No One Stands Alone

Chapter 30

Chapter 30

"What are you doing?" a voice asked, shattering the stillness of the night. Junko turned her face away from the dim light of the moon and searched for who spoke. "It's late."

"I'm thinking," the kunoichi replied to her friend who was hiding in the darkness. "You?"

"Couldn't sleep," he said.

Kakashi walked closer until his face was illuminated. They exchanged small smiles of greeting, and he moved to stand next to her. She noticed his mask was pulled below his chin, something that he did when it was only the two of them together. With a smile she gazed up at the black sky with him.

"Did I make the correct choice?" Junko asked. Her voice barely rose above a whisper. "Should I have chosen Haruto to train for this month instead?"

"I think you know the answer to that," Kakashi said. He had confidence in her.

Junko looked over at him. There was a desperate glint in her visible eye. "No, I don't. I can't let Daichi die like Akihito did, but I won't let Haruto awaken into a monster."

Kakashi was at a loss for words, so the first words that came to mind were the ones that slipped out of him mouth. "Akihito didn't deserved his death." Brief memories of a bright, smiling boy flashed through his mind. "He was a good shinobi."

"Akihito was a better friend," she defended her old teammate. "He may have been a skilled fighter, but he was more than just a weapon. Akihito was selfless, always placing everyone else before himself. He would sacrifice so much for Isamu and me and never asked for anything in return." Junko sat down heavily on the grass. "He was like that all the way until the end..."

"His death wasn't your fault," Kakashi tried to remind her as he joined her on the ground. "No one could have predicted the Antiqi to—"

"Then why am I still drowning in guilt, Kakashi?" Junko turned to completely face him. "If his death is not my fault, why can I still feel his blood on my hands? After all these years, why does that smell linger in my nose?"

Kakashi gripped her hands in an effort to make her understand. "You aren't the reason why Akihito is dead, and you won't be the reason for Daichi's death either. Junko, you're training the boy to ensure that he won't be betrayed by his own body."

She shook her head. Junko gently pulled her hands free and clenched them into fists. "I can tell Daichi that his body is slowly destroy itself. I can tell him that because he doesn't have the gene that carries the kekkei genkai, his body will begin to eat away at itself. I can tell him that using his chakra only speeds up the process, but I can't convince him to take precautions."

"But why would he ignore—"

"You have impulsive, headstrong boys in your team, right Kakashi?" Junko interrupted the man. "Daichi is responsible and cautious when it comes to others, but he's reckless by himself. Just like your genin, Daichi will push himself to his limit and beyond if it means that he can achieve his dream. With the chunin exams' final stage happening within a month, he has decided that he'll fight with everything he has against Haruto."

Kakashi could only nod in understanding. The two boys on his team never truly thought before they acted. "And after the chunin exams are finished?"

"He would never consider the option of retiring from active duty as a shinobi. Daichi's dream is to prove that he's just as strong and capable as someone without the kekkei genkai. He can't achieve this if he's confined to desk work."

Kakashi gave her a sly smile. "You just answered your own question, Junko."

The kunoichi blinked slowly. The conversation was focused solely on Daichi. Her eyebrows lifted in surprise. "Oh..."

"Besides," the man began, "Yuudai has returned to Konoha. I heard him asking the Hokage for permission to train his son for the month before the chunin exams' final stage."

"What?" Junko tensed at the news. "Yuudai?"

Kakashi nodded. Junko looked up at the silver light in the dark sky as a shivered creeped down her spine. Yuudai was the only one in history who had been allowed to hunt awakened beings by himself for longer than a month or two. Hiroshi trusted that man's strength to hunt for six years without awakening.

"Haruto is in capable hands then," Junko relented. "If Yuudai is training him, Haruto should be fine."

Kakashi nodded in agreement. "And Daichi will be fine with you."

After a few more moments of silence, the silvered haired man spoke up. "You're supposed to depart at midnight tomorrow, correct?"

"Yes. And you're leaving soon?"

"Sasuke is impatient to start training, so he insisted we leave within a day," Kakashi said with light amusement in his voice. But that humor quickly faded. "I wonder if he'll be able to master the Chidori in time, if he will be able to master it at all."

Junko allowed a smile to curl her lips. "You're an excellent sensei, Kakashi. Don't doubt yourself so much."

  "I could say the same to you, Junko."

~*~*~

  Tsukki could hear the leaves softly rustle the trees gently swayed in the wind. With the sun barely above the horizon, there were pinks and oranges that streaked across the sky. Through the gaps of the trees, he watched as Konoha's towering gates were left behind.

  "Did you say goodbye to your friends?" Yuudai asked. His voice was hesitant. "I know that we left quite early."

  Tsukki let the question sit in a heavy silence before he answered. "I spoke to Daichi yesterday. He and Junko departed at midnight. Hotaru was sleeping when I visited him last night."

  "Oh," the man replied. "Did you say goodbye to Kasumi? I'm sure she will be worried about—"

  "Where are we going?" Tsukki curtly asked, changing the subject.

  Yuudai seemed to be unfazed despite the boy's cold tone. "There is a small mountain pass along the border between the Land of Iron and the Land of Fire. I figured it's secluded enough to give us privacy, and we can use the steep cliffs to our advantage."

  "It will take a little over a week to reach the border at this pace," Tsukki remarked under his breath.

  Yuudai glanced at him; the man's sense were keen. "Have you gone to the Land of Iron before?"

  "Junko made us memorize the map of all the surrounding areas." Tsukki didn't care how harsh he sounded. "I can figure how long it takes to travel from Konoha to the Land of Iron."

  "O-oh, alright. Then, if you want to, we can go faster."

  Tsukki instantly broke into a swift jog. The blond analyzed his condition and decided to push himself to increase his pace. His father's footsteps sped up behind him to keep up.

  "Are you in a rush?" Yuudai called from not far behind.

  He didn't answer. Tsukki was going to be spending a month in that man's company. While he knew Yuudai was powerful, he didn't trust the man to truly help him improve.

  How could a son trust his father when the man disappeared for years only to come back and erase his son's memories?

__________________
Please don't forget to vote and comment!!