I'm experiencing. I feel like I'm in a black and white world, in which the perspective is distorted and in which I can see this chakra despite the trees, despite the shrubs, despite the bushes … as if I could see it through matter…

I lose track of this chakra when I hear my student calling out to me over and over again. I open my eyes, blink many times. She no longer covers her nose with her clothes.

"Hmm? Yes?"

"Master Tsunade wants me to tell you that tomorrow is the full moon."

I land my gaze on the darkened sky. Despite the dark clouds, I see the moon that will be at its peak tomorrow night. A drop of sweat beads on my temple. It brings back that nightmarish night in my mind, that night that I can't forget… "You don't have to worry, Sakura. I won't let the moon's rays bewitch Naruto a second time."

"Do you need a hand?"

"Hmm? That won't be necessary. I don't need help locking Naruto in my—"

I flinch when the smell of fresh blood reaches my nostrils. With anguish, I turn my head abruptly in the direction it comes from. My heart is racing. It's not that of a human, but that's not a good sign…

"Kakashi-Sensei?"

Quickly, Naruto comes out of the bushes … with, in his bloody hands, a small furry and lifeless beast. While Sakura lets out a scream, horrified, the blond comes to offer me the dead animal with a smile…

Shocked, I look at the carcass. Naruto has slit its throat; the blood continues to flow and stain the grass. Closer, I see that it's a cat, at first glance stray, since it doesn't have a collar. The animal didn't suffer much. Analyzing the teenager's hands, the beast fought for its life since it bit him. Fortunately, his skin isn't swollen, so he shouldn't develop an infection. With his immunity to medical ninjutsu, I will have to provide him with preventative care just in case…

Naruto waits patiently for me to accept his offering to feed me… Obviously, he no longer has any concept of "pet." He could have very well given me a hare or a dog … although I would've been heartbroken if the beast had been a dog. Unable to disappoint him and spoil his good mood, I sigh heavily and extend my two palms to welcome the still warm little body… "At least, it doesn't belong to anyone…"

"Um… What … what are you doing?!" Sakura says aloud.

"I'll eat it, of course."

Sakura turns livid. I don't understand why. I feel like I said the worst thing ever…

Yet, I said nothing of the sort…

"Naruto, find some dry twigs to start a fire," I order the blond who complies immediately.

"I … I beg your pardon…? You can't be serious!"

"What? It's dead," I retort. "It's just a piece of meat now. Besides, this isn't the first time I've eaten small animals grilled on the fire."

There's silence. She's as pale as a ghost… I don't understand why her reaction is so dramatic. I agree that it isn't common meat, but the animal is already dead. Meat is doomed to rot if it's not consumed. Naruto took the trouble to hunt and find me something to eat; I can't refuse. Besides, I'm hungry.

Naruto comes back with many branches. As for me, I take off my gloves and grab a kunai, with which I disembowel and skin the carcass. "You can leave if you don't like it."

The still-warm blood quickly covers my hands. However, Sakura's persistent gaze bothers me. She seems shocked. "Sakura. I told you to leave. And please, keep what I said to yourself. I'll be back at the den soon. So you don't have to worry about us."

My student tries to say something, but no sound comes out of her mouth. Her heart is racing, as if she just ran a marathon. I arch an eyebrow. Without saying a single word, Sakura turns on her heel and leaves. I shrug and continue my work. I almost choke when Naruto tries to light a fire very close to me, through the dry grass that is perfect for starting a wildfire.

"Naruto!" I call out to him, pointing to a place devoid of greenery. "Don't light a fire here! You'll burn the entire forest down! Do it on the earth and not in the grass."

The sapphire-eyed boy stops, blinks repeatedly. A light bulb appears on his head when he realizes the mistake he's about to make. He picks all the twigs and takes them to the place I pointed at.

I sigh, and the anxieties soon torment my mind…

I'm afraid that Sakura will reveal my secrets and betray my trust…