Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Catch a Thief ❯ Chapter One ( Chapter 2 )

[ A - All Readers ]

Disclaimer: The characters of Naruto belong to Masashi Kishimoto. I’m just borrowing them to play with. I’ll put them back just as they were, promise.

Warning: This story is AU. Though I will be sticking to the original as far as certain aspects of Naruto are concerned, I will be changing others to better suit the storyline. Though I will never specifically give ages for Kakashi and Sakura, suffice it to say that Sakura is legal and Kakashi is about ten years her senior.

Catch a Thief
Chapter One-

Somewhere outside the Wave Village
One year later

Kakashi Hatake was a ninja without a home.

Sitting in a shadowy corner at the back of the dark inn, he reached, for his cup of sake, cursing the fact that he was in this desolate part of the world.

With the raiders he had thought he found a place he belonged. He welcomed life in the forest, man and nature in harmony. He even relished the rush he found in the dangers of raiding: the risks of battle, the threat of being captured, the opportunity to acquire wealth beyond his wildest dreams.

Yet, here he was, condemned to a life outside the forest, a man with a bounty on his head.

Scoffing at himself for his own dramatics, he downed the remainder of his sake and placed the glass upon the table. Peering through the dusty haze of the room, he caught the eye of the innkeeper and held up two fingers. The innkeeper nodded. Two more glasses would be coming.

Leaning back on his chair, he toyed with the ring he wore on the little finger of his left hand. A more worthless trinket he had never known. It had cost him the life he loved and the danger he craved. Most of all it had cost him the trust of his leader.

Worse still, the girl he had discovered in the forest continued to haunt him.

He did not know her name, but she had earned his admiration. Even with his kodachi at her throat, she had been defiant, fire blazing in her eyes, a green so bright not even the shadows could dim them. Her soft pink hair spilling over her shoulders no doubt had enticed many men. He was no exception.

Since that fateful day, no other female had caught his fancy. Not even his beloved Icha Icha could hold his attention for very long. Why could he not forget her?

The innkeeper had set two glasses of sake in front of him while he had been deep in thought. Now the silence was broken as he heard:
“Is one those mine?”

Kakashi had been so absorbed in his thoughts, he had missed the arrival of Jiraiya, resident pervert of the Wave Village- as well as of any other village he rested his head- and former elite ninja of Konoha.

Wrapping his hand around the bottom of one of the glasses, he sent it across the scarred, wooden table. It looked as though many men had taken a knife to it. “Of course.”

Smirking, Jiraiya dropped into the chair nearest Kakashi, bringing the unlikely odor of stale sweat and the perfume of the bathhouses he ‘frequented.’ Frequented was perhaps not the best description. Skulked around outside of while trying to get a glimpse of bathing young ladies would perhaps be a better one.

Jiraiya was a class-A pervert- and Kakashi’s oldest friend. He was the one person Kakashi felt he could turn to when Aka Shippei had cast him out of his band of raiders.

The leader had left a runner at the campsite to make sure the fire did not spread to the rest of the forest. As well, he usually enjoyed listening to tales of the victims’ anguish and suffering. However, as sadistic and crazy as Shippei was, he also knew he could not let the forest catch alight as his success as a raider was partly attributed to the forest itself.

The forest of Konoha was known for its wildness and certain amount of danger. That danger was what had prevented settlers from trying to build a village within it. It was also the one thing travelers had to cross to reach the heart of the most influential ninja village around- the Hidden Leaf Village, Konoha. It was true that Konoha could be accessed by sea, but the most direct route was through the forest itself.

The runner Shippei had sent joined the raiding party about an hour after they left the clearing. He gave his report to Shippei as soon as he was able.

As was his habit, Kakashi had been standing beside him, careful no to show the relief he felt when the runner announced the travelers had doused the fire and then left the clearing as quickly as possible- presumably to continue their journey, more likely to put as many miles between the raiding party and themselves as they could.

Shippei considered himself Kakashi’s teacher and like to keep him close. And while it was true that Shippei had shown him the ways of raiders, Kakashi himself had undergone his training in a far more conventional manner- in Konoha, at the school for ninjas.

He had been musing on this when something the runner said caught his ears, “... and then they bundled the girl and what they could salvage from the fire into the remaining wagon and left.”

Aka Shippei’s ears also pricked. “There was a girl?” he growled. “How did we miss her?”

“She must have been hiding,” the runner said.
“We tore that clearing apart and Kakashi himself was sent to check the outlying areas.” Here Shippei gave him a hard glare, the kind of look that caused lesser men to cry for their mothers. It never signaled anything good.

Kakashi dug the ring out of his pocket. “She paid me well to let her go. Said it was jadeite”

Shippei snatched up the ring, studied with the practiced eye of any quality jeweler and tossed it back to Kakashi. “It’s nothing but nephrite. A bit of fakery. We’ll see how well you think she paid you when I’m done with you.”

Kakashi realized then he should have taken the necklace. Hell, he should have taken the girl. She was a prize worthy of any raider.

Now all Kakashi possessed was the reminder of his foolishness.

Kakashi had been beaten and left for dead in a tiny village outside the Wave Village with a warning to never step foot into the raider’s territory again. Now the only work he could get was as a farmer or mercenary. There was little call for a mercenary who was choosy about what he would do and a farming involved a good deal of work for very little pay.

Before Jiraiya could grab his glass, Kakashi snatched it back. “Did you do as I asked?”

“I did. I promise” He leaned toward Kakashi. “It’s as you thought. The makai hunter and his party is on your scent. Rumor has it, he pulled in town late this afternoon.”

Kakashi was already well aware of that.

“They say the makai hunter is a woman,” Jiraiya began with a lecherous grin on his face.

“So I’ve heard.”

“But you don’t believe it. I can tell. I’ve known excellent female hunters.” He winked. “Known them very well, if you get my drift.”

"Yes, I'm sure you did. They're crazy though, women."

"True." Jiraiya grinned. "But you have to forgive them. Who else are you going to kiss?"

Kakashi shook his head, wishing his friend had not mentioned kisses. It had beeen too long since he had kissed a girl and that kiss haunted him still. "The makai hunting party is not led by a woman."

"Believe what you will," Jiraiya reached into his jacket, removed a piece of paper and awkwardly unfolded it while keeping hold of his sake. "Woman or no, she is passing these around. You know she's after you."

He did know. It was the reason they were living in the shadows of the city.

Kakashi took the paper and studies his likeness etched on the reward notice. It was like staring into a mirror, so accurate was the portrait. Even his scar ended exactly where it did on his cheek.Someone knew him, and knew him very, very well. That someone also wanted him badly enough to go to the expense of issuing a reward notice.

He resisted the tempation to crumple the paper and throw it on the floor. He did not want someone to pick it up, notice him and decide the reward was worth the effort of trying to capture him. Such an action would interfeer with his plans.

"Many a man would be tempted to turn you in for the reward," Jiraiya said, as though reading Kakashi's mind.

Kakashi lifted his gaze from the reward notice and fastened it on his old friend. "Are you tempted, Jiraiya?"

"Of course not. You're my oldest friend and you saved my life. I trust you."

But no other man trusted him. And Jiraiya was right. Many a man would be tempted. He thought of the innkeeper and wondered if he had seen one of the reward notices. How many others might have? With a reward on his head, he had to get out of the Wave Village... and fast. But how he was going to accomplish that little miracle with virtually no money for food or supplies remained a mystery.

"I found a man who was looking for a cook. His band'll be traveling to Konoha. " Jiraiya offered.

"When does it leave?"

"First light. You'll have to actually cook, though."

Kakashi had long since lost the luxury of being particular about how his belly was filled. He drained his sake in one swallow and looked at Jiraiya before saying, "Okay."

"Great," was all his friend said before he gave Kakashi directions to the noodle vendor where he was to meet the man. They parted amicably, knowing they would see each other again eventually and Kakashi headed for the vendor. There was no need to return to the putrid place he had been living these past months. He carried everything of importance on him. His shuriken holster was strapped to his leg, Icha Icha was in a pouch attached to his belt, and the only clothes he owned were those on his back. He relished the freedom his nomadic life offered him.

But sometimes he did find himself wishing for something with more permanence to it. A place to call his own. Somewhere he belonged. He thought he had found that with Shippai and his raiders... but no, no more thoughts on that. There was only the future to look to.

It was hours after sunset and few people were out. Most remained indoors on this misty night. Kakashi walked silently and carefully in the dark, one foot in front of the other. He was not afraid of the dark itself but there were other dangers in the night. Plus there was always the danger of tripping over something he could not see, particularly in this mist that clung to the ground. Perhaps it was because he was concentrating so hard on his surrounding that he heard it.

A whisper of sound. Something that did not belong. The hairs on his neck prickled and rose.

He swung around. A half-dozen men stood behind him. One held a lantern aloft. It had been encased in some sort of metal container to prevent it from being seen earlier. The men closed around him quickly. He drew a shuriken from its holster.

A man stepped forward. "Drop your weapon, come with us and you will not be harmed."

Kakashi laughed as though he were back in school being taunted by a bully. "If you want it, come and take it."

He threw three shuriken in succession, hitting nothing except fog, but they made a whistling sound that echoed through the air. A warning. A challenge. A dare.

He heard the rush of footsteps behind him and swung around, kicking up as he did so. His foot connected with a head and it was with satisfaction Kakashi heard a body hitting the ground. He threw another shuriken and the one who had been following dodged, but not before it caught his sleeve.

Kakashi was at a disadvantage. He knew it. There were too many. There was no escape. But he was not going to go down without a fight.

"You can't win against us," the man who had spoken before said. "Surrender to the makai."

Kakashi spun around. "Never."

A pain shot through Kakashi's head, and he dropped to his knees. Someone had sneaked up behind him and hit him neatly at the back of his skull. His shuriken was torn from his grasp. He felt weak. The world was spinning. He tried to get up, but the ground was much more inviting.

Nevertheless, someone jerked him roughly to his feet and wrenched his arms behind his back. He felt the sharp bite of rope as he was bound tightly.

"Are you finished?" a feminine voice queried coldly.

As awkward as it was with his hands tied behind his back, Kakashi tried to twist around and succeeded just enough to watch a girl, a woman, walk out of the mist.

With soft pink hair flowing past her shoulders and bright green eyes that the shadows did nothing to dim.

She stopped only a few inches from him.

"I've been looking for you, Kakashi Hatake."

It was the girl from the forest.

And from the look on her face, she had every intention of sending him to hell.