Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ The Chronicles of Kakashi & the Kunoichi from Thunder Country ❯ The Facade ( Chapter 15 )

The Facade

 

 

Rikako carefully did well on her tests, and made sure she was one of the better students. Although she could have aced most of the written exams, she did not want to be the top student. Come graduation time, she had to make a decision. Was she ready to be a genin? That would require a lot of enforced training time and much less book time and free time she could spend doing her own training. She decided to stay a year behind on purpose. Her decision was partly based on the chuunin selection exams where she would have to compete against former classmates. Most take two years before being nominated to take the chuunin exams. Rookies were rare. If she stayed an extra year in the Academy, she would know more of the participants, thereby improving her chances if she had to compete against them. Also, she would have access to information from strategically positioned upperclassmen. But there was another reason. Kakashi sensei would not be available to take on a new genin team until the following year.

 

She knew her parents weren't her real parents. That much she knew since the beginning. But she could not find out from reading their conscious minds who her real parents were. It wasn't until after a few years at the Academy that she discovered by touching someone with chakra, the contact increased her powers. One night when her father was out on an emergency, she tried it on her mother while she was sleeping. Rikako placed her hand lightly on her mother's face. She concentrated on what she needed to know. Her mother's body twisted uncomfortably beneath her hand. There was nothing, nothing but a faint memory of a night visit by a young shinobi who looked like Hatake Kakashi, one of the top jounin of Konoha - his wild grey hair was unmistakable. That surprise broke her concentration and her mother woke.

 

Suddenly seeing her daughter standing over her, with her eyes completely black, frightened her and she let out a gasp. "What are you doing here?" Rika demanded.

 

"Mama, I had a bad dream. I just wanted to be with you." She gave her mother her scared-puppy look.

 

But her mother didn't believe it. Her daughter was ten years old, had nightmares for years, and she never came to her like this. Rika was too tired to argue. She massaged her temples. 'A headache, I have such a headache.' She let Rikako stay in bed with her, but she didn't sleep for the rest of the night.

 

Rikako could be patient, very patient when it came to getting what she wanted. She waited a year before trying her powers on her father, who she knew was more resistant to mind probes having been with the ANBU. Her father was sick, one of those rare times despite being exposed to sick people on a daily basis. Her mother had given him a sleeping draught and returned to manning the office. Rikako was helping out but luckily things were slow. When it was time for her to prepare lunch, she decided to try out her powers on her father. Her hand touched his forehead. Her green chakra tendrils seeped into his orifices. Her mind scanned his mind. Even in his unconscious, weakened state, there was resistance. She concentrated harder. The same scene as her mother's. There was no more. `But he must know more!' She pressed harder. Suddenly there's a grip on her wrist - her father woke up!

 

"What are you doing?" He was furious and fearful at the same time.

 

"I…I was just checking your temperature. Your fever has gone down," she explained nervously. She didn't expect him to wake so soon.

 

Her father let the incident pass, but his wariness and suspicions grew. He remembered how Rika mentioned something similar. A feeling of unease, a headache, and Rikako standing there, her eyes completely black. He hardly knew anything about this child, not who her parents were, only that Kakashi had found her during his last mission to Thunder Country. He suspected she had special powers, but in truth, he did not want to know what they were. If they were what he now suspected, he would have to report it to the Hokage. Mind reading jutsu were expressly forbidden. There were very few who could use such techniques in the first place. Only those born with an innate predilection could focus their minds so acutely. Otori recalled the rumors of mind seekers from Hidden Cloud Village and shuddered. The old Hokage was a kindly man, but the advisors would not be so understanding. She was his only child and he had an obligation to protect her, no matter what.

 

-…-…-…-

 

Excerpts from Rikako's Diary

 

…There are women who come into my father's office for abortions, unwanted babies. There are many unwanted kids, orphans, left to grow up alone, then adopted by the Shinobi Academy, easy recruits. I wonder if I'm one of those babies. Unwanted by some prostitute, or an orphan whose parents died in a battle or natural disaster. I wonder what my real parents were like. I think they must be shinobi, or at least one parent was. It seems Kakashi sensei brought me here, so he should know. Or maybe he just found me. I know I should be more appreciative of what my parents have done for me, but for some reason, they just really annoy me! Always telling me what to do or what not to do. You would think after all these years they would give up, but the nagging and unsolicited advice never stops. Everything from my clothes, how I keep my room, how much I eat, like I didn't have a brain. I'll move out as soon as I make enough money. Another incentive to making chuunin ASAP!

 

…I was given my team assignment today. As expected Kakashi-sensei is in charge of my team. He must know about me. He's probably been assigned to keep an eye on me. I have to be extra careful around him. He was very late to our first meeting. I wonder what kept him. I hope it's not a habit, very annoying to have to wait for someone. Kakashi-sensei is weird, to put it politely. He has grey hair that sticks up like he hasn't brushed it in years. His left eye and the lower half of his face are covered. I wonder if he's missing an eye or if he's horribly disfigured. I asked my dad but he doesn't like to answer my questions, especially if it has to do with being a shinobi. He usually says “You'll find out soon enough” or “It doesn't matter” or It's none of your business” or some such combination. Kakashi sensei told us we'll have survival training tomorrow. I wonder what that is. I asked dad at dinner but he just said “You'll see.”

 

…Kakashi-sensei was very very late again. I think it was on purpose this time. He gave us this test where we had to get a bell from him. But there were three of us and only two bells. The test conditions didn't make sense, but I took a gamble and got my teammates to work together. My teammates, Kenji and Takeo, are rather simple minded and uncomplicated, easily manipulated. Kenji is a bit of a bully and Takeo is completely apathetic but I shouldn't have any problems with them. It doesn't matter who is on my team as long as they don't get in my way. Takeo's trap worked and we were able to get the bells, and I was right about it being a test of teamwork. Kakashi-sensei made it harder to cooperate by saying only two people would pass. Very sneaky, quite impressive. Kakashi-sensei seems to be obsessed with the shinobi memorial. He spaced out for a while during our training. He said his best friend's name was on the memorial. Kenji asked some rather personal questions. I wanted to know the answers to those too, but Kakashi-sensei doesn't seem like the type to talk much about himself. Maybe we'll find out later.

 

…I ran into Anzu today. Sarutobi Asuma is her sensei. She told me he takes his team out to eat all the time! Kakashi-sensei just disappears after our training sessions or missions. I also saw Tomoyo who is under Yuuhi Kurenai sensei. She told me Kurenai-sensei visits each of their parents at home for a conference and she does that on a regular basis to keep their parents informed of their progress! I had to convince Kakashi sensei to visit my parents, emphasizing the teamwork crap he's so big on. Then he showed up so late, dinner was almost over and he had the nerve to ask for a doggie bag! He's only friendly with Takeo's mom so he can get a discount at the bookstore and to Kenji's parents so he can get free meals. I think we have the worse sensei!

 

…Kakashi is absolutely the worst sensei! I can barely force myself to call him sensei. What kind of teacher shows up late all the time, reads adult books in front of minors, and pays no attention to us during training and missions? It's been a month and he's still like that. I thought he was testing us, but he is really irresponsible! I really want to teach him a lesson. If I can get the guys to go along with my plan tomorrow it should be interesting to see how he responds. I miss Iruka sensei. He was such a better teacher! Much nicer. Such a sweetie. I hear he's getting married soon. Lucky girl! If I find out who she is, I might kunai her!

 

…Ok, this means war! Damn hypocrite got all upset at us for being late! Made us train twice as long as usual with no breaks! I can't let this go. I have to get back at him. I've been holding my temper in for a month now. I need another plan.

 

Top 10 reasons why Kakashi sucks!

 

1.He plays favorites. (I think he likes Takeo best because they're both lazy! And Takeo doesn't bug him with questions. But probably because his mom works at Pink's bookstore.)

 

2.He's weird. (We never see him eat or drink anything! It's like that mask is permanently attacked to his face. Hmm, maybe it is.)

 

3.He's irresponsible. (Takeo nearly fell off a cliff the other day. Kakashi didn't notice!)

 

4.He's lazy. (He never does anything during the missions. We do all the work!)

 

5.He's cheap. (He never offers to take us out to lunch, nothing!)

 

6.He's always late. (This is the worst! So much time wasted! DRIVES ME NUTS!)

 

7.He gives pathetic excuses. (Bad enough that he's late, he doesn't even have the creativity to come up with a believable excuse.)

 

8.He reads PORN. (Pervert!)

 

9.He reads PORN IN PUBLIC. (Open pervert!)

 

10.He reads PORN IN PUBLIC IN FRONT OF MINORS! (Open pervert with extremely bad judgment!)

 

…I visited Kenji's parents at the dumpling restaurant and Takeo's mom at the bookstore. I casually implied how much Kakashi sucks and how their sons were never going to be successful as shinobi under such an abysmal teacher. They were all willing to sign the scroll. I told them my parents wrote it. I told my parents that Kenji's dad wrote it (had to disguise my handwriting a bit). My parents were very happy to sign the complaint. I think they want me to switch sensei. Now that I have all the signatures, I'll send it to the Hokage post haste. Hah! Take that Kakashi, stupid idiot lazy bastard!

 

…I've been waiting for the repercussions from that complaint, but apparently Kakashi took it quite well. He didn't mention it at all. He was actually almost on time today. He didn't make us do extra training or anything. His book is now wrapped in brown paper. But I don't trust him. Maybe he's planning something big. We'd better be careful.

 

…I've been observing him more closely. He's smarter than he looks or acts. He actually is paying attention to us most of the time. I notice that he reads the same page for hours, which probably means he's not really reading his book at all but using it as a prop. I wonder if covering his eye and face are just props too. I wonder if his is an assumed persona, part of an effort to deceive his opponents, interesting.

 

...Kakashi still doesn't give much direction to our team. He's way too easygoing and prefers to let us figure out stuff for ourselves. Like the lesson on chakra control - he just let the boys run at the tree! Like that would work! I had to intercede otherwise they'd be wasting time and injuring themselves unnecessarily. He should tell them chakra control is all in the mind. A calm mind can direct chakra where it's needed. Luckily, the boys are willing to listen my suggestions. I think I'm a MUCH better teacher than Kakashi.

 

…I'm getting annoyed with the boys trying to ask me out. It's not like they come right out and say “I like you, how about we go out sometime.” It's always like “if you're not busy later, maybe we could…” So I always say I am busy! I'm trying to make it clear I am NOT interested in any social relationships. Total waste of time. I'm trying to treat my teammates equally because they're equally as annoying! It's a tough balancing act. If one of them invites me out, I have to include the other one and be all nice to both of them. What I really feeling like doing half the time is manipulating them to beat the hell out of each other. But there's no fun in that since the gorilla (Kenji) would wipe the floors with the sloth (Takeo).

 

...What kind of guy do I want? I want one whom I don't need to mind read to know what he's thinking or feeling. I want someone who can express himself in words and actions. I want someone truly nice and normal, a genuinely good person. I really miss Iruka sensei. Why isn't he strong enough to be a jounin? It shouldn't just be about jutsu. Just because you know a lot of them doesn't make you a good teacher. You have to be able to convey the information and adjust your teaching style depending on your student. Which is why Kakashi sucks!

 

...Things are going pretty well. I think I like my teammates and Kakashi more than I expected, but they are still annoying more often than not. I was originally concerned that Kenji would be too pushy, but he's confident and not overly arrogant. Takeo's pretty nice but he needs to build confidence and a backbone. I'm very interested in learning about trap design from him. Too bad he's so lazy. He's smarter that he looks. Kenji is very strong and can uproot a tree, but not too bright. I need to help strengthen their weaknesses so we can pass the chuunin exams, but be sure I can defeat either one myself if I had to. I know that to be a chuunin means working together as a team and to be a team leader. But I think relationships, even friendships, make things too complicated, despite what Kakashi thinks. Who knows, what if I have to sacrifice one of them in a mission someday. I would feel worse if we were friends. Otherwise they'd just be like appendages, useful necessary parts of the mission, but can be cut off so that the mission could continue.

 

…Kakashi's gone back to being late all the time. He was good for a couple of months. It's such a waste of time just waiting. I think we should do something more constructive. Will have to talk to the guys about maybe working on some traps.

 

-...-...-...-...-...-

 

Rikako's regular training schedule whenever possible:

 

Wake at 7, wash up, dress, have breakfast

 

8-9 meditation/chakra control

 

9-10 taijutsu

 

10-11 ninjuts/genjutsu

 

11-12 combination of all 3 in mock battle situation

 

12-1 lunch

 

1-3 research at the library

 

3-4 taijutsu

 

4-5 ninjutsu/genjutsu

 

5-6 combination of all 3 in mock battle

 

6-8 dinner and chores

 

8-9 chakra control/mediation

 

9-11 reading

 

11 preparation for bed

 

-...-...-...-...-...-

 

...I'm now in Wave Country on our first C mission. Quite exciting! There's some very interesting foliage here - lots of mangrove trees which are one of the few plants that can live in salt water. Kakashi made a funny joke while traveling about how Kenji and Takeo bickered like an old married couple. Ha! Ha! Sometimes he's really funny.

 

...We learned a bit about Kakashi's previous team. Seems this Naruto character was very impressive and this Sasuke's a missing-nin. Will have to do some research on them, and find out about the girl Sakura who doesn't seem to be as interesting. This is our first overnight mission. I'm going to try to read Kakashi's mind through the walls while he's sleeping but I'm not sure if it will work. I don't expect much except maybe some general impressions. If only I can touch his forehead or face.

 

...Damn, it didn't work! He woke up! I think the problem is that he has no passion, no strong feelings so he's much harder to read. Even in my daily default mode he doesn't raise a blip on my radar. I can't try it again. Too risky. I have to think of another way to get close to him. But his entire body is covered in clothes, gloves, mask, there's hardly any exposed skin that I can accidentally brush up against just to get a glimmer of what kind of person he truly is. I've tried asking him all sorts of ethical questions to see how he responds, but he usually avoids answering them or he gives me a noncommittal answer. All these months and we hardly know anything about him. I have to know more, to decide what I can do to find the truth. This is one tough mission! Was too wired and frustrated to get much sleep. I'm afraid poor Tsunami-san was affected. I really have to better control my temper and this chakra.

 

...This power that I have, that manifested today, this surge of chakra. Kakashi thinks it was because of the chakra amplification amulet that I attained the speed necessary to defeat the three Rain shinobi. But it wasn't that exactly. I didn't use my special senbon. I froze in fright and suddenly my head started pounding and my green chakra started leaking. I couldn't control it. Actually, I didn't want to control it or hold it in. The air became heavy and it seemed like the molecules of air were vibrating. I'm not sure what happened, but the three of them clutched their heads in pain and suddenly their heads just exploded. Maybe my chakra was amplified, but what would cause their heads to explode like that? Is it a special power I have? I must find out my origins, no matter what. I have let my resolve slip lately, but I must think of a way to get that information from Kakashi. That woman, our target, she was a kunoichi. She was willing to sacrifice her body to get what she wanted. I have to consider that option. There are only two ways to get close enough to Kakashi to extract the information. Either get close enough using feminine wiles, or strong enough to defeat him. The latter I think is preferable, but that may be more difficult. Gatou the shipping magnate, that Rain kunoichi, they were willing to do whatever it took to achieve their goals. I need to think like that. But they were sort of evil and I'm just after the truth. There's a difference, isn't there?

 

...I've been thinking, and studying him. That eye of his, I don't know exactly how it works. It might detect my powers if I try using it near him. But he's the one who knows about me. This regular training with my teammates seems so useless when I know I have this greater power within me. Somehow I must learn to harness it and use it, preferably not to kill, but just to knock out the enemy. I'm too afraid to try it until I know more. I don't want to accidentally kill someone. I've seen enough splattered brains to last a lifetime. I must be patient.

 

…Did some research on Kakashi's former genin. That poor boy, Naruto, with a demon inside him. The horrible thoughts some people had about him. Such fear and hatred. People are so cruel. I wonder if I have a demon inside me. But there are no special seals or marks on my body that I can see. I must find out.

 

…Kakashi's been nice to us lately. He's been trying to teach us some more jutsu. Even paid for lunch, but it was just at Ichiraku, least expensive place in town, cheap bastard! And he didn't eat anything. He's also been on time lately and paying more attention to us, rather than his book, during missions and training. Maybe he's been feeling guilty about that C mission. We could all be dead. It wasn't really his fault, but if feeling guilty gets him to act more responsibly and show up on time, best to take advantage of it.

 

…Kakashi was trying to be nice to me and asked if there were something wrong and why I wasn't training as hard as usual. Made him feel guiltier by saying nothing just stared at him and sighed. Yes, the C mission was eye opening, but I've seen death, people dying before. My father is a doctor after all. Still, he was surprisingly considerate to ask. I wonder if he really does care about us as individuals.

 

…Got my chuunin exam application today. Very excited! If we make it to the third exam, we should be getting some one-on-one training with Kakashi. I might be able to get close enough to get a reading on him.

 

...Took the first chuunin exam today. It was very interesting. The examiner Morino Ibiki is the special interrogator of the ANBU. He has these hideous scars that he apparently sustained from various missions. I wonder why he doesn't wear a mask. I wonder if Kakashi has scars like that. Ibiki sensei really enjoyed giving us the first exam. I could sense his feelings of power and control. A real sadist. I took a peek at Kenji's mind and saw he wasn't doing well so I gave his mind a push in the right direction, simple and effective. Takeo was doing ok. The questions were hard but I managed to work out most of them on my own. Still it was annoying not getting all of them. I wanted to wipe that smug look off Ibiki-sensei's face so I did some quick mind scans. It's much easier when people are so focused, unlike the usual drabble of thoughts. Found a couple of genin who had all the answers and they appeared to be all correct, at least the answers matched the ones I had, so I copied the remaining two questions I wasn't sure of. Turned out that they were planted by Ibiki sensei to test our espionage skills. Then it turned out that none of them counted. Only the tenth question mattered. Very impressive and sneaky! I have to respect that. Morino Ibiki, would like to do some research on him. Maybe I'll ask my dad.

 

…I hate fighting, unless it's the last resort. I don't understand the competitive nature apparent in so many shinobi. It's smarter to be subtle and defeat your enemy indirectly. For the second exam, I convinced a couple of teams to go along with my alliance plan. With my mind powers I was able to scout out which teams to draw into our traps. Kakashi probably won't be happy with our strategy. He'll think his team is best at running away and avoiding fights. But why fight if you don't have to? That just increases your chances of injury and death and I must be careful until I reach my goal.

 

…I drew a Cloud shinobi as my opponent in the finals. Soooo NOT happy! I don't know anything about them. And then stupid Kakashi refused to train me for the finals! He's training the guys. Damn all boys clubs! Kunoichi discrimination! Maybe he's gay and likes little boys. Damn pervert! But dad's a better teacher than Kakashi anyway. Hell, the TV is a better teacher than Kakashi!

 

…Dad's been teaching me lots of jutsu including some fire ones. Kakashi never taught us any fire jutsu. Probably because he refuses to remove his mask and fire jutsu require exhalation from the mouth. I learned some water jutsu from Kakashi, but I HATE water jutsu. It usually means getting wet and I HATE feeling wet or damp, hate that clinging sensation of wet clothes. I hate feeling water on my face. I hate rainy days. And the more powerful water jutsu require a source of water, not always useful. I can do some less powerful water jutsu, which just require condensing the water vapor in the air or from my breath, but I think I prefer the earth jutsu like my father because they're more defensive.

 

…I summoned my first bird today. I really like this technique. It's like always having an ally by your side. Don't know if I'll have it perfected in a month, so it's best not to rely on it for the finals. My dad also let me pick out a weapon. It's very cute! It looks like a silver baton but it expands to a double headed spear. Very cool! I love the deceptiveness of its size. An enemy won't realize my full reach until it's too late. Should be very handy for the finals.

 

…Dad's been talking more about being a shinobi. Apparently he was pretty high up in the ANBU, but got sick of all the death. I can see how death can wear you down. I'll retire too, before it gets to me. Kakashi's been a shinobi since he was five years old from what I figure (I heard he became chuunin at six). That's a quarter century ago! He must have seen many, many deaths of both enemies and comrades especially since he was around during the last war. He must be pretty insensitive or rather desensitized. I don't want to be like that. Then again I didn't feel much when I killed those Rain-nin. Maybe I was born insensitive or maybe I've already become desensitized after being around the sick and dying who come to see my father. But maybe it's for the better. You can't let emotions get in the way of duty, whether it's a mission to protect Konoha or to help the sick.

 

…Dad's MUCH better about answering ethical questions than Kakashi. He actually takes the time to think about them seriously. Dad's a good person despite his gruff demeanor. Mom too, I guess, even if she's always cranky. I want to be good, but can I always make the right decision? And right is relative isn't it? I think the most important thing is to be able to live with your decision.

 

…The chuunin finals are tomorrow. I just need to win a couple of fights, enough to show off my skills. I'm a kunoichi so the grading should be easier for me. I will pass. I must. Passing the chuunin exams should finally get me some one-on-one time from Kakashi. I must be patient.

 

-…-…-…-

 

Author's Notes:

Maindo means mind

Rikako means child of Rika, or using different kanji, same pronunciation, it can mean divided/separated, child of fire

Most of the medical and chakra control ideas in this story were developed before I learned about Tsunade.