Disclaimer: I do not own "Naruto" or anything associated with the series
Chapter Twenty-five
Complete chaos reigned over the village. In the distance, screams of terror and panic echoed through the air, smoke rising into the blue skies. Ninja could be seen battling to the death, bodies tumbling to the ground and littering the streets of the once peaceful land. Frantic, amethyst eyes flickered around at the damage and debris, worry gleaming brightly.
She couldn't stop thinking about Naruto.
"Karibi-san!" Said kunoichi looked over her shoulder and stopped, two ANBU members landing before her. Her wary eyes skimmed over them, her body drinking in their chakra; she wouldn't be tricked again. When satisfied with their allegiance, the woman nodded her head.
"Damage report."
"The wall on the east side of the village has been completely torn down by gigantic snakes. We believe they are Orochimaru's." The redhead grimaced before she looked towards the eastern border of the village; that was where a majority of the smoke was coming from.
"Evacuation?"
"It's been difficult. Already a few casualties—"
"That's not acceptable." Turning her head towards the ANBU, Karibi narrowed her eyes, an icy gleam making their skin crawl. "Have we set up a clear path for the evacuation?"
"With all the mess that's broken out, we've been just—" She shook her head with utter disapproval.
"I want a team to gather up civilians now. Gather everyone by Hanabi trail and then lead everyone to the evacuation point by the Hokage monument." The masked ninjas exchanged hesitant glances.
"Hanabi trail is the closest to wall. We take people down that road and the number of casualties will rise exponentially." The Uzumaki shook her head, a determined gleam in her eyes.
"No. It won't."
§
I know I promised to try and minimally use my chakra...but, I'm sorry. With a scowl on her face, Karibi stood at the beginning of Hanabi trail, several ANBU with a few bystanders off to the side. They watched the former black op closely, her eyes shining with conviction; they took note of the cuffs on her wrists.
Five other ANBU landed behind Karibi, the woman glancing back at them with a raised brow. "Finished?"
"Hai." The jonin nodded before she turned to look at the villagers. A tiny smile stretched across her chapped lips before she turned her full attention back towards the path before her.
With a deep breath, Karibi crouched down to the ground. Her eyes fluttered shut, her body channeling her chakra and letting it flow freely within herself. She could already feel the cuffs' reaction to her energy, but she paid it no attention. Her concentration remained on the path and the marks she had instructed her comrades to make along it. A tight knot suddenly blossomed in her gut, Karibi letting out a feral yell; the ANBU members were taken aback by her burst of chakra.
"Ice Style: Frozen trail!" Without warning, ice erupted from the earth. The wall was thick and dense, glints of sun bouncing off of it. Many shielded their eyes while others watched in awe. The wall on the two sides of the path curled over, meeting in the middle and creating a tunnel; inside was safe from the danger.
"Amazing..." The leader of the ANBU stepped forward, placing his palm on one of the ice walls; he'd never seen anything quite like it.
"Buchou!" Looking back, the captain frowned; Karibi was a curled up ball on the ground.
A sharp gasp sounded over the chaos of the invasion, the kunoichi trembling from the jolts of pain shooting through her veins. She cringed, her face scrunching as another wave of raw agony coursed through her. Just the act of breathing was becoming unbearable, her chest tightening and her stomach dropping; it was as if she was locked in a vacuum-sealed room.
"Karibi-san!"
"G—Go!" she managed to choke out, pointing her quivering finger towards the guarded path. "The entrance is sealed with chakra. You can't get in unless you have some trace of me on you." The discomfort began to fade, the woman carefully sitting up and looking around. She ignored the way the world span around her before she pulled out a kunai and cut her palm open. Her eyes flickered up to the captain before she grabbed his hand and smeared blood on his palm.
"Who's next?"
§
It took several minutes for each ANBU member to shake hands with Karibi. When all was finally done, the captain of the team hesitantly approached the opening of the barrier. The apprehension was obvious in the stiffness of his shoulders, but still, he braved on and held his sliced open hand up; the invisible blockage allowed him safe passage.
"I want people moving fast!" Karibi was back on her feet, though her face was pale. "I don't want to see anyone slacking or lingering behind. We get the villagers to safety, and we do it—"
"Look out!"
An enormous shadow loomed over the small group of Leaf citizens. Karibi was swiftly reacting to the stranger's voice, spinning on her heels to look up at the impending danger. Her amethyst eyes widened like saucers as the end of a large snake-like tail came swinging towards her and everyone else.
"Move!" she hollered, the ANBU taking action and grabbing everyone; into the icy barrier they went.
Leaping to the left, Karibi grunted as she hit the ground, just escaping the slam of the summoned snake's tail. She cursed herself, however, when her body failed her. A heaviness settled over her back as she laid on the dirt, her eyes squeezed shut as she tried to will herself to move. It took a few, pitiful seconds for her to push her upper body off from the ground. And within that time, the snake was striking once more. Its tail was swinging relentlessly, aimed right for Karibi's limp figure. The woman couldn't help but grimace, her eyes trailing after the thick tail before she grunted.
A brief second of disappointment and regret and remorse began wafting from the woman as she let her eyes flutter shut. The faces of those she had come to love appeared behind her shut eyes.
This was not how she had envisioned her death.
"Got you." Arms scooped the frail woman up easily before leaping out of the way of the snake's attack. Karibi stiffened, unfamiliar with the person who had saved her life; when she realized it was Asuma, she let out a relieved sigh.
"Looks like I owe you one."
"Just consider it as an early birthday gift." The smoker winked, carefully setting his friend on to her feet. He eyed her, Karibi's legs trembling for a second before they found their strength. "Anyways, I'm sure Kakashi would have my head if I let you die." The woman scoffed at the remark.
"Don't be dramatic."
The pair watched from a safer distance as the destruction raged on. Leaf and Sound and Sand ninja were speckled aimlessly in the sky and roads, battling tirelessly. Karibi scowled at the three snakes making their way further into the village and tearing everything down in their path; she was only relieved when the snake's head slammed against the ice wall she had created and it remained standing.
"I have to contain them."
"How the hell are you planning to do that? There's three of those massive things," Asuma pointed out, the jonin beside him rolling her eyes.
"You forget my name." That made the man grimace.
"Karibi—"
"You should tend to Shikamaru, Sakura and Naruto." That had caught the older man off guard. "Sasuke's gone after Gaara, and they're trying to stop him from committing suicide." Karibi glanced down to her bound wrists and glared at her cuffs. She slammed her locked wrist against the trunk of a tree they were perched upon in hopes of freeing herself, but to no avail.
"Where are they heading?"
"South. Pakkun is with them, but they're going to need more back up than that." Asuma was hesitant to leave, lingering on the cautious side of the circumstances. He couldn't stop staring at the black bindings around his friend's wrists, the woman still fiddling with them.
"...You use anymore chakra, and you could sustain some serious injuries." His warning went ignored.
"Go now. And while you're at it—if you could try and remove as many of our people out of this area, that'd be great." She didn't give him time to respond before she leaped into the air and headed off towards the fight.
"...Brat."
§
She wanted to pretend like she would make it through, but the pulsing in her head and the ache of her arms and legs told her otherwise. Still, she didn't bother slowing or giving up. She merely landed on the ground, standing in the middle of the wreckage. Her gaze hardened as she watched the snakes and ninja reap more damage to her home.
"Karibi!" Looking back, the shinobi watched Ibiki land several steps behind her with a fellow leaf ninja. She nodded to the pair before she looked back towards the three snakes hurdling through the once beautiful and cozy homes of Konoha.
"Ibiki, I need you," she called out without hesitation. "I need you to get to as many of our people as possible and draw them out of the area. At least a two mile radius away," the redhead explained hurriedly. All the while, Ibiki eyed her with suspicion. He took note of her current state and the way she seemed to wobble on her feet.
"Karibi—"
"We don't have time to debate this plan," the woman snapped firmly, dodging a stray kunai. "If we don't contain these bastards now, they'll tear apart the entire village." She had him at a loss, there.
"...Two mile radius?"
"That's right." The jonin watched as Ibiki and his companion jumped ahead, gathering as many leaf ninja as they could. Pleased with his efforts, the jonin began with her hand signs. Her fingers moved rapidly as she concentrated past the pain that was spurring inside of her stomach. The cuffs around her wrists made her body feel as though it were aflame, burning and melting in the middle of a blue fire. Karibi did her best to push past her agony, placing her hands on the ground and letting out a war cry.
"Crystal Barrier!"
The snakes hissed viciously as a purple barrier began to rise from the ground. Caught completely off guard, the three creatures were unable to escape the dome forming around them; they were utterly trapped within a crystal cage.
Ibiki smirked at the scene, he and his fellow comrades watching as the snakes remained frozen within their confines. He was impressed by the jutsu. He had only ever seen someone perform the Crystal Barrier technique a handful of times. However, he should have known better, after all, Karibi was no amateur.
"We keep eyes and hands off of Karibi-san!" Ibiki's voice was charged with determination and excitement. "If any Sand or Sound ninja try and get to her, we stop them. She needs to remain untouched in order to keep this jutsu going. Am I understood?"
"Hai!"
"Good. Let's get these bastards."
§
A shrill scream sounded through the air, Karibi shocked by her own voice; she hadn't realized that she was the one who was crying out until she opened her eyes.
She was in an excruciating amount of pain. But she couldn't stop. The jutsu required a constant cycle of chakra and focus. If she wanted to keep the snakes suspended in motion within her dome, she needed to keep her wits about her. Even so, the seconds ticking by seemed like lifetimes. Beads of sweat poured down the woman's face as she maintained her Crystal Barrier technique. She was grateful for Ibiki, he and his men keeping any opposing ninja from disturbing her. As it was, the jutsu was difficult to keep up on her own, let alone with adversaries.
Her conviction was dwindling. As her arms began to tremble and tears began to form in her eyes, Karibi was forgetting why she was fighting in the first place. All she could think about was the sharp and endless amounts of pain disbursed evenly within every crevice—every corner—every pore of her entire body. She cringed, her fingers digging into the ground. Another scream erupted from deep within her throat as hot tears streamed down her face. Whatever damage the cuffs around her wrists were supposed to cause, it was working. The longer she sat on the ground, the harder it was for her to control her chakra.
Naruto...Kakashi...Guy...Kurenai...Asuma... Karibi repeated a list of several names over and over in her mind, hoping that would keep her from tearing at the seams. Her eyes remained securely shut as she envisioned the blond's grin as he skipped his way towards Ichiraku. She recalled the warm touch of Kakashi's hand and the tight embraces of Guy. The wise words of her sensei reverberated through her head, Hana's gentle smile making her insides flutter. Yes, that was her cause. There was a time where Karibi would have said she had nothing left to fight for. Now, she knew better. There were too many people in her life she had to protect—too many people that loved her and that she loved; she wouldn't let this measly agony break her down.
Still, it was easier said than done.
"No, no, no!" Karibi's eyes snapped open, her gaze immediately drawn to one of the stalled snakes; she nearly panicked when one began to twitch. "Shit!" she hissed before she let her head hang low and her palms press further into the ground. A deep grunt resounded over the clinging and clanging of kunai; she ignored the whispers of a shuriken that flew right past her cheek. "You are not going to fail. You are not going to let anymore people die!" Karibi grit her teeth as flashes of Minato and Kushina appeared in her mind. Her vision began to blur as her head swam, their beaming faces making her heart beat faster.
"You are not going to let Naruto down!" He had a bright future ahead of him. He had a potential that no one saw and everyone underestimated—even her. There was so much time for him to grow and bloom. Karibi wanted him to have a chance to prove everyone wrong. She wanted to give the world an opportunity to see that he was more than what they had painted him out to be.
What she had painted him out to be.
"NO!" A sudden burst of chakra exploded from within the woman like a firework. Her eyes were wide and crazed, her teeth bared in a snarl. Whatever movement the snakes had was halted, the three now frozen in different positions.
For a moment, Sound, Sand and Leaf ninja alike paused.
§
Naruto had never faced anyone like Gaara before.
He had been the victim to many angry, malicious, hateful glares and stares. He had lived his entire life with people bashing him and whispering about him and treating him as if he were an abomination to the universe. But standing before the Sand genin—half of his body a morphed sand-like creature—Naruto could confidently say that he had never felt anything like he felt standing before Gaara.
The deep ire inside of Gaara was horrifying.
"You don't understand what real strength is." That was what Gaara had said not Naruto. And in the beginning of altercation with the other boy, he had questioned it. The jutsu he had learned from Karibi had done minimal damage, and the frog he had summoned was tiny and closer to a thorn in his side rather than helpful. And when the sand and engulfed the young boy more and had formed the face of whatever creature that was possessing him, Naruto had nearly agreed with Gaara; he didn't understand strength.
But then, he finally recognized the look in Gaara's eyes.
All this time, it had been bothering the young blond. Why was the gleam in Gaara's eyes so familiar? What was it that drew Naruto in? And when the pieces finally came together, the 12-year-old felt a heaviness settle in his chest. For he recognized that gleam in his opponent's eyes. He recalled, vividly, where he had seen the emptiness and the callousness and the sorrow.
He had seen it in himself.
How many times had he felt resentment and anger towards everyone around him? How many times did he curse the people that hissed as he walked past and those who eyed him warily when he would turn the corner? His entire life. He remembered every second of every moment that he hated himself and everyone else. The loneliness was haunting—the same walls of his empty home a reminder that no one loved him, and he could love no one.
And then he met Karibi.
The woman who had just as little of patience as him—the woman who lectured him and treated him like a brat. That very woman was the only person who had stuck with him for five years, almost six. And although their relationship had never been perfect and would never be perfect, it was the one relationship that Naruto held above all. Because she had plowed down the rage and the self-loathing and doubt. She had brushed away all the sadness inside of Naruto and had made him truly believe that he was worth something. Even with the bad days, he wouldn't trade any of it away. Not if it meant he'd lose all of their good days.
And one by one, after Karibi stepped into his life, everyone else had too.
His worries and fears about the Nine-tailed fox never ceased. They never went away, and they would always be the quiet voice in the back of his head. But it was the people who had entered his life that would make the difference of what he would become.
Hokage or a monster.
And it seemed that Gaara had not been as lucky as Naruto. Both shared the same curse, and both were theoretically destined for the same demise. However, the blond could tell the difference. He knew that he and Gaara were on completely separate playing fields.
It made him want to pull the redhead close and never let go.
He'd save his sentiments for another day. For now, he would do what he came to do.
He would save his friends.
"Don't worry, Sasuke." The bewildered Uchiha gawked at Naruto, his plethora of Shadow Clones shocking everyone witnessing the scene. The blond grinned with a determined gleam in his eyes, and an empowered fist. "Rest easy. You can leave the rest to me!" And without wasting another second, Naruto attacked.
§
"Ibiki-san! The barrier doesn't look like it will hold for much longer!"
Karibi had stayed as she was, head low and eyes shut. Her tears were streaming down her face as she gasped, her arms trembling from the exhaustion. The pain rolled through her like waves, hitting her with full force and then subsiding for several seconds. Every so often, she would glance up at her barrier, grimacing when a piece of it would crumble to the earth. Her spirits began to fall when the snakes within her barrier slowly began to twitch and squirm; it was only a matter of time before they were free from her trap.
The fighting raged on, bodies scattered around the debris of Konoha. Blood stained what was left of the walls, kunai and shuriken strewn about the battlefield. The Leaf shinobi defended their home, but as the minutes ticked on, it seemed all was doomed. And with their numbers decreasing and many of their skilled ninja stuck at the arena, there wasn't much hope for back-up.
Ibiki grimaced as he landed on a demolished home, his eyes landing on Karibi. Even from the distance, he could tell she was going to fall apart. Whatever the cuffs were doing on her wrists—their job would be finished in a matter of time. But with her assistance, they had been able to hold their ground. Without it, Ibiki was uncertain of what was to come.
"We—"
"Ibiki!" came Karibi's desperate voice, her words strained and high-pitched. Said man couldn't hide the fear on his face from the sound of the woman's quaking voice. "I can't do this much longer!" she screamed urgently, a fistful of dirt now in each of her hands. The interrogating expert let out a breath of uncertainty, his eyes scanning the battle-torn land; he wasn't sure what the right call was.
But then, he appeared.
"Neh, neh! Don't be such a show off, Karibi." Said woman's eyes widened like a deer staring into headlights. The familiar voice caused a smile to appear on her face as she quickly looked up at the man gazing down at her with a fond smile. "You're going to make an old man like me look bad."
"Ji—Jiraiya..." She couldn't put into words what she was feeling. There were levels of emotions she had never experienced and couldn't even begin to express. The only thing that she did know was that seeing the Sanin standing beside her with his arms crossed and a confident gleam in his eyes made her heart swell; any doubt that she once had disappeared instantaneously. "You're—You're here," she whispered meekly, Jiraiya's expression softening before he nodded his head.
"...I don't plan on letting you or the village down." The tears seemed to pour passionately down Karibi's flushed cheeks; she couldn't feel them. "Just leave the rest to me."
Without waiting, the redhead let her jutsu fall, her pain instantly disappearing but echoing within her entire being. She slouched over on the ground, her breaths heavy and unsteady, but the smile never faded. Her hands held tightly to the tiny mounds of dirt in her grasp, now clumped together from the sweat of her fingers and palms. And when she finally lifted her head to gaze over at the snakes, she found a hefty and sturdy toad smashing one with its entire body.
"...Thank you," Karibi whispered, the sincerity in her voice something Jiraiya had yet to hear since meeting the young woman; he understood why that was. The old man smiled before he cautiously reached down and placed his hand on the top of her head.
"Don't thank me, Karibi."
§
She hadn't even realized she had passed out. She had drifted off into unconsciousness the moment she had released the Crystal Barrier, and her mind began to run wild. She dreamt of many things. She dreamt of her past, she dreamt of a possible future—she even dreamt of herself turning into a cat at one point. The one thing that she had seen that startled her awake was the very thing that haunted her every day of her life.
The Jinchuuriki inside of Naruto.
With a sharp gasp, Karibi jolted upright. She sat with her hand pressed to her chest, trying to regain her bearings before she realized she was lying on the dirt and tucked away from the dwindling battle; the Leaf village had come together to conquer. The kunoichi tried to regain her composure while her eyes darted around. It wasn't until they settled towards the west that her heart nearly stopped.
She could feel the Nine-tailed fox.
"...Naruto." She could sense his chakra mixed with the creature's. She could feel him melding with it, just like that afternoon of training. It made her heart rise to her throat. "Naruto!" Stumbling to her feet, Karibi began to try and run towards the blond's direction. Another presence made her pause, her eyes growing bigger than they already had been.
Another Jinchuuriki.
"Naruto!"
"Karibi!" The haggard ninja didn't stop, shoving off of the wall she had been using for support and pushing herself towards the young boy's direction. Many scenes flashed in her mind; all of them ended the same.
She would lose someone else she loved.
"Karibi!" This time, a hand grabbed her by her arm, tugging her to a halt. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!"
"Let me go!" the woman shouted hysterically, trying to free herself from the firm grasp; she was too weak to even budge. Jiraiya watched the feeble kunoichi while she tried to free herself from his hold, her petrified expression making his heart sink. "I have to find him! I have to find Naruto!" she hollered frantically, the older ninja carefully pulling the young woman closer to him; he held her in a warm embrace.
"Karibi, he's safe. Trust him," the Sanin cooed, the woman shaking her head as she tried to push herself away from his body.
"Jiraiya, you sonofabitch! Let me go! I—"
"You're going to have to accept this one day. The Nine-tailed fox is apart of Naruto." That made the woman still. "...I know it may seem impossible to think, but it will keep Naruto safe."
It was a part of Naruto. The thing that had utterly ruined her life was always going to be apart of the little boy. Forever, their lives would be woven together. And Karibi wasn't sure how she could stomach it. How could she look at Naruto and not feel any kind of resentment for the day she had lost her family?
The better question was, how long was she going to hold on to this hatred for?
Every day it wore her down. Every nightmare, every jumpy moment, every extra burst of chakra from the blond—how much longer would she cling to the pain of her past? Because the truth was, as painful as her past had been, the tragedy that had created who she was now had also brought her happiness; the morbid realization made the woman want to laugh.
Suddenly, Karibi found whatever strength she had collected seep out of her body. Her legs began to grow weak as she slumped into Jiraiya, the older man having realized this would happen. He let out a sigh of relief before he scooped the woman into his arms. He gazed thoughtfully down at her calm face, all the worried wrinkles and laughter lines now gone as she rested against him. His stare then ventured towards Naruto's direction and the arena's direction.
So much was unfolding in that very moment.
§
Gaara watched Naruto with utter horror on his face, the blond dragging his motionless body by his own chin. His pale blue eyes were filled with astonishment and fear as his opponent drew closer and closer.
"NO! Stay away!" the Sand genin shouted desperately, Naruto ignoring his pleas.
He was focused on the words of his past.
"It's—It's almost unbearable, isn't it?" Naruto finally spoke, pausing. Gaara hesitated, gazing at the Leaf ninja with awe and confusion. "The feeling of being all alone." Naruto's eyes shined with unshed tears, his brows furrowed inward from the sadness that he felt from his own past and Gaara's.
"I know that feeling. I've been there—in that dark and lonely place." Gaara stared at Naruto, unable to reply. He was shocked. How had this stranger known the feeling he locked away? How had he been able to guess just how excruciating it was? He had thought it was the only person in the world who would know the kind of sorrow he knew.
He was wrong.
"But...But now, there are others. Others who mean a lot to me. I care about them more than I care about myself." Naruto's jaw clenched as he recalled every detail of Karibi's face. His blue eyes shined with conviction as he recalled her smile and her pout and her anger. "I won't let anyone ever hurt them. Not ever." He recalled the smiles of all of the people he had been able to build relationships with.
"That's why I won't stop. I'll never give up. Even if that means I have to kill you!" Gaara wasn't sure how to react; somehow, Naruto's words had touched his soul.
"...But why? Why would you do anything for anyone but yourself?" And Naruto's answer had come without a thought.
"Because they saved me. They saved me from myself."
Hello, again!
Almost a week, and I'm back with an update! I'm proud that I was able to post another chapter so quickly. As some of you may have realized, my track record with disappearing isn't great...but! As of right now, I think I'll be sticking around for a bit :D
So, we are sort of nearing the end of this whole mess of a chunin exam arc! I thought a lot about what I wanted to do and how I wanted to integrate Karibi into this part of the series. I talk about this often, but I put a lot of pressure on myself to make sure that what I do with Karibi makes sense with this story but also still matches the actual "Naruto" series, itself. So after some careful contemplating, I decided that this was how I wanted Karibi to spend her time during this part of the battle! I've also just thought to myself that it would be nice to see her in longer battle sequences, and as I know that writing battle scenes are a little more difficult, I wanted to try and push myself and make myself writer more of one to practice! Now, as this climax of the arc comes to a close, it'll be interesting to see how everything else will play out, as we all know what (or who ;D) comes next after the chunin exam.
Thank you for your patience as far as waiting for my post! I'm hoping to try and get another post up next week. Can't say for sure if it'll be exactly a week from today or if it'll just be some day next week...only time will tell!
Thank you so much!
Reviews:
Astrid345: Hi there! Thank you, for reading this and for taking the time out of your day to review! I'm so happy to hear that you enjoy this story (enough to re-read it :D) I can only hope that you'll continue to enjoy this as the story progresses. I will definitely keep updating, though I can't say how consistent the timing of the posts will be...but I'll do my best to stay consistent for as long as possible! Thank you for your support!
Taffdog19943: Glad to hear that you liked the last chapter! I'm very relieved that you did and appreciative of the fact you took time to leave a review :) Thank you for reading this and for keeping up with this story!
WindyCitySlayer1: It's good to be back! I feel a little more "in my skin" as far as writing goes now that I've posted a second time without having been gone for a few months. I'm hoping to keep this up, but I don't wish to make any promises to anyone about if I actually will or not. All I can do is try my best! Thank you so much for reading and following this story! I hope you will continue to like this as I post more chapters!
Kurochach: Thank you for the welcome! I have followed stories where it's been so long since an update that once an actual update appears, I do forget the details and force myself to skim back (not that it's much forcing since I enjoy the stories!) before I read the update...I can't believe I've become that author! But I do really appreciate your patience and am glad that you are supportive enough to re-read this and continue reading the newer posts! I hope this chapter sort of answered the hopes that you had LOL It may not have been a barrier around the whole village, but I felt that a barrier around Orochimaru's snakes just felt more natural for Karibi! And although Karibi didn't get to see the actual fight between Naruto and Gaara, you as a reader did LOL Hopefully you enjoyed this chapter!
bored411: I do love writing Karibi and Kakashi moments. There weren't any between the two to write in this chapter, but more moments between them are to come! Thank you for reading this, thank you for reviewing! I appreciate your support and I hope to continue posting chapters you will like to read :)
2lazy2signin: First, I relate to your guest name so much LOL I whole-heartedly appreciate that you like my writing and that you think I write action scenes well because I, personally, think action and more intimate scenes are where I lack! So I'm trying to put in more of those types of scenes in this story so that I can try and expand my writing...we'll see how it goes. I do appreciate your kind words and support, though! I am doing well, and I hope you are too :D And I completely agree with you! As I watched "Naruto" as a show, I always wanted Kakashi to find someone to love and marry, so when he didn't, I was bummed out for him LOL But he is happy in the epilogue and in "Boruto" so I'll take it! And also, you're so right about him aging. I like to think of him like a fine wine XD I've already been thinking about how things will play out for the epilogue with Karibi in the mix...and I'll just leave it at that ;D Thank you for reviewing!
Zedabee18: Hello! Yes! As of right now, I am back! And with a second chapter posted so closely to the last chapter I just posted, I think this run may stick for a bit longer, but who knows for sure...I can only cross my fingers X) I'm glad you like this story, and as I post more chapters, I hope you continue to like it!
AomeAzakura: Hey there! Thank you for leaving a review, and thank you for reading and following! I'm so happy to hear that you like this story! Hopefully, you will keep reading and enjoying this :)