Kakashi's Teammate, the Lightning Goddess

The Chunin Exams: P.8

                “Oh?” asked the Hokage, raising his eyebrows. “Go ahead. There is only one Jonin downstairs.”

                I took a deep breath. Was this even a good idea? But Itachi had said that the Third Hokage already knew about the truth… “I ran into Itachi Uchiha yesterday.”

                The Hokage immediately stiffened, and it was as though the air around us had frozen. I held my breath, not quite sure of what his reaction would be when he finally got over his shock. I had been expecting something like this, especially given my reaction to seeing Itachi in the forest, and that had been before he’d told me anything.

                Finally, the Hokage reached up and took his hat off his head, placing it down on the desk beside him.

                “Kira,” he said slowly, as though not quite sure how to approach the situation, “did Itachi tell you the truth?”

                “Yes. I think it’s a given that I’m not supposed to tell anybody else.” I closed my eyes briefly. “I can’t believe something that extreme took place within this village.”

                “Yes, well, sometimes people worry just a bit too much.” He sighed. “To tell you the truth, I’m rather glad that you know now, even if meeting Itachi Uchiha wasn’t exactly the best way to find out. I trust that you did not break the law in any way?”

                I shook my head.

                “Good. Then try not to worry about it too much. Itachi asked me to watch over Sasuke, but I think we all know that he wishes to let Sasuke run his own path. Apparently, being Hokage doesn’t give me the privilege of interfering.” He and I both smiled at his half-hearted joke. “If that’s all, then you are dismissed.”

                “Thank you,” I said, and turned to exit. Before I could, however, he called me back.

                “Kira, this probably isn’t news, but…”

                I paused in the doorway. “Yes?”

                “When Sasuke leaves, do try not to interfere too much. He is to run his own path, as though you know nothing.”

                I swallowed hard. “Of course. Good night.”

                I was quite tired out by this point, having exercised my brain about five thousand times too much in the past twenty-four hours, but there was something I had to do. Poor Naruto was probably feeling lonely and abandoned, and I couldn’t let that happen.

                My kunai collection.

                I went and found my precious collection, each one carefully laid out and preserved in a big glass box. I smiled, reaching for the one that I knew would make the most impact. Quickly making my way over to Naruto’s apartment, I snuck in and put the kunai on his dresser. He would see it tomorrow.

                I glanced at the snoring boy and couldn’t help but reach out to straighten his blankets. “See you soon,” I whispered, before shutting the window. Teleporting back to the training ground, I waited until Sasuke looked the other way, and then easily snuck back to my sleeping mat without him noticing.

***

                Naruto resisted the urge to break his alarm clock as it woke him up with its stupid blaring. He managed to shut it off without breaking it, and stumbled over to his dresser to get ready for the day. As he did, his eyes landed on the kunai sitting on the dresser-top, and he frowned. He didn’t remember putting a kunai there…

                His eyes widened as he realized there was engraving on it. He picked it up and examined it carefully. His heart began to pound with excitement. No way!

                Team Minato forever! Kakashi, Obito, Rin, and Kira!

                Kakashi-sensei and Kira-sensei had been on a team together, huh? And Team Minato… was the Fourth Hokage. They had been on a team together, with the mysterious Obito and Rin. Who were the other two?

                Naruto was no longer half-asleep. Instead, he was burning with energy. Had Kira-sensei slipped the kunai to him to remind him to train hard? It was very likely, knowing her. She was probably telling him that she’d be back soon, and that she wanted him to beat Sasuke somehow.

                I’ll beat that Sasuke, all right! Naruto tore off his pajamas and slipped on his usual orange-and-blue jumpsuit. Just you watch, everyone!

***       

                “Kira, wake up.”

                I smacked Kakashi’s face with my free hand, and he stumbled backwards, cursing under his breath. I wasn’t really asleep, as I hadn’t been able to go back to sleep since I’d reported to the Hokage several hours beforehand, like I did every night.

                “Kira, it’s your shift,” Kakashi hissed, obviously frustrated now, since he had to wake me up like this every single night. I sighed and got up, stretching.

                “I’m up, I’m up,” I muttered, pushing past him. He went to lie down, and I sat on the rock, overlooking everything a mile around.

                It had been three weeks since we’d left Konoha to train Sasuke. It had been three weeks since I’d last seen Sakura. It had been two and a half weeks since I’d last seen Naruto. I wondered if he’d found the kunai. I knew that it would be in good hands.

                I still reported to the Hokage every night. Sasuke had come along well, his change in chakra form and nature seeming to flow naturally with him. The perks of being an Uchiha, I mused. He had managed to perform the Chidori successfully a couple of days ago, and now he was onto being able to perform it at any time, and up to three times a day.

                Needless to say, he was tired out.

                Sometimes I wondered if Sasuke was really going to go to Orochimaru. Unfortunately, the answer was always the same: yes. He was. He was going to leave. My Ducky was going to leave, and we’d never fight on the same side, ever again.

                Amaterasu had told me that. At first, I’d been optimistic that perhaps, even if he went to Orochimaru, he would come back and fight with Konoha again. But under Amaterasu’s careful questioning, I had to admit the truth to myself: he would become obsessed with power and leave for good… just like Itachi had wanted. Sort of wanted.

                In other words, Kakashi’s hopes were going to die out soon enough. I didn’t know if I would be able to stand looking at his face after that, knowing that it would be filled with despair and hurt. He had lost his father, Obito, seemingly me, Rin, and then Minato-sensei. He had never wanted to be a sensei – I knew that, instinctively; he didn’t seem the type – but he had taken on the role, and it was obvious that he loved it now. We were his second family, and I was afraid of what would happen when one of us was, well, lost.

                I sighed and glanced out at the horizon, which was slowly beginning to brighten. Why was life so complicated? Sometimes, I just wished for an escape from it all.

                Kakashi was awake; I could hear his breathing. Spreading my wings and lifting straight up into the air, I took out my senbon needles and threw them, forming words in Romaji. Hearing the commotion, Kakashi stepped outside, and I knew he read the words. I wondered if he understood them, though, because that was a completely different thing.

                If I lay here,
                If I just lay here,
                Would you lie with me, and just forget the world?