Shadow (Naruto)

Chapter Twenty One

"Are you okay?" I asked the young boy as I dusted him off.

He looked up at me with bright green eyes and stared in awe, "Ah, a princess!" His little face flooded with color, "I'm okay, thanks princess."

I couldn't help but laugh at the charming boy, "I'm not a princess." I ruffled his messy light brown hair. "You guys look like you're having fun, can we play too?"

"Eh?! What do you think you're doin-?!" Haori was fuming, but Lord Ayashi cut him off with a shake of his head and smiled down at me as if everything finally clicked and he realized it was time to be serious about becoming the next ruler of his country.

"That sounds like a fun break before I begin my studies." Aya noted with a suave smile.

"Studies?" Haori turned to his master in awe, "You're going to study? Really Lord Ayashi?! Seriously?" There were tears in his eyes, "I never thought this day would come."

We played with the children until the sun went down, more children joined in as the day went on and before long it felt like all of the children in the city had joined in the fun. Once the sun had set the majority of the kids scurried home to angry mother's scolding them for being late for dinner. There were a few stragglers who were too tired from our day of fun. Kakashi and I each had a child on our backs to take them home, and I was happy to see even Lord Ayashi offered to carry the boy we'd first run into home. His name was Ren and he was a sweet child that had a large family.

Ren was the last stop. His home was a small single story one-bedroom unit that looked like it needed a lot of repairs. The house was noisy, with screaming children and infants. His mother answered the door and yelped when she spotted Lord Ayashi before dropping into a bow and instantly begging his forgiveness for whatever her son had done.

"Oh, no not at all." Aya smiled but his smile fell as he looked at the condition of the home and all the mouths the young mother had to feed, "Ren how is your writing?" He asked the boy as he sidled off his back.

"Mom taught me how to write, so I can help out at the shop, she said I'm good." Ren grinned.

Aya pondered this, "I'll be needing a court scribe to take down memos for me as I'll be very busy soon. It would be a nice apprenticeship, if you're interested."

Ren and his mother stared at Lord Ayashi in awe. "Oh yes, thank you!" They cried simultaneously.

I couldn't help but smile as Lord Ayashi asked Haori to help him with the details. Kakashi leaned forward and I nearly jumped as his face appeared next to mine, I hadn't even realized he was standing so close. My sense of perception was still acting up and I was starting to suspect it was because I was constantly struggling for composure of late.

"Good work."

My heart skipped a beat and I felt a faint blush spread across my cheeks, "I didn't do anything."

Once we returned to the palace, Lord Ayashi headed straight for the records department, true to his word. He stayed up all night pouring over various documents, learning all he could about his country's political status, trade status and trying to figure out what he could do to improve the lives of all his people. When the sun came up, he went to his father's room to tell him he was going to take it seriously and he wouldn't let him down. After his visit, his father passed away peacefully as he realized he didn't have to hold on any longer and Ayashi would be a good ruler.

Kakashi and I stayed for the funeral, but it seemed like now that Ayashi was serious in his role as feudal lord, he'd already impressed his brothers and many council members with his new platforms and ideas for future growth of their country.

When it was time for us to depart, Lord Ayashi surprised me with a hug and made me promise to stay in touch, and proposed once more much to Kakashi's displeasure. I was happy to be rid of the fancy attire and ready to head home. We bid farewell to our new friends and made our way back to the Hidden Leaf in silence. Once the sun began to set, Kakashi decided it was a good time to make camp.

"Kakashi?" I asked nervously as we sat around the fire, breaking the silence.

He looked up from the book he'd been engrossed in. "Everything okay?"

"I wanted to talk to you about something."

I could see the frown through his mask. "What's wrong?"

"N-nothing." I looked away from him. I felt torn. I'd finally saved up enough money from missions and working at the academy that I could afford to have Minato and Kushina's house restored and renovated, I'd been talking to a carpenter over the past few years getting estimates, he was going to start work on it, but the attack delayed the start date. He'd gotten ahold of me just before our mission and told me he could get started within the next few weeks and it would take a couple of months in total to finish assuming no other big projects came along. I loved living with Kakashi, but I felt like a burden and I feared that when I finally told him how I felt, that I'd be rejected. "I'm going to have onii-san's house restored and thought maybe I'd ask Naruto to move in with me..."

I could feel his gaze on me, "That brings back memories." He said fondly and I looked up curiously to find him smiling though his smile fell after a moment. "I'll be sad to see you go though and I'll miss your cooking."

"Move in with me." I blurted before I could stop myself. "I-If you want." My face was burning from the heat of embarrassment.

He looked deep in thought, "I'll think about it."

My heart fell and it took all I had to keep from revealing anything on my face as I felt the sharp pang of rejection piercing through my chest. "Sure." I forced myself to smile. He was just trying not to hurt my feelings. I really was a burden on him.

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