"I wanna meet Kurama!"

The Meeting | Chapter 5

It's been three days since Kakashi has been travelling and not encountered a single thing. Just accepting random missions for money for food and drink has kept him alive.
"No success yet. But I can't quit. Obviously there's a possibility that Naruto has already defeated the Otsutsuki, but we can't count on it." He thought as he walked without knowing where he was going. His Shinobi instincts didn't let him bump into anything.
"Kakashi?" A voice called him from the back. He knew the voice, he knew the accent, he knew who this was.
"Nuha?!" He turned around to face his friend, he hadn't seen since he was a kid.
"I thought you died on a mission!" He looked at her.
"They never found the body." She calmly smiled.
"You have become very...womanly." he looked at her. Noticed her long braid slowly swaying with her movements, her saree neatly ironed and pleated, bangles dangling in her hands and her beautiful eyes lined with kohl.
"Thank you." She said in her sweet voice.
"You have changed." He managed to say to stop staring.
"Yes. I stayed in the Land of Thought since I faked my death." She breathed.
"Okay. Any specific reasons?" He asked still standing.
"Mostly, I wanted to quit being a Shinobi. I wanted to quit killing. I wanted to find out who I was." She looked to the ground and then back at him.
"So, did you find what you were looking for?" He asked her looking to match her gaze.
"Yes. I did." She smiled and looked at him, "I gained a lot of knowledge of what's truly important. I gained insight and experience. They might be a small village, but it's full of hospitality, warmth, food, colour and love." She turned her direction and stepped forward.
"Would you like to take a walk with me, Kakashi?" She looked at him over the shoulder.
She held out her hand and he couldn't deny.
"Okay." He said and reached out to her hand, grabbed it and walked alongside her.
"So, what do you do now?" He asked Nuha.
"I am on a journey to gain knowledge." She answered calmly.
"How do you do that?" He asked looking at her.
"I observe." She smiled.
"Okay. Isn't that a slow process?"
"Indeed, it is, but it is unbiased. It's purified from opinions. It's clear of perspectives. It's the truth." She looked at him answering his question.
"Look at that!" She pointed to a little boy and a dog, "Someone who likes dogs, will say that the kid is playing with the puppy. But those who don't, will say the dog is attacking the child."
Kakashi turned to observe the situation. He realized what she said was the truth and the only way to really know if the dog was attacking or playing was to stand back and observe.
Suddenly, his stomach grumbled.
"I'll take you to my house. Let's have our lunch over there." She laughed a little.
He blushed a little and they both set to her place.
"Just remove your shoes here, and come inside and wait." She said as she rushed inside.
"Step inside this tub, and on this after you're done washing your feet." She put a small tub of water in front of him and a cloth after that.
He did as she asked.
"Come in. Sit wherever you please." She gestured.
He noticed there wasn't furniture in the house. Instead, half the house was just covered in mattresses.
He crossed his legs and sat down, and she brought lunch for him.
"Here." She served him rice, curry and flat bread.
"What about you?" He asked her when he noticed she hadn't taken a plate.
"The guests first." She smiled at him as he began eating.
"This is really good. I like this curry." He said as he tasted it.
"Thank you, Kakashi. So, what about Rin and Obito? You must be enjoying your time with them, right?" She said.
"Not exactly." He sighed.
"What happened? Are you sad because they started dating?" She raised her eyebrow.
"No. They died. Both of them. Soon after you died, rather left." He tried to smile.
"Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't know. I always knew Rin had a thing for you, but you were always stuck competing with Guy." She snickered.
"Yeah." He smiled too.
"I'll get you some more roti. Wait." She got up and swayed back into the kitchen.
"What are you looking at?" She snapped her fingers in front of him when she returned with the rotis.
"Sorry. I was just lost in thought." He blurted out.
"Everything is alright, ne Kakashi? Have you left Konoha too?" She looked at him concerned.
"No. I haven't. I am just in the middle of something." He said clearing his mind.
"Would you tell me if you don't mind?" She smiled, and again he felt this urge to do what she said but he resisted.
"No. I'm sorry. I can't tell you." He said to her.
"It's okay." She smiled, "Don't hesitate to ask me for any help if you need."
"Can I ask you something?" He began.
"Ofcourse." She obliged. "What is it, Kakashi?"
"Have you heard anything about Otsutsuki?" He asked looking dead in her eye.
"Yes, I have. I have talked to someone from the Otsutsuki Clan called Urashiki. He wanted to gather all chakra and return it to the tree of life." She answered and Kakashi gasped.
"So, what did you do?" He asked curiously.
"I tried to make him understand how futile his effort was, but he got angry instead." She shrugged.
"So, what did he do?" Kakashi was worried at this point.
"Nothing. He tried to attack me, but he didn't for some reason. He hesitated, and he left into another dimension." She informed him.
"Which dimension?" He asked her.
"The one with trees all over but no animals at all. That is his home dimension. He goes there for healing and chakra recharge." She said.
"Oh. If he wants to return the chakra then why regenerate at all?" Kakashi thought out loud.
"Because he wants power, to collect chakra." She simply answered, "One needs to be strong in order to fulfill their purpose. He has to fight strong people and collect their chakra. That's why he wants to be strong."
"Yeah. That is true, but how can you say it is futile?" Kakashi asked her.
"You see that mango. If you pluck it once, can you reattach it?" She asked him. "No matter how much you try, the damage is already done. It is now up to you to use that power properly, but he didn't want to accept it. Seems like someone has put it in his mind that they can do something about Chakra." She sighed at that and looked to the sky.
"Okay." Kakashi said getting up from his seat. "Now it's your turn. I'll get you your lunch."
"No, no. Please. I'll eat on my own." She said and quickly got herself food. She quickly said thanks for the food, payed respects to it, served it for herself and ate it.
Kakashi sat by her and observed closely everything that she did.
"Hey! Give me all your money!" A rogue entered her house through the open door.
"Hello." She stood up and greeted him not being fazed one bit by the large demon shuriken he possessed, "Please. Sit down wherever you please. I'll get you a plate." She smiled at him.
"Don't mess with me. I have a weapon." He looked at her.
"I can see, and it looks dangerous, like it could hurt someone. I'd rather have you keep it in a corner. I understand you want to protect yourself but I won't hurt you, you have my word. Now, take a seat. I'll get you food." She smiled.
The guy stood over there, not doing anything. She went inside to the kitchen and for him a plate.
"Arre?" She exclaimed, "Don't be so shy. Come on. Sit." She stepped towards him, and urged him forward. She made him sit and eat and he started crying.
"What happened? Is it not good?" She asked him.
"I don't deserve this food. I have hurt a lot of people. I have wronged a lot of people." He said while crying and pushing his plate away.
"Listen, the damage that has been done, has been done. You can't do anything to reverse it. Now what you can do, is start doing something by which when you come the next time, you will deserve this food. I will gladly serve you much more then as well." She smiled at him.
"Thank you." He said crying and wiping his tears.
"Now go ahead. Do something good. If you're ever hungry, come to my place. I'll give you something to eat, okay?" She smiled at him and returned the shuriken to him and the rogue left thanking her.
"So, you changed another mind huh? Nuha-chan? A grandmother appeared in her door and she instantly rushed to help the lady.
"Kakashi," she called out to him while she helped her, "Please can you take your, mine and the guys plate inside and get another one?"
Kakashi nodded and obliged to what she said.
"Thank you, Nuha-chan. I hope you get all you want in life." The old lady smiled.
"Thank you so much, Baa-chan." She smiled and helped the old lady inside.
Kakashi had already set up her plate and they both enjoyed watching the old lady eating.
"Would you like to take a nap? I suggest you take a nap. You must be really tired of everything. Please." She insisted on the old lady to take a nap.
"Kakashi, let's go. Let's not disturb her." She grabbed his wrist and they both head out of the house.
"What happened suddenly?" Kakashi asked her. She looked up to him and she was crying.
"What happened?" He insisted.
"The old lady. Let her enjoy her last moments alone. That's what she wants." Nuha looked at him.
"Shouldn't we try to save her if we know she is dying?!" He exclaimed almost with anger.
"Kakashi, we would've done that, if she wanted it to be done. If she doesn't want to life anymore, who are we enforce a will upon her? She wants to be free of these bindings of hate. She wants to be free of the bindings of uselessness." She said crying. "Let's go, we'll carry her to the nearest tree."
Kakashi nodded and just did as she instructed. He picked the corpse up on his back and laid it down near the big tree she asked him too.
"Why did we do this?" Kakashi asked her.
"She was ridden with the feelings of uselessness. She will become one with a soil, her love will be free for whoever wants it and it will show her that she was useful even after her death." She looked up at the sky.
Kakashi instinctively held her hand as she cried for the lady.
"Was she very close to you?" Kakashi turned to her.
"No. I had only seen her once before today." Nuha said sobbing.
"Kakashi, let me tell you this. No matter how strong someone is, they are prone to death of they are alone. Don't leave him alone. Do something. Save him. I know you can." She said and she started walking back.
"I will." He said looking up at the sky.