Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Leaf and Dream ❯ Chapter 3

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Disclaimer (as always): I don’t own Naruto or any of it’s characters.



The previous week passed quickly for the silver-haired ninja. After getting over the initial shock, he had accepted the fact that he would once again see the Dream Ninjas, whom he had thought he had been rid of forever. This was why when it was heard that the Yumekage and her escort was at the gate, Kakashi walked down to take his place in the welcoming committee with his usual slouching gait. He was late, like normal, but not horribly so, so when he took his place next to Gai, the Yumekage had not even made it through the gate yet.

“It’s my Eternal Rival. What’s the matter Kakashi? You don’t look happy to be here. Are you not excited and curious as to what kind of beauty this Yumekage may possess? Do you not want to be able to sing praises to her hair? Or the youthful beauty of her eyes?” The green clad ninja looked as though he was about ready to go into another one of his tirades.

Shaking his head, Kakashi slid his hands into his pockets, rocking back slightly on his heels, “I’ve already seen her, Gai. I’d rather be home right now.” Truthfully, he’d rather be anywhere. The question as to why the Yumekage had revealed the secret that she would have killed to protect irritated him. There was no answer that the ninja could think of.

“Then I will go where you failed! I will look upon this Yumekage and sing her praises!” Gai launched into a list of the praises that he would heap on the Yumekage, stopping only when the gate began to open.

Arianna stepped through the gate, her blue eyes scrutinizing the many ninjas who have gathered to meet her party. Stepping into the open space in the middle of the yard, she noticed first the Hokage, dressed in her red and white. Bowing slightly to the figure, Ari took another few steps in and moved to the left, while at the same time Yuriko shifted his position to the right, allowing the waiting ninjas their first look at the Yumekage. Yumekage wore robes of the country’s colors; off white and a light blue. She was shorter than Kakashi remembered and when she lifted her head to look about her, he couldn’t find the cold hardness that he remembered in her eyes. The rest of the ninjas filed in, two teams of Genin, hoping to make the Chuunin exam, their eyes wide with excitement and awe. Kakashi didn’t recognize any of them. Truthfully he didn’t see anyone he recognized from his experience in their country. Then again, their ANBU still had their masks on. The dragon masked ninja turned her gaze to him and for a moment he thought he recognized the crystal blue eyes that stared into his one ink black one, but if there was any recognization on her part, he couldn’t tell.

“Greetings and welcome, Yumekage and ninja of the Dream country, to Konoha.” The Hokage’s voice rang out in the silence as she bowed to the Yumekage.

“We thank you for your hospitality, Hokage, and wish your village nothing but peace and prosperity.” Yumekage returned the bow and it seemed that all the ANBU (six in all) from the Dream village relaxed visibly.

Something was different. Kakashi couldn’t exactly place the voice but it wasn’t what he expected. There was a feeling of warmth, and of respect that would have been out of place with the Yumekage that he knew and remembered. But the memory has a way of changing with time. Kakashi pushed off the worry and continued to stand around, trying not to look too bored while pleasantries were exchanged.

Finally, after what felt like forever, the Dream Ninja were taken to the homes that the Leaf Village set aside for them, all except for the Yumekage and two of her ANBU, the dragon and gryphen masked ones. Everyone disappeared in ones and twos, and just as Kakashi was getting ready to go back to his newest hentai book, the Hokage stopped him. “Kakashi. Will you join us?”

He wanted to say no. He wanted more than anything to say no, to beg off and go home, but the dragon masked ninja spoke with a voice that had thought he would never hear before, “Yes Kakashi. Join us, please.”

There was nothing left for him to do but to follow the two Kage and the two ANBU into Tsunade’s private rooms, where Shizune poured them all sake. Once the five of them were seated, the Yumekage pulled off her cone-shaped hat, revealing an older, kinder looking woman than Kakashi had expected.

Taking her cue, the ANBU removed their masks as well. Yuriko was a young, blonde haired man with green eyes and a wide grin that made Kakashi think of Naruto, but it was the other ANBU that caught his attention.

Her hair was black as night, feathered around her tanned face. Crystal blue eyes stared out of a battle worn, but still pretty face, one that was in the middle of a laughing fit at the look of shock that he knew he must have had on his face.

“Lady Hokage, I think our Copy Ninja needs a drink.” Ari said, stiffling her giggles and accepting a cup of sake from Shizune. Kakashi took his own drink in hand, but didn’t even attempt to bring it up to his face. “You look like you’ve just seen the dead rise, Kakashi. Are you alright? You need Shina to give you some of her tea, or read your bones?” The blue eyed ninja was teasing him, making Kakashi shake his head and force himself to relax.

Both Shina and Tsunade were watching the banter with interest. Kakashi was notorious for not revealing anything about his personal or private life, and nothing that he had said to Tsunade had hinted at what she was seeing now. “You two know each other?” The blonde drank her sake, seemingly comfortable in the homey room in which they sat.

It was Ari who spoke, “Yeah. He stumbled onto one of my rounds and I saved him from a pack of Stone Ninjas and then smuggled him out of Dream Country. He owes me, big.”

Kakashi said nothing to this, even as Tsunade laughed and began talking to Shina about the difficulties of being a female leader and of their pasts as ninjas. Silently, Arianna moved to sit next to Kakashi, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye as she sipped her sake. “Been a while.” She said, conversationally.

He didn’t answer, couldn’t figure out what to say.

Ari finished her sake with one drink and watched Kakashi’s face out of the corner of her eye. There was an oddness, a strangeness between them that wasn’t there before. “I’m glad that you got home safely to complete your mission.”

“I thought you were dead.”

“Nah, you should have known it would have taken more than that to kill me. Especially after I spent a month learning under the notorious Copy Ninja. I was taken alive and tried as a traitor. The night before I was to be executed, Shina and the others made a coup on the Yumekage. Shina took over and pardoned me, and here I am.” She toyed with her cup, watching the two Kage, who seemed to be getting along fine. Yuriko was sitting in the corner, watching and talking to Shizune as she refilled his cup again. “I kept track of you through the bingo books. You have quite a reputation now. A far cry from the scrawny boy I dragged through the underbrush.”

Kakashi’s lips twisted into a wry grin under his mask and he shook his head. “Still rubbing that in. I thought I was saved only to die by Shina’s herbal remedies. You haven’t told me why you’ve decided to finally leave your country.”

Arianna opened her mouth to answer but Shina was already answering that question, posed by Tsunade.

“Hokage, I will not lie to you. The villages of Moon and Illusion are poor and the lands surrounding them, poorer still. We make everything that we needed in the past but now it’s not enough. The coup cost us more than some would want to admit. On top of this, we have no trained medic nin. If we make a good enough show during the exam, then we will get the contracts and the money that we need. And I hope a bond of friendship will help us with the second of our problems. With me now I have three nins with both the raw ability and the drive to become medic nins, and I suspect there’s more back at the villages who have the patience to learn such a powerful calling.”

The Hokage said nothing at first, but seemed to be lost in thought. Finally after a long moment, she spoke, “Why Leaf village? If you have no loyalties to any country but your own, why come to Leaf?”

“I have been loyal to Leaf as well as my homes of Moon and Illusion for nearly ten years.” Ari cut in, her voice soft. “And Shina - Yumekage - has had visions in which our countries have both grown and prospered due to our friendship.” There was nothing to say to this. It was the simple truth, on both counts.

Shina stood slowly. “It has been a long trip and I am not as young as I used to be. I bid you fare well and thank you again for your hospitality. I look forward to more talks like this in the future.” At her words Yuriko and Ari both stood in unison and bowed towards Tsunade before following their kage out of the door.

“Well...” Tsunade drawled, “That was interesting.” She looked at Kakashi, who just shrugged lazily.

* * *

The three Dream ninjas walked to Shina’s room. Ari stepped in first and looked around. Seeing only their ANBU, she stepped aside to let the Yumekage in. Shina threw off her cone shaped hat as soon as she entered, letting the blue and white piece of clothing land across the room.

“Yumekage. Shina.” The ninja on the bed started, his black eyes angry. “You shouldn’t have gone to meet the Hokage without more of an escort. What if something would have happened to you?”

“Kanaye, calm yourself. I had Ari and Yuriko with me, there was no danger.”

“And they had Copy Ninja Kakashi. You should have brought Jiro and myself.”

“We are here on a mission of peace, Kanaye. I will not have that jeopardized. If I cannot be safe in the rooms of my friends and brethren, in the company of two of my most loved children, then there is no safe haven for me.”
The intense man said nothing more, but stood, sliding on his falcon mask, and stepping out of the doorway, shutting it behind him. They could all hear him lean up against the outside of the doorframe, keeping watch on the entrance to the Yumekage’s apartment.

Shina sighed, collapsing into the comfortable chair that Jiro had motioned her to. The young man watched the door and then leaned down to pat Shina’s hand, “Forgive him, Yumekage. He just is worried about you. None of us want to see anything happen to our Yumekage.” Jiro was the younger of the two brothers, and where Kanaye had the hard, sharp features of their father, along with the serious demeanor and lack of sense of humor, Jiro had inherited most of his traits from their mother. The brown haired ninja fussed over Shina absent-mindedly, reminding her of a mother hen over her chick.

“I know Jiro. And I will apologize to him later for not taking him with me. But we cannot act like we’re expecting a war here. We need Leaf Village’s help. Kanaye knows that as well as any of us.”

“Forgive me, Yumekage, but should we not be expecting a war? Just before we left, didn’t scouts see Marisu and others gather under the sign of the 2nd Yamekage?”

Shina was troubled but tried not to show it, “There has been people meeting under that sign for ten years, Jiro.”

“But not in these numbers. If Marisu has as many followers as we believe she does, there could be another Civil War.”

“All the more reason to enlist help from Leaf Village, and to not alienate possible allies.” The old woman closed her eyes, weariness seeping into her bones. “We will talk about this tomorrow. Is everyone settled in?”

“Yes Yumekage. The Genin and their team leaders are all resting in the rooms provided to them, and the rest of our ANBU team’s there as well.”

“Very good. It’s been a long day for us all. It’s time to turn in, we have a long day ahead of us.”

“And Kanaye?”

“Let him keep watch if it makes him feel better. Perhaps a sleepless night will help him remember why I am the Yumekage.” Yuriko and Jiro left the room, and as Ari turned to follow, Shina stopped her. “You are leaving too, Ari?”

“I’m not tired. I want to have a look around.”

Shina smiled a little and nodded, “Do not be out too late. I want you to help Chiko with his Genjutsu tomorrow morning. That would allow Teijo to focus more on the other two members of his team.”

“All right.” Ari smiled and then left the room, nodding to Kanaye on her way out. She would stop at her room to change, and then explore the town. There were many hours left till dawn.