Kakashi's Teammate, the Lightning Goddess

Trees

                By the time dinner had rolled around, Sakura had successfully made it to the top, and I told her to go and find Tazuna and tell him that from now on, she’d be staying with him. I told the boys to go inside and eat, noting that I hadn’t seen Kakashi since that morning.

                “What about you?” asked Sasuke, clearly thinking the same thing. I shrugged.

                “I’ll make it in eventually. Besides, I’m not the one working hard, so I don’t require that much nutrition.”

                Sasuke rolled his eyes and extended his hand to me. Naruto, seeing what his teammate – and archenemy – was doing, stopped on his way inside and grabbed my other hand. “Kakashi-sensei always carries you around, but we can do that too,” Naruto said happily, and I gasped as Sasuke grabbed my shoulders, Naruto supporting me under the knees. “Just relax, Kira-sensei.”

                I laughed. “I love you guys,” I said. “I have the best team.”

                “We’re the best team!” Naruto cheered. “Best team! Woo!”

***

                “Kira,” Kakashi said, sparing a glance at me as he finally put down the book he’d been reading. He had refused to tell any of us where he’d gone, or what the book was, or where he’d gotten it, and it had pissed me off to no end. I glared at him. You dare to talk me now, asshat? “Would you mind talking about Amaterasu?”

                That was not what I was expecting. Amaterasu wasn’t a particularly touchy subject, but very few people knew about her.

                ‘A bit of history, what stuff we’ve figured out, what we haven’t figured out… come on Kira, it’ll ease their curiosity for a while.’

                ‘For a while, yeah. That’s what I’m worried about.’

                “Tell us, Kira-sensei,” Naruto begged, giving me his best puppy-dog look. “Come on!”

                “Yeah,” Sakura agreed. “We’re a team, right?”

                “The best team,” Sasuke said quietly, only daring to meet my eyes after he’d said it. I couldn’t help but smile.

                My gaze landed on the book Kakashi had just put down. Japanese Mythology and Ancestry, the title read. My jaw dropped, and I turned on the silver-haired man accusingly. “You were researching Amaterasu!” I exclaimed, and he quickly removed the book from the table, tossing it behind him.

                “I was not.”

                “You idiot!” I cried, trying to keep the bubble of laughter in my throat, but his deer-in-headlights look was just too much. “You can’t learn anything from that stuff, anyway. Not stuff that counts.”

                “Enlighten me.” He gave me one of those closed-eye smiles.

                I shook my head at him, but I’d already made up my mind about what I would tell them and what I wouldn’t. “Amaterasu is a goddess. My clan has kept her in hosts for many generations, and I happened to be chosen before I was even born. Uh, that’s honestly pretty much it. You kinda just go with the flow.”

                “How come you’ve never told me?” asked Kakashi. I rolled my eyes at him.

                “You never asked. Besides, it’s not like you haven’t seen me use her power before; you just never realized where it came from, I suppose. I wasn’t very good at channeling it when we were younger, anyway.”

                “Give me one example of when you’ve used her power,” Kakashi challenged me. I thought about it briefly.

                “The time against those Stone ninja when I was around thirteen.”

                Kakashi shook his head. “Makes sense now.”

                I’m sure it does.

                “That’s good to know, I think,” said Sakura. “Why don’t you use her power all the time?”

                “Yeah!” said Naruto. “You could go around beating up all the bad guys!”

                I smiled at their idealistic thinking. “It doesn’t work like that, I’m afraid,” I said. “First of all, there’s a time limit. She can’t be out for too long. Second, what do you think would happen if people found out? Third, I’m me, and she’s her. I can’t just order her to do all the work like a slave. Remember Zabuza? He was convinced that everything I’ve ever done is because of Amaterasu, and that isn’t true.”

                “Does that insult you?” Sasuke asked, propping his head up with his hand. “You seemed pretty mad back there.”

                “Well, nobody likes to be seen as someone else. Nobody likes to be in the shadows.” Knowing that this would go to their hearts, particularly Naruto and Sasuke’s, I left it at that. They didn’t need to know anything else.

***

Dear Melissa,

                You’ve probably heard by now about what’s happened. I’m back in Konohagakure – not at the moment, clearly – and I’m even co-leading a team. I don’t know how you are, or what your situation is, but I hope you’re well and I hope you’ll forgive me for everything that’s happened in the past.

                Kotetsu told me the other day that he’s seen you recently, and so I must therefore conclude that you visit Konoha once in a while, and I hope this letter reaches you. Please, Lissa, come to Konoha, after this mission is over. I’ll be awaiting your arrival.

Love,

                Kira.