Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Leaf and Dream ❯ Chapter 5

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

Disclaimer: Usual disclaimer applies... don’t own Naruto... blah blah blah.

They left the bar and walked in silence, Arianna matching her strides to Kakashi’s effortlessly, as though they had walked this way earlier that day, instead of ten years ago. It didn’t take long for Kakashi to take her out of the area that she had explored earlier, and onto new streets. They left the main streets of town and Ari followed him down a well worn path, into a practice field, not unlike those that she had left behind in the Dream Country.

It was in the middle of this clearing that they stopped, Ari looking at Kakashi out of the corner of her eye. Clearing her throat softly, she spoke, breaking the silence that stretched between them, “I really like your friends. I can see why you fought so hard to come back here.”

A smile crossed Kakashi’s face, Ari could tell by the way his eye lit up. “Yeah.” Silence settled between them again, a comfortable, easy silence. The two ninjas stood side by side, each one caught up in their own thoughts. Stepping out towards the various training equipment, the Dream ninja rested her hand against what appeared to be a tree trunk with dowels sticking out of it at various heights, spread out around the round base.

“We have one of these. I haven’t had a chance to train with it in ages though.” Putting weight on her hand, she spun the trunk, moving out of the way as the dowels spun with it. “We used it to improve agility.” She felt, more than heard Kakashi as he moved behind her. Biting her bottom lip lightly, she stopped the trunk before using both hands to make it spin faster, the dowels a blur of wood. All that could be heard was the air passing over the moving dummy. “We never had this many ‘branches’ though. I don’t think I’d be able to go long without getting hit upside the head tonight. Maybe I’ll try it tomorrow.” She was talking too much, nerves getting to her. Her thoughts kept returning to the silent ninja who was standing too close to her. Spinning on her heel, she tilted her head to the side. “What are you thinking, Kakashi?”

Slowly, as though her voice was pulling him out of his thoughts, Kakashi reached out, his fingers taking hold of one of the strips of cloth of her shirt, keeping well away from the bladed edges. “Are you any better at controlling these?” He asked, fingers rubbing against the smooth fabric.

“A lot better. Actually. I’ve spent a lot of my time working on finite control. Care to see?” Her fingers moved towards the silver, crescent shaped pin on her shoulder, used to hold the fabric in place and out of her way.

“I think I’d like that.” Kakashi pulled his kunai out of its hidden sheathe and stood at a ready position.

A smile crossed Arianna’s lips as she released the cloth from its hold, letting the strips of razor edged fabric to drop onto the ground. A touch of chakra spread over the cloth and they raised up around her, a dozen strips of blue cloth, silver edges flashing in the moonlight. “En garde, Kakashi.”

They met with the sound of metal striking metal, Kakashi’s kunai and the bladed edges of her cloth, the Copy Ninja moving at a speed which Ari was hardly prepared for. She followed him with her ear and eye, barely moving out of the way of his second strike as she wrapped one of the cloths around his wrist, yanking his kunai down. Disengaging, they came at it again and again, blocking, punching, dodging and by unspoken agreement, only taijutsu was used.

She used the cloth just as he expected she would; exclusively for blocking and trying to trip him up. The fight lasted nearly an hour, the two testing out the limits of each other in a silence broken only by the sounds of heavy breathing and flesh hitting flesh.

Arianna lost sight of Kakashi for no longer than a heartbeat, but in that time he had positioned himself behind her, his kunai pressing against her throat lightly. “Game’s up, kunoichi.” She could feel his lips through his mask as he whispered low in her ear, his voice bringing a shiver up her spine. Closing her eyes, she let her body relax against him, just enough to keep him off guard as she focused a steady stream of chakra up one of the twelve cloths that wrapped itself around his legs. She was surprised that he couldn’t feel the chakra as it worked its way up his clothing, towards the mask that he wore. One strip of cloth wrapped around his arm, pulling his kunai away from her throat just enough for her to turn around to face him. Her eyes flashed with triumph as the chakra behind him allowed her to manipulate his mask enough to have it slide down his face, his headband falling down after.

Kakashi just stared at the dark haired ninja as his headband and mask fell from his face, revealing the strong jaw line and full lips that had haunted Ari’s dreams for years. “I guess you have learned a few new tricks.” was all he said as she released his arm so he could resheathe the kunai. Ari didn’t answer, but just ran her fingers along the underside of his jaw, her eyes staring up into his unabashedly. Her fingers trailed across his face, brushing his lips before moving to rest at the nape of his neck. Kakashi’s hands moved to rest on either side of her hips, his fingers tightening slightly at the feel of her light caresses. The years had been kind to him. Ari thought as she committed his touch to memory. He was almost thirty, but still looked like he did the day that she dragged him into her home. The only thing that worried her was the haunted look to his gaze.

“Kakashi...” she whispered, brushing his cheek lightly with her hand. “Why do you continue to hide? The past is dead and you don’t need to carry it with you anymore.”

Kakashi felt as though she had just thrown a bucket of cold water over him. With a barely audible sigh, he pushed her away from him, while at the same time taking a step back. He forced his voice to be cool, almost cold as he spoke, his face a mask of indifference. “You should go. It’s late and you have a long day tomorrow.” He bent down and picked up his headband and mask from the ground, putting them on in their normal positions.

She was hurt, and it showed as she stood there, wavering. “Kakashi...?” She started, reaching out to touch him.

“Good night Arianna.” With a poof of smoke, he was gone.

Cursing herself silently, the female ninja took her time replacing the strips of fabric to their rightful place over the skintight black shirt she was wearing, only sticking herself three times with the pin. With a heavy step she started her walk back to the village, unaware of the saddened gaze that followed her until she was out of sight.

* * *

Arianna didn’t sleep well that night, too busy thinking about the conversation in the training field and when the sun broke over the horizon, she was already up and stretching, preparing her protesting muscles for the practice ahead. She remembered little about Chiko, only that Teijo had been working on getting him faster at his seals and keep him from getting so shaken mid-jutsu. She would have to remember that for the next day.

An hour later found both her and the young, brown eyed boy in the same field that her and Kakashi had their fight the previous night. “Okay Chiko.” She said, looking at the boy as she hooked her thumbs under her belt. “Yumekage says that you’re still having trouble with your Genjutsu. Teijo won’t be here with Akira and Alita for another couple hours, so let’s try to impress them with your progress.” She slumped a little, tilting her head to the side. She had never had students of her own, going straight to ANBU as soon as she could, so she really didn’t know how to begin.

Luckily, Chiko knew this. “Maybe I should start by showing you where exactly I’m at...?” He suggested hesitantly. At Ari’s nod, he began the first set of seals.

And another hour passed as they worked on the various illusions that were Chiko’s specialty. It’s not that he needs help, he just needs a little more confidence. She thought, watching as the boy finished the last set of seals. “Very good Chiko. You’re doing much better. Think you can do it while under pressure?” At his nod, she pulled out a handful of sebon needles. “Then, stop me.”

She jumped into the air, throwing her sebon one at a time as she tried to rattle the timid boy. At first she was sure that Chiko wasn’t going to make it, that instead he was going to try to turn and run. What has Teijo been teaching these kids...? But she was surprised, pleasantly, as he bit his bottom lip slightly, his hands moving into the complicated set of seals that would hold her off. W...wait, these aren’t the same seals... She tried to stop but it was too late, he had already completed the jutsu. Mirrors grew out from all sides of her, even surrounding her from above and below. Eyes widening, Ari threw three sebon at one of the wavering mirrors, only to have the small weapons fly through it. Detecting a motion out of the corner of her eye, the woman turned, only to find the sebon flying towards her from another mirror. She spun towards the side, letting the sebon fly into the ground where she was standing.

From outside of the mirrors, she heard Chiko call out as he finished the jutsu completely, “Demon-Mirrors no Jutsu.” The mirrors solidified and Ari realized that now it wasn’t the mirrors that were moving, but things inside of the mirrors. Picking up the three sebon, she tried to throw them at the walls of her prison, only to have them hit harmlessly off of the glass. The walls seemed to be closing in on her, and as she spun around, images began appearing in the surfaces.

Kakashi pulled her towards him while at the same time pulling down his mask. Ari fell into his smile as she leaned up to kiss him soundly, like she had been wanting to for years. The smile turned into an expression of mingled shock and pain as the blade slid into her chest, Kakashi’s hand moving it.

Stop.

Her house was burning, the city was in flames, and it was all her fault. She should have stopped Marisu sooner. She stepped over the dead bodies of some of her fellow ninja, unable to stop, knowing that if she did she wouldn’t start up again. The eyes of the dead stared accusingly at her. Everywhere she looked were her friends... dead... staring... accusing.

Stop.

She was running to Shina, cloth blades and kunais flying from her hands, slashing, fighting. There was death and killing all around, soot from the fires that the enemy had lit. She raced towards where she knew the old woman would be, but instead of being met by Shina’s calm and steady presence, she felt terror building with every step. Reaching the front yard of the Yumekage’s private building, she was faced with the most terrible of sights. Shina’s head was spiked in front of the building, the calm gaze glazed over in death, and still it accused her. Standing, dressed in the robes and hat of the Yumekage was Marisu, laughter falling from her throat as she pointed behind Ari. She turned, only to see Kakashi, crucified in a field, crows coming to pick at his still living flesh. Hatred, pain, and sadness mixed in his one visible eye as he watched Ari.

Stop.

“STOP!” Ari screamed, holding her head in her hands. She began to sob, the sounds of the images in the mirrors overlapping each other, mixing into a symphony of pain and suffering. The knowledge that each one of the pains came because of her beat at her, nearly physical blows from the impact of it. Somewhere, in the far back of her mind, she knew that the images weren’t real, but that didn’t seem to matter right then. They were real enough to her.

The mirrors spun faster, bringing up new images, making the ANBU relive the worst parts of her life and making up new ones. Countless times she betrayed the ones she loved, and was betrayed. She saw Leaf Village attacking the villages of Illusion and Moon, slaughtering everyone she cared about, with the Copy Ninja in the lead, a sadistic grin on his face. She saw Marisu and the 2nd Yumekage return. Countless betrayals, countless deaths, and each time, it was her fault.

There was a commotion outside, but it didn’t matter. There was no outside. Dimly, as through from another room, or another life, she heard Teijo yell at Chiko to stop the jutsu, but she couldn’t tell which Teijo was real. They were all there, and all screaming. His face was reflected in a dozen mirrors, showing exquisite tortures and unimaginable pain.

Just when Ari felt that her mind couldn’t take it anymore, a familiar voice called out, “KAI!”

The mirrors fell instantly as soon as the chakra was cut, dropping onto the ground and breaking into thousands of tiny shards which melted into the earth. Kakashi stepped into the small space that was previously blocked off, only to find Arianna huddled on the ground, her hands clamped over her ears, tears streaming down her face. Kakashi gently crouched down and picked her up, surprised when she tried to pull away from him. “You’re not in any position to walk right now.” Outwardly he was as call as ever, but inside he was as worried as he ever got. An anxious Teijo and a scared and remorseful Chiko were instantly at the Copy Ninja’s side, looking down at the kunoichi. Kakashi favored them with a hard look, “What happened to her?”

“I...I... didn’t mean to...” Chiko stammered, reaching out to run his hand over a lock of her black hair. “She just... I did the first thing that came to mind...”

Teijo laid a hand on Chiko’s head gently. “It’s alright Chiko. She knows you didn’t mean to. Now go join Akira and Alita and get some taijutsu training, I need to speak to Kakashi.”

“Yes sensei.” Chiko ran as fast as he could to the red headed twins who were his teammates. A moment or two of dialogue and then the three were trading punches and kicks.

Teijo watched the three for a moment before turning back to Kakashi. “She startled him and he used the Demon-Mirror Jutsu on her. He should know better than to use it on someone who’s not prepared to break it.” Kakashi raised an eyebrow and Teijo sighed silently, “It’s a Genjutsu that uses one’s own chakra against them. Mirrors trap the victim and it feeds off of their insecurities and fears in order to create vivid images of... well... unpleasant realities. Once it starts, the jutsu actually feeds on the victim’s chakra till it’s gone, till it’s disrupted, or until the victim goes insane.”

“Sounds dirty.”

“Very. Usually it doesn’t take hold as fast as it seemed to with her. You might want to take her to the Yumekage, or at least someplace where she’ll feel safe. It leaves behind some really nasty scars.”

Kakashi nodded. He cradled Ari’s form closer to him and ran back to the village, the sobbing ninja held bridal style in his arms. I wonder what she saw...

* * *

A/N: I promise that I’ll have some plot in this soon. [grin] I am going somewhere with this. I figure the next chapter or two will bring up the main conflict, and I know what that is, even if I don’t know how I’m going to end it. The story’s tending to write itself.

Oh, and this takes place when Naruto and ‘em are 15, and Kakashi’s 29, he was 19 when him and Ari met up the first time.