Getting Lost on the Roads of Life - a KakaSaku Story [CONCLUDED]

Mothers and Fathers

"Not a sound," Kakashi tried to whisper, but what actually left his mouth was a strange, almost pitiful croak. Was it sheer exhaustion or had he actually managed to catch a cold for the first time in his life?

Karin clearly hadn't understood him because she squealed "Kakashiiiiii!", sounding as shrill as an alarm clock.

"Shhhhhh," he croak-cringed, "there are guards outside!"

Getting into this tent unseen in broad daylight had been a very difficult undertaking, involving him sneaking through the long grass inch by inch like a snail so that not a single blade of grass moved in ways that didn't look natural, then him cutting an opening equally slowly to be able to wriggle his way inside without the tent canvas moving at all. All the while hoping Karin wouldn't give away his approach too early while dimming his chakra signature to nothing.

"Kakashiiiii!" the tightly bound woman squealed again, her voice breaking and then sounding even shriller than before, "Kakashiiii, I'd never thought you'd..."

He dived forward and clamped his hand over her mouth.

"Be quiet for goodness sake," he rasped, tensely listening for approaching footsteps outside. There were none. But he needed to erect a noise-cancelling barrier fast... maybe a... a... water bubble? Damn, his brain was slow right now.

Something soft and wet touched his palm. Persistently.

"Are you... licking my hand?!" Kakashi let go of her in revolusion and hurriedly dried his palm on his trousers. Which helped nothing since his trousers were muddy and wet.

"You taste nice," Karin said and wiggled a little closer.

"Stay... stay put," Kakashi said a bit flustered, moulding chakra and running through the necessary hand seals in his head. Saru. Ne. Tora. Uma. Tora... Tora? Goddamit, what was wrong with him.

"Suiton: Water Dome Formation!"

A liquid dome formed around them, he had gotten it right, its shimmering walls a sufficient barrier against untoward noise for a bit. Hmmmm... but was it supposed to ripple like this? He looked at its unstable surface with irritation.

"It's dripping!" Karin complained with an upwards frown.

"Then move away from the edge," Kakashi rasped. It shouldn't be dripping of course. He had messed up. Just like getting a cold, that was a first too. He started massaging his forehead in the hope it would lessen the headache that sat right above the bridge of his nose.

"I'm so glad you're here," the redhead said tearfully, "I was so afraid. How did you even find me?"

"I tracked you," he croaked. It had been tedious and then some.

"Unbind me," she demanded, wriggling in his direction again.

Kakashi looked at her with a frown. "Not quite yet."

Her eyes instantly took on a feral sheen. "I won't let you bite me!" she screamed.

"Huh?" Kakashi's eyebrows shot up.

"I won't let you bite me," she repeated at the top of her voice, moving away as fast as she could, which seemed pretty pointless to him, considering the miniature size of the tent.

"Hey, I won't harm you," Kakashi assured her when he realized her distress was real, raising both hands in a gesture of peace, "I just need some answers before deciding whether to trust you, okay? Why did you run away from Konoha? Whom did you meet up with?"

"If you try to bite me, I will kick you where it hurts!" she screamed.

"No biting. I promise you, no biting," Kakashi repeated. "Believe me, I've tried it, but I really don't like that sort of thing, I think I'm more the romantic type?"