Blame It All on Me. Part 2

Chapter 1. What Is This Fate?

Arina froze and swallowed involuntarily. She truly no longer understood anything, but she didn't want to admit it. So, she snapped back:

"It's none of your concern! And I asked you to leave me alone!" She resumed her resistance, but Kakashi held her in an iron grip.

"And like hell will I do that now!" he barked.

"You didn't even fulfil my previous request!" the girl almost shouted. "I know about the hotel bill! And I wouldn't be surprised if you've meddled in my life through other means!"

Kakashi's expression shifted again, a momentary flicker of embarrassment crossing his face before being swiftly replaced by stubborn resolve. He remembered her first days in Konoha, after she was released, as if it was just yesterday, and how helpless he felt trying to do anything to ease her condition, given that she wouldn't let him near her.

The first and last time he had dared to approach her, she hadn't even let him enter the room, and he sat there in the hallway for a long time after that, listening to her crying through the wall.

And then... He recalled how he bribed the staff into bringing her meals when she at first wouldn't leave her room, until she eventually started going to the dining hall. How he literally pleaded with Hiruzen to do something – absolutely anything – to get her out of her self-imposed confinement. In truth, the Hokage had quickly forgotten about the girl, which was not really surprising given his workload, and it took him five days to finally send Naruto after her, by which time Kakashi was ready to bash his head against the wall in despair...

The memory tightened its grip on his heart once more. He could have been by her side all that time... But yes, he had to act discreetly, through indirect means, not to hurt her feelings.

Kakashi drooped completely, and let out a sigh.

"Listen, I understand that you couldn't care less about me..." He stumbled over his words. Arina winced, biting her lip, but remained silent. "But what do you think Hiruzen-sama would have said if your plan had succeeded?"

"'Yay, one burden less'?" the girl responded immediately.

At this point, Kakashi had already covered his face with his hand, groaning aloud.

"Gods, who, who put all this into that lovely head of yours?.."

Arina looked at him wearily.

"Kakashi... I had two options: either end my anyway meaningless existence... or, in the best case scenario, fix everything. And I decided to try."

"We'll talk about the 'meaningless existence' later... But 'fix'?" Kakashi stared at her in surprise.

"Yes, because if I died here, I could have gone back..." Having said it out loud she instantly realized how unconvincing it sounded.

"Fabulous. And have you thought about where exactly you'd be going back? Is there even a 'you' in your world anymore? Or have you considered why this whole essence-swap thing happened in the first place and how it was accomplished? If it were that easy, they would have arranged a controlled clinical death for you, without any risks or..." Kakashi paused, his face contorting, "...unpleasant side effects like leaving a remarkable wet stain behind. But the fact is, we don't have all the necessary components to guarantee the desired outcome – let alone the means to reverse everything if it goes wrong!"

He fell silent, taking a deep breath. Arina remarked briefly that she'd probably never seen him so worked up before – not even back when he almost drowned her by accident.

It was clear that he was well informed about the progress of her situation as well. Despair overwhelmed her once again. How easily he broke down the nuances for her. So there really wasn't even the slightest chance?