Spectral Illusions (Naruto fanfic)

Spectral Illusions Chapter 16

Hello, my friends! Long time no see, huh? How y'all doing? Good? Good.

Okay, so I'm thinking of entering Spectral Illusions into the next Naruto Wattys. What do you think? Good idea? Bad? If I did enter it, would people vote for it? I've never done that sort of thing before though, so I'd have to do a bit of research :)

Anyway, please do leave your thoughts on that matter ^ or leave your thoughts on this chapter in the form of a magical comment. Yes, it's magical. You only get magical comments over in Spectral Illusions XD

(I'm joking, don't take me seriously, that one guy who doesn't understand jokes)

Enjoy!
_________

"She's here, Kakashi,"

"Are you sure?" Kakashi asked, looking down at Pakkun suspiciously.

"Yeah." The pug nodded, sniffing the air again. "Would you like to fill me in on what's happened? Since when is Mayako alive?"

"It's a long story, Pakkun," Kakashi shrugged, before looking around again. "Are you absolutely sure she's here? There's not enough destruction..."

"Isn't that a good thing...?"

"Yeah, but Mayako is in a Curse Mark state. She should have demolished a chunk of this forest by now." Kakashi glanced around, eyes peeled.

"She's over there." Pakkun said suddenly, causing Kakashi to skid to a halt. Pakkun nodded to their slight right, and peeking through the bushes, Kakashi could see the tuft of wild brown hair through the trees.

"Thank you, Pakkun. You might want to go, now. I can't guarantee Mayako won't hurt you."

The small pug nodded, before vanishing in a poof of smoke.

Kakashi took a deep breath, before slowly making his approach. He lowered himself down from the tree silently, taking easy steps towards her. She had her back to him, curled up into a ball with her knees drawn up to her chest. He could hear quiet sobs coming from her every time her shoulders shook.

When he reached her, he extended a hand. It settled on her shoulder as he crouched beside her, causing her to look up at him. She sniffed, looking into his lone, dark eye.

"Is any of this real?" She whispered, her eyes wavering. "Are you real?"

"I'm real, Mayako." Kakashi nodded, frowning sadly at her.

"What about this? Am I really free? Am I safe? Or has Orochimaru got me hopeful again?"

"You're safe. I promise. I myself went and got you from your cell."

"That wasn't a dream?!" Her eyes widened as she stared at him in disbelief.

"It was real. All of this is real. I can understand why you don't want to trust me, but if you know me, you'll know I'm telling the truth. You can trust me, Mayako. You know me, just as well as I know you. We're partners, remember? We work together. You've got to trust me."

Mayako continued to stare at him silently for a moment or two. Then, she let her face fall into a scowl. "Prove you're real."

'Back to square one...' Kakashi thought dryly.

"You want me to prove it's me?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. "You have an obsession with the colour purple. Your favourite animals are wolves. You love to eat, especially barbecue. If you could have pet monkeys, you'd have a dozen. When you were fourteen, you got four piercings in each ear against your dad's will. You hate people who think they're better than everyone else. You can't stand for arrogance. If you could help a person, you'd do it in a millisecond. You're an incredibly good person, Mayako."