She had snuck out again. She knew Hiashi Hyuuga had only taken her in on the Hokage’s orders. The hospitality there wasn’t very warming. So every night after dark, she snuck out of the Compound to train in the forest. Just before dawn she made it back so no one would miss her.
Tonight was no different.
No one came in these parts of the woods, especially at night. She practiced her Byakugan, her Kaiten. Neji was already better at it and he was just a kid. Not that she used the attack overmuch. She relied more on her windattacks. Maybe she could combine the two in a new jutsu. It was worth the try. She would have to think on that. Taryn took out some kunai daggers and started target practice.
Four Jounin made their way through the forest, returning from a mission, when one of them suddenly skitted to a halt. He looked to the side where a small figure was throwing knives. He didn’t know the girl, he had never seen her before in Konoha, so what was she doing here in the middle of the night?
A hand fell on his shoulder and Gai looked at him concerned. “You alright Kakashi? Why did you stop?”
Kakashi nodded at the girl. “Who is that?”
Gai followed his gaze. “Ah, you don’t know yet I suppose. You were gone fro a while. That’s Taryn of Suna.”
“Suna?”
“Hm,” Gai said, “she’s staying with her mother’s family. Hokage decreed it.” Kakashi stared at him confused. “Her mother is of the Hyuuga clan,” Gai clarified, “she was banished from Suna.”
“Banished?” Kakashi questioned, “but she’s just a child.”
"Maybe so, but she’s got quite the reputation. She was the youngest Chuunin ever. Got sent on A-rank missions all the time… Come on, we have to report to the Hokage.”
“Yeah…” Kakashi waved, “you go on ahead.” He still stared at the girl with a curious glance.
Gai sighed. “Leave her. She’s a troublemaker.”
Kakashi looked at him. “You don’t need me to report. The three of you can go. Go on.”
Gai shook his head and sighed, but followed after his teammates. Kakashi stared at the girl again and walked in her direction.
Taryn’s throws became more violent with the second. She was angry. Angry at her father, at her mother’s family, angry at the world. She panted when one of her daggers split a target completely in two.
Suddenly she felt an unfamiliar chakra approach and she whirled around, launching a fierce windattack in its direction.
No one was there.
She glared at the spot. Then she heard a rustle above her head. From a branch not far above her, a man looked down at her.
“Nice aim,” he complimented, “good skills too.”
Taryn glared and took out some shuriken.
The man jumped down. “Calm down. I’m not your enemy.”
“Says who?” Taryn answered.
“I’m Kakashi Hatake. You’re Taryn of Suna right?”
Taryn snorted. “What do you want?”
Kakashi shrugged. “I was curious. I saw you practicing. Why would you train in the middle of the night?”
“Why do you walk around in the forest in the middle of the night?” Taryn retorted.
Kakashi chuckled. “I just came back from a mission.”
“Shouldn’t you go report then?” Taryn bit.
He seemed unfazed. His endless patience somehow annoyed her. “My teammates went on ahead.” He eyed her curiously. “You haven’t answered my question.”
‘Maybe it’s none of your business,’ Taryn thought, but she answered him nonetheless. “I like the night, okay? It’s not a crime.”
“You don’t trust people much, do you?” The question took her off-guard and she stared at him.
Kakashi nodded to himself. “You’re quite impressing,” he complimented her.
“I know,” she stated arrogantly. She was still suspicious of him. Turning her back on him, she continued training, trying to ignore him which was harder than she had imagined. She gathered chakra and took out her fan, ready to use an enormous Ryouki, her own jutsu. She smirked when she heard Kakashi’s gasp. So he was impressed. Good. Let it be a warning too.
Over the horizon she saw the first rays of morning light. Time to go back. As she gathered her equipment she heard his voice again.
“You train here every night?”
“What if I do?”
Kakashi shrugged. “I thought I could watch again.”
“Whatever,” Taryn said and without looking back she headed towards the Hyuuga Compound.
He did come again. She had been training for a while. He leaned against a tree and watched her.
“Are you studying my skills to try and take me on?” Taryn asked.
“Maybe,” Kakashi said, “would you take the challenge?”
She eyed him for a moment. She had heard rumors about him. He had been gone from the village for a while, but now he had come back. “Is it true that you possess Sharingan?” she asked.
Kakashi smirked. “Care to find out?” he asked.
Taryn’s gaze went to his hitai-ate, that covered one of his eyes. A small smile was around her lips. “Why not?” She took a fighting stance.
He was a long range fighter, she could do both, but her Byakugan would come in handy here. Also, if he did possess Sharingan… well… it was not as if it was her first encounter with that eye-jutsu.
She charged at him, her Byakugan activated. He was fast, evaded her attack, but she had counted on that and changed direction the last second. She dodged his blow and came up behind him. She hit is back and the back of his knee. He gasped in surprise and buckled. ‘Fast’, he thought. He rolled away from her when she threw some shuriken in his direction. Right after, he had to dodge one of her windblades. ‘Of course, a wind user’, But before he could think of a counter attack she threw a kunai dagger in his direction. He gasped. Taryn paused. An amused smile plastered on her face.
“I really thought I wouldn’t have to use it,” Kakashi said, “But I have to give it to you. You’re very good.”
“I told you,” Taryn answered, “I know. I was made Jounin at the age of nine after all.”
“Hm,” Kakashi said, “you beat me by three years then.”
“That so? Standards must be low then in Konoha.”
Kakashi shot her an angry look. He uncovered his left eye and the Sharingan activated. Lighting surrounded his right arm. “You need a lesson in respect.” He came at her with enormous speed. Taryn dodged at the last moment, but barely got away. She jumped up and launched a windattack, but he was already gone. When she didn’t find him, she scanned her surroundings with Byakugan. No one was there.
‘Impossible,’ Taryn thought. Suddenly there was a mist creeping across the forest and everything went silent ‘Genjutsu,’ She formed a handseal. “Kai release.”
Kakashi stood in front of her “Impressive,” he said.
Taryn raised an eyebrow. “So, are you going to give me a real fight now?”
He was good with his Sharingan, even without belonging to the Uchiha clan, but not as good as the real thing. He did manage to wear her out though. ‘You’re not so bad yourself,” Taryn complimented, supporting herself against a tree. Kakashi panted heavily.
“Thank you,” he said. He covered his Sharingan again. Using it too long was exhausting for him.
Taryn nodded and turned to face the tree. Focusing her chakra to her feet, she set one foot on against the bark and tried to climb up. It should have been an easy exercise, but the bark splintered under her feet and she fell down. Two strong arms caught her before she hit the ground.
“Careful now,” Kakashi said.
Taryn growled and struggled free from him. “You put too much chakra in your feet,” Kakashi pointed out.
“I know how to do this, thank you,” Taryn said annoyed, “we have this exercise in Suna too.”
“Rocks are not the same as trees,” Kakashi commented. Taryn gritted her teeth. Such a stupid mistake was embarrassing. Kakashi chuckled and Taryn narrowed her eyes at him.
“It’s not funny.”
“No of course not,” he said innocently. He took her hands crosswise. “Come on,” he said, “lean on me. I’ve got you.”
After a moment of mental arguing she gave in. She could use some allies here. Leaning on his hands, she pushed herself off and tried again. This time she had the right amount of chakra. “See?” Kakashi smiled.
Taryn snorted. “Just shut up,” she snapped. To her surprise he chuckled and she found herself laughing too. He wasn’t that bad. He was actually good company.
“So again tomorrow?” he asked while lifting her off the tree.
He walked her back to the compound. A the front entrance however, Taryn pulled him away around the back.
“What…?”
“Shh,” Taryn hushed him and stepped into the shadows. She set her foot against the wall and walked towards her window. “How about tomorrow we train by daylight?” she asked from the windowsill. Kakashi shook off his confusion.
“Ehh… sure… meet me at the forest edge then… noon?”
“Sure,” Taryn said and vanished inside.
***
“Shouldn’t you be in the hospital?” Neji strolled across the garden and sat down next to her.
Taryn glanced up at him. “What use would that be? I can’t get him out of that coma.”
“You haven’t heard yet?” Neji questioned, “they found Tsunade. She came yesterday. She said she’d look at the patients today.”
Taryn stared at him. “Tsunade is in town?”
“Yeah,” Neji nodded, “I thought you might want to check up on Kakashi-sensei.” He stood up and strolled back into the house.
Taryn sighed. It was true that she had avoided the hospital since she came back last week. There was nothing she could do and with Sasuke now too in a coma, she had thought it best to stay out of everyone’s way. She did want to know if Kakashi was alright though. He had to be alright. ‘Itachi… what did you do?’ She bit her lip. There was still another matter. The key Itachi had passed to her was still in her back pocket. But what was it for?
Carefully she took it out and studied it. It had the crest of the Uchiha clan engraved in it. Taryn twisted it around in her hands. It looked like an ordinary key. She studied it with Byakugan. No change. It really was just a regular key. It was significant though. Why else would he have handed it to her?
‘What is it you want me to find, Itachi?’ Her fingers locked around the key and her eyes held a determined expression. She was going to find out one way or another. Even if she would have to try every damn door in the Compound.
Every time again the silence here was unnerving. Especially when it used to be so lively. Out of habit she scanned the area for any movements. Then she slowly walked down the road. She would start at Itachi’s house and work her way through the quarters from there.
She paused in the doorway, examining the lock. It wasn’t the door belonging to the key, but it was a similar lock. What could be so important? What was it Itachi wanted her to find?
She ventured further into the house. It was hard to picture him in this house after all that had happened.
Taryn sighed. That was the one thing she hadn’t been able to solve. Why? He had never told her that.
The key didn’t fit on any door in the house, so she walked out again. There were a lot of houses. Would she have to try them all?
She studied the key again. She needed to approach this more logical. It was a key. She should be looking for a door that was locked. She closed her eyes for a moment, searching the area carefully. There, in the far corner of Uchiha land, a small building that appeared to be empty. She made her way over. She tried the key and wasn’t surprised that it fit. She was surprised however that the door was unlocked. Someone had been here then.
She stepped into the empty space. The interior was large. A conference room of some kind. Whatever had been here, it was gone now.
Taryn was about to leave when her eye fell on a tile in the corner of the room. It seemed a little out of place. She activated her Byakugan. There was another room underneath this one. That was what Itachi wanted to show her?
Curiosity won her over. She lifted the tile and descended the stairs. It was dark, but with Byakugan she didn’t need light. She saw the shapes of furniture quite clearly. And something else too.
Against the wall was a cabinet and on it some documents. But it was the tablet on the wall that caught her attention.
She found torches in a basket next to the cabinet and used a fire jutsu to light one. She broke off Byakugan and studied the inscribing.
That was strange. It looked different now.
She activated her eyes again and read. She gasped at what she found. If this information was true… did Itachi know this? He must know or he wouldn’t have sent her here. But Itachi didn’t have Byakugan… unless of course it could be read with Sharingan too. Why else would it hang in Uchiha quarters? But what was she going to do with this information? How many people knew of this? If someone were to use this… the world would come to an end. But there was information missing too. The pieces she needed to solve this puzzle. What was going on exactly? She knew someone had the answers, but for now there was only Itachi. And he was nowhere to be found.
This wasn’t something to forget though. She took out a notebook and copied the document. First with Byakugan and after that without it. This meant something. She could think on it later. She could always come back. She had a key after all. Right now there was something else that had a priority.
***
It was quiet in the hospital and that suited her just fine. She slipped into Kakashi’s room, closing the door behind her. His eyes were closed and he seemed to be asleep. Taryn wondered if Tsunade had already seen him, but didn’t want to go out again and ask. She sat down on the edge of the bed and stared at Kakashi’s face. It was so peaceful. She suppressed the impulse to touch him. She didn’t deserve his kindness. He was to good for her. Even though he knew her heart belonged to someone else, he was always there for her. She buried her head in her hands. Her life was such a mess. Kakashi knew how much she loved Itachi. Yet he never made an issue out of it, never questioned her about it. Instead, he had sent her after him, as he had done before. So she might have a chance to speak with him.
“Another mission ended in success. And the contractors even gave us a bonus. The Hokage will be pleased,” Asuma commented .He looked at his teammates. “We should report and get Lance to the infirmary.”
“You should get him to the medics first,” Taryn said while eyeing Lance’s injured leg.
“She’s right,” Kakashi cut in.
“I’m fine,” Lance protested, but he hissed in pain.
“That leg needs looking after,” Taryn pointed out.
“You’re not fine,” Asuma said, “you’re lucky it’s not worse.”
They quarreled a bit more, but Taryn’s attention was drawn by someone across the street. She lifted her hand to wave at Itachi, but he didn’t seem to notice her, even though he was staring right at her. The look in his eyes was distant and empty. Taryn lowered her hand and eyed him concerned.
“Go on,” Kakashi said at her shoulder. She looked up at him.
“We still need to report.”
“We’ll excuse you,” Kakashi said.
Taryn looked at the others who nodded at her. “Okay,” Taryn said and spurted after Itachi who was heading for the river. Somewhere behind her she heard Asuma’s soft chuckle.
“Those two together are really something,” he said.
Taryn jogged up to Itachi and fell into a stroll beside him. “Hey,” she said.
Itachi nodded, but didn’t look at her. They walked silently for a long time until they reached the Final Valley, the far border of Konoha. Itachi was silent as he looked out over the plains.
Taryn looked at him calmly. She knew he would talk if he wanted to. He was like her in that way. So she didn’t ask him any questions, even though it was obvious that something was bothering him.
“Nice view from here,” Taryn commented, “I’ve been in Konoha for a while now, but I’ve never noticed that.”
A faint smile appeared around Itachi’s lips. “Yeah,” he agreed, but he sounded sad. He sighed.
“Almost as beautiful as Suna,” Taryn whispered.
Itachi glanced at her from the corner of his eye. “Do you miss it?” he inquired. His voice was almost inaudible.
“Every day,” Taryn whispered. She closed her eyes, unaware that he was examining her carefully.
He was standing at the edge of the most difficult decision of his life. He knew what he had to do. He just didn’t know if he could. He wanted to talk to her about it, but wasn’t allowed. Was this what it had been like for her? But she had chosen banishment. Love over honor. Not that there was much honor left for him. He would lose that either way. He would become a traitor either way and there was no way out of it. No refuge for him to turn to.
“But I know I made the right decision,” Taryn’s voice broke his thought, “and I don’t regret it.” She smiled at him.
His serious eyes looked back at her calmly. He knew what he had to do. “Thank you,” he said.
Taryn’s expression turned confused. “What for?” But he didn’t answer. “Itachi,” Taryn said concerned.
“We should head back,” he cut her off, “I have a mission tomorrow.”
Taryn eyed him carefully, but couldn’t read anything in his expression. She nodded. “Okay.” But it didn’t let her go that something was not right.
***
“Hey,” Kakashi said softly.
Taryn looked up and turned to him.
“You’re awake,” she said.
“How long was I out?” Kakashi asked.
“Two weeks.”
“Did you catch up with him?” Taryn stared at her hands and gave a curt nod. His hand found hers and pressed it. “Did you talk to him?” She nodded again.
“Yeah.”
He looked at her tormented expression. “What is it?” he asked.
She glanced at him. “How are you?” she said in a small voice.
So that was it then. She felt guilty because it had been Itachi that had put him here. Guilty because she had left him behind to chase after the criminal she loved. “I’m fine,” he assured her.
“The Tsukuyomi…” Taryn protested.
“…Is not a very pleasant experience, I agree. But I’m alright. Tsunade is a very skilled medic.”
Taryn sighed. “I know.”
Kakashi shifted himself into a sitting position. He still felt a little dizzy, but didn’t let it show. It would take a day or two before he’d have his strength back. “How is life at the Hyuuga Compound?” he asked in an attempt to distract her. She wouldn’t want to talk about Itachi.
Taryn shrugged. “Okay I guess… I train with Neji now.” She was still stunned that he had come to her a few days back. They weren’t exactly friends, but they treated each other respectfully. And Neji was a good sparring partner. If he could learn to control his anger, he would make a fine Chuunin on the next exam.
“You do huh,” Kakashi said, “that’s good.”
Taryn nodded distracted. Her mind was on the secret room beneath the Uchiha quarters. She wasn’t even sure what she had read. Something about Sharingan and extreme powers. Taryn shuddered.
“Taryn?”
“Hn?” she looked up at him.
“What is it?” Kakashi asked.
Taryn shook her head. “Nothing.” She faked a smile. “Did Tsunade say when you can go home?”
“I can leave tonight. She wants to give me a checkup first.”
As on cue the door opened and Tsunade walked in with her assistant Shizune behind her. “A visitor, Kakashi?”
Taryn looked over her shoulder. She wasn’t particularly fond of the woman, but then again she wasn’t fond of a lot of people. And a lot of people weren’t very fond of her either.
“Taryn Desertstorm,” Tsunade said stiffly.
“Tsunade,” Taryn answered. She turned back to Kakashi who smiled at her.
“Be nice Taryn.”
Taryn glared at him and stood up. “I’ll see you tonight,” she said and walked out of the room without looking back.
“Lovely girl,” Shizune muttered.
Tsunade snorted and walked to the bed. “If you’re well enough to flirt then I guess there’s no need to keep you here.”
“I wasn’t flirting.”
“Right. Kakashi, that girl is trouble.”
“No she’s not,” Kakashi answered, “she’s very lonely.” He looked at Tsunade. “The Third gave her leave to stay in the village. Are you going to withdraw that decree?”
Tsunade stared at him for a long time. “She has broken no law,” she finally said, “we’ll see. For now I will honor the Third’s decision.”