Kakashi & the Kunoichi from Thunder Country

PART VI The Kunoichi from Thunder Country

6.1 Revelation

The night’s minutes slowly ticked away. Rikako waited all night for Kakashi to fall asleep, but he didn't! He stayed up all night staring at her. ‘Flattering, but very annoying!’ She couldn’t perform a full mind scan while he was still conscious. The whole point of sleeping with him was so she could get close enough. This was what she had been waiting for all these years. This man held the secrets to her past.

She was already tired and only the adrenaline from the anticipation of completing her plan kept her wide awake, though she pretended to sleep, hoping he would follow suit. ‘Didn’t he use up enough chakra after that many times?’ As her frustration grew, the green chakra leaked out and enveloped her. Her helplessness in the face of this man and her dependence on his knowledge enraged her. But then her thoughts slid toward the warmth she felt as he held her, the way he made her feel with his touch, and her anger subsided. Thus she spent the rest of the night in conflict, with her emotions seesawing from one extreme to the other.

She felt the sun’s warmth as its rays crept across the room. Then she felt him move from the bed and heard him use the shower. ‘What should I do now? Do I continue with this? He’s got to fall asleep some time. Can I hold on longer than he can? With soldier pills a shinobi can go for a week without sleep. Normally, just a couple of days. I wonder what his limit is. I must be patient…’

Breakfast was a quiet affair and the eggs were surprisingly tasteless. ‘I thought he was a better cook than this. Well, not hungry anyway.’ She played with her food, taking small bites while thinking of her next step.

But to her surprise, Kakashi decided to tell her about her adoption. Of course she already knew and she kept her poker face on, but his next words cut through her like a sharp kunai through a water clone. ‘He killed my parents! Even worse, last night he held this secret from me!’

The betrayal was beyond humiliating. Gone were any tender feelings she had developed for him. Rikako was so stunned she hardly knew how she felt - furious, sad, betrayed, but also a bit guilty. He deserved to die for killing her parents, but yet he did tell her the truth, and she had planned to invade his mind for the information that he willingly volunteered. Only that guilt kept her from killing him where he stood.

She felt the uncontrollable rage overtaking her and she had to leave or she would not be able to stop herself from attacking him. She had not felt this uncontrollable leak of chakra since the first C mission. The air around her thickened, becoming ionized from the electromagnetic radiation emanating from her mind. Perhaps if he had told her before their involvement, her reaction would not have been so virulent.

'All this time. He lied to me. He killed my parents. But he was on a mission. What sort of mission? In Thunder Country…I’m from Thunder Country, from Hidden Cloud Village?'

Her head and heart pounded as she raced home. She quickly made for her room and then started packing, haphazardly throwing a change of clothes, weapons and toiletries into her backpack. Her mother, concerned about the disturbance caught her as she finished.

“What’s wrong, Rikako?” she asked. She had never seen her daughter in such a state before.

“I know, I know everything. Kakashi told me,” she replied coldly.

“Told you? Told you what?”

“Don’t act like you care. You never wanted me anyway. Now I know why.”

“That’s not true, you were always my daughter,” Rika protested. It was true, but now, confronted with the dark truth, she instinctively denied it.

Her daughter ignored her, brushed by her, and rushed down the stairs.

“What’s going on here?” Her father had heard the raised voices and moved to block her escape.

“I’m leaving,” his daughter answered brusquely.

“What’s going on? Where are you going?” he demanded.

“It doesn’t matter. You’ll know soon enough.” She used the same words he used whenever he refused to answer her questions. She glared at him and for a second her eyes turned completely black and he was unable to move.

'A paralysis genjutsu?' the old man thought as his daughter pushed him out of the way. 'Her eyes, they were like that back then…'

-…-…-…-

She had to find out more about her biological parents. She needed to visit Thunder Country, but how, without being detected? Hiding her presence, escaping from Hidden Leaf Village was something she had long thought about - a contingency plan. What if for some reason she had to leave Konoha? What if she did not want someone to be able to find her or track her? Not that she ever seriously thought about being a missing-nin, but you never know when being able to disappear would come in handy.

Rikako held a small earthen urn painted with special symbols. Blue-green chakra tendrils emanated from her fingertips and flowed into its narrow mouth. She sealed it, and buried it under a tree in one of the training areas. Now part of her chakra would always be in Konoha should anyone try to find her via her chakra signature. It would at least buy her some time. She muted her chakra and her scent and then took off without looking back.

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

Author's Notes: I don't plan to write much of a backstory for her parents but I imagine the doctor to be rather a stern man who doesn't express love or compassion though he cares about his family and patients. Her mother I imagine to be disappointed with life and how things didn't turn out the way she thought and just drudges along day-to-day. I think it's important to have a feel for minor chars even if you don't plan to develop them.

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

6.2 The Trip to Thunder Country

The would-be-missing-nin made her way slowly pass the borders of Fire Country and Thunder Country. The green fields of Konoha slowly faded away and were replaced by mountainous plateaus, then the mountains themselves.

The lodging village at the foot of the mountain where Hidden Cloud Village resided was where shinobi contracts were negotiated. The lodging village was a typical one with small inns and restaurants lining the main street. But the buildings were primarily of mortared stone rather than of wood like those in Konoha. The shinobi village itself was off limits to anyone except shinobis assigned there and those with special passes.

'If I can make contact with someone who knew my parents…If I can find out about any special techniques or advanced bloodlines…What is it like to be a Cloud shinobi? Is it different there? Where do I belong? Do I owe Konoha my loyalty?'

Three days of traveling gave Konoha's prodigal daughter time to think and plan. She disguised herself as an import-export trade manager and approached the Cloud shinobi under the guise of comparing Cloud shinobi rates against Leaf shinobi rates to protect cargo crossing the borders. Rikako knew she looked too young to be believable, and they could possibly see through henge, so she resorted to a physical disguise. She simply pulled her hair back in a bun, applied makeup, and dressed in a plain loosely cut navy suit that she had picked up along her journey. She held her head up and narrowed her eyes to achieve a illusion of confidence and authority.

-…-…-…-

As she spoke to the old Cloud shinobi in charge of contracts about her intention to hire shinobi guards to protect her cargo, he stared at her intensely.

"Your name miss, what is your name?" asked the old man with the heavily scarred hands.

She gave her name as Maruyama Rikako.

"Are you related to the old Maindo house of Hidden Cloud Village?" he asked.

"Perhaps a distant relation," she suggested.

"You...you look so much like my daughter." 'The same facial features, the same hair, and most significantly, the same eyes - almost black except for the slight reflection of green chakra.'

"Oh? Do I? Can I meet her? It's always fascinating to meet someone who could be your twin."

The old man sighed, "She's been dead 18 years now." He blinked back a tear.

"I'm sorry." Rikako bit her lower lip. She felt like crying, too.

"She was with child when she died. The child would have been about your age, maybe a few years younger," he sighed again and fell silent as he lost himself in thoughts of the past.

'This man,' she thought, 'he could be my grandfather. But should I let him know who I am? Would he want me to stay? Would he want vengeance? What do I want?'

'My grandchild, if she had lived, but who knows what the Konoha shinobis did with her. If she died, they could have dissected her to determine the inner workings of her brain if they suspected her to have her mother's powers. If she lived, they might have kept her isolated, performed experiments on her, the way the Raikage did on my daughter. Perhaps it is better that she died. The life of a mind seeker is a solitary one. Even friends and loved ones can not trust you so completely that they have no resentment or fear that their minds would be read.' He had never had the power, not the real power. The best he could ever do were glimpses, and now at his age, the power was nearly gone.

Rikako heard the old man's pitiful thoughts. Their eyes met and he recognized the power emanating from her eyes. "You're..."

"Silence!" she projected angrily, fearful he would give her away.

He nodded and continued calmly, "Anyway, this is the standard protection contract. Sounds like you need a level B or C mission, it's up to you. You can see our rates are very competitive..."

The young woman took the papers and projected, "Meet me at the teahouse down the street."

-…-…-…-…-

'I’ve never been able to have a conversation with someone that way. He must have the same powers as I do. He must be a relation. A real blood relative here in Thunder Country. But my friends and family in Konoha…' A longing for the green fields of Konoha overtook her momentarily. The land here was mountainous rock. No green fields, no flowers, few trees. At the higher elevation, with the lack of oxygen, everything felt more oppressive.

After his shift was over, the old man walked over to the little teahouse. Rikako indicated with a that he sit at a nearby table. They spoke only with their minds and without looking at each other.

"Who are you?"

"I think your daughter was my mother."

"Where have you been all this time?"

"I was brought to Konoha and raised there by good people."

"Your powers...how strong are they?"

"I have nothing to compare."

"I can help you, teach you how to use them."

"I can't stay in Thunder Country." It was a spur of the moment decision.

"I understand. I won't let anyone know about you. I'm just happy that you're alive. But I can show you how to control your powers."

She stayed with her grandfather for a month, secretly training not just her mind, but also the Hidden Cloud Village techniques. It was taboo, she being a Leaf jounin, but the old man didn't care. 'She has to protect herself. Mind seekers are always in danger even from their host countries. The pogroms of the past are always on the verge of reviving in the present.'

-…-…-

“…Mommy! Daddy! Don’t let them take me! Please! Please! I’ll be good! I promise!” the dark haired-dark eyed girl screamed as she was carried away by men wearing heavy metallic helmets painted with special symbols.

-...-…-

Her grandfather taught Rikako various mind techniques, both offensive and defensive. The techniques advanced her mind powers so that she was now able to penetrate mind blocks. He let her use him as a guinea pig. From his memories she learned about her parents' lives and deaths.

Her poor mother did not lead a happy life for the most part. Midori was taken away from her family when she was six. She was kept in isolation except for the lessons with special tutors. She was tested repeatedly and to the Raikage's delight, she passed all the mind tests by the time she was 10. She was also trained as a shinobi and became a chuunin at 14 and a jounin at 18. Her marriage was arranged by the Raikage as bloodlines were often interbred to produce more powerful shinobis. The marriage was a short but happy one and Midori retired from active jounin duty once she was with child. However, she was still called upon to perform mind scans at the command of the Raikage.

-…-…-

18 years ago...

… The pooled blood had not yet dried, causing the wood floor to feel tacky under his sandals. The eviscerated body lay at his feet with its innards haphazardly strewn about and partially squashed by unsuspecting feet. His daughter’s face, her arms, her legs were all coldly colorless. Her healthy red hue had drained out with the blood. Her robes were ripped to shreds. A feeling of uncontrollable fury came over him and he didn't hear his own anguished cries.

The Council:

At the head of a long rectangular table sat a late middle-aged man in imperial yellow robes embroidered with the character for thunder. At his left and right sat his two advisors. Pacing angrily around the room was Rikako’s grandfather.

"…They killed my daughter, the best of the advanced bloodline of mind seekers. They ripped her child out of her body! Such mutilation cannot go unpunished! We must have one of their advanced bloodlines in retribution!” said the (younger version of the old) man with the scarred hands.

“We’re in a tenuous situation right now. The war is at a standstill. If we go about making such accusations…” said the Raikage cautiously.

“They’re not going to give up one of their own so easily. Especially since the Hyuuga and Uchiha clans are so highly valued and respected. But if we could just get our hands on one of those eyes…” said the Raikage’s advisor on his left, a polished, well spoken, well groomed man with a dark beard.

“Dr. Arai, they also killed your brother! My daughter, your brother… Don’t you feel anything at all?” Maindo Makoto slammed his hands on the table.

“It’s a war, nothing personal,” Arai shrugged. “But you’re right, we should do something. Without Midori we’re at a disadvantage,” he added practically.

“They’ve been trying to engage us in peace talks for a long time,” suggested the Raikage’s right hand man, Sinobi Gashir, a shinobi who wore bandages wrapped around his head.

“What do you propose?” asked the Raikage.

“This peace treaty...peace is what Konoha and its sentimental Hokage craves...We can use that to our advantage," Gashir began to elaborate. “We can enter into peace talks with Konoha. Even sign the damn treaty and put on a great show. Now normally our shinobis wouldn’t be allowed to enter its walls, but this way, a few of us will be allowed in with no suspicion.”

“And then what? Do you propose to just kidnap one of them? We need a live specimen you know, or at least a well preserved one…” Arai argued.

“Yes, kidnapping! Exactly what I propose.”

“Hmmf, a body is pretty heavy to carry around and avoid detection…”

“Not an adult body! A child…” Gashir smiled at his own plan.

“I see…a child…in return for the one that was lost…” Arai said as he pulled at his closely cropped beard.

“That idea has merit, but which clan? Which child?” asked the Raikage.

“According to our intelligence, the Uchiha clan’s prodigy, Uchiha Itachi, age 8, has already activated his sharingan. He might be too dangerous to approach, and a younger child would be easier to handle," Gashir reported. "He has a brother, Uchiha Sasuke, age 3. Now on the Hyuuga side, there’s Hyuuga Hinata, age 3, of the Head family, and Hyuuga Neji, age 4, of the Branch family...”

“But to choose between the Uchiha and the Hyuuga…” the Raikage pondered.

“The Hyuuga are the original bloodline from which the Uchiha evolved. For our research purposes, I would prefer the Hyuuga. Their untampered DNA is closer to the genetic basis of the doujutsu and should be easier to analyze and duplicate," Arai rationalized. "Of course, a member of the Hyuuga Head family is preferable…”

“Hmmf, you’ve already thought about this a lot haven’t you? For your experiments…” Gashir muttered.

“I recommend the girl. Girls are easier to handle than boys. And I should have had a granddaughter,” Makoto said bitterly.

“But what if we’re caught?” asked the Raikage, knowing Gashir’s answer.

“I’ll carry out this mission personally,” offered Gashir. “They won’t catch me alive. You can always deny any involvement. Those scared sheep in Konoha won’t protest with peace at stake.”

The Raikage nodded thoughtfully. He was a man of few words, preferring to listen to his advisors argue than to give his own input. Now he thought to himself, ‘This could work, even if Gashir is killed, we can make demands.’ Out loud he ordered, “Then it’s decided, the Hyuuga girl!”

-…-

The failed kidnapping of Hyuuga Hinata occurred soon afterwards and the Maindo clan had their blood vengeance repaid by Hyuuga Hizashi.


-…-…-…-

“You see, your green chakra,” her grandfather explained, “is typical of our clan. It’s a manifestation of mental energy. Now the reason why you leak green chakra at night and under duress, is because your mother probably transferred her chakra to you while you were still within her womb. It’s a variation of one of our clan’s special techniques, but I don’t think it’s been done before. She probably wasn’t sure of its effects, she just wanted you to have enough chakra to survive on your own for a while. A child’s body is too small to be an appropriate container so that’s why it was a problem when you were younger. As you grew older, your body could then accommodate the extra chakra. However, it is probably not 100 percent compatible with your own, but I can help you with that. Along with the chakra transfer was a partial mind transfer. That's why you have those nightmares. They are visions of your mother's last minutes and your first. Since your mother died a violent death, the energy of the chakra is affected. That's why it's so hard to control and comes out in negative situations."

'My mother tried to protect me even as she was dying.' Rikako calmly thought about her parents' deaths and Kakashi's admission. 'He was the demon in my nightmares. He killed her even though she was pregnant. But he saved me. Why?'

Before she left Thunder Country, Rikako visited her parents' graves and lit incense by the twin gray tombstones. Bowing low, she closed her eyes and breathed in the sickly sweet scent and murmured a prayer. She felt a great weight lift from her shoulders, floating away with the wisps of grey smoke from the incense. But soon it was replaced by another suspicion. 'What was Kakashi's mission? Was it to rescue an agent? Or to harvest an advanced bloodline?'

-…-…-…-…-

Author’s Notes: This part is probably a bit short but I figure I can always fill in her training in future flashbacks. Her coincidental meeting with her grandfather is a stretch but why bother with another subplot.

Hizashi’s sacrifice is going to play a big part of this series of stories. And it’s all Kakashi’s fault!

"Sinobi Gashir" I learned recently was probably not a name but a mistranslation of the words meaning shinobi leader. However, this is the name that appears in the character book as far as I know.

Maindo means mind. Maruyama - yama means mountain

-…-…-…-…-

6.3 Secret Memories

Now that she was capable of utilizing all of her chakra, Rikako could summon a bird large enough to carry her weight. She returned to Konoha flying on a giant eagle.As the bird flew through clouds to hide their approach, the cold air whipped about her small frame, but she hardly noticed the icy temperature. She was being fueled with a purpose.

'I can do this, I can defeat him,' she told herself and itemized her advantages and went over her plan.

1. Gai-sensei said I am as fast as Kakashi in his prime.

2. Kakashi will not want to hurt me so he won’t be fighting at 100 percent.

3. I can do some double jutsus, which gives me an advantage.

4. He won’t know my chakra has doubled.

5. I will take him by surprise.

6. I will fight him in an enclosed environment so he has less room to maneuver or escape.

7. I must hit him fast and hard so he won’t have time to expose his sharingan.

8.I should attack at his blind spot on his left side.

9. If he does use his sharingan, I’ll fight him in darkness to even the playing field.

10. I can threaten to destroy his beloved smut books!

-…-…-…-…-

But when he opened the door, her resolve wavered and her heart softened for a second. 'How handsome he is...how strong and caring…how genuinely pleased he is to see me...' She could sense his warm feelings and she could not look him in the eye, afraid that the tenderness she would see there would distract her from her plan. Again she suppressed the guilt that tried to surface and she proceeded with her plan of attack.

-…-…-…-…-

'How strange it feels to enter someone else’s memories, like watching a fast action movie, a defective tape, which skips and blurs. Where to start? The most important ones first. The ones on the surface.'

She was seeing events through his eyes and it was difficult to gauge the time of the events. It was only by the feel of the memory and the colors of the aura tinging the scene could she determine Kakashi’s approximate age.

The first: a distant memory in light brown sepia tones of a child no older than six, feeling exhilaration at his first kill.

Redder sepia tones, a child slightly older, standing over a bloody lifeless body with a dagger's handle protruding from its mutilated abdomen. Dishonor. Humiliation.

Faded natural tones, an older child weeping tears from mismatched eyes over another boy’s crushed body. Remorse. Retribution.

Gray overcast natural tones, an adolescent, not yet ready to shave, dressed all in black for a state funeral. Respect.

Soft natural tones, a young man holding a dying young woman whose last action was to smile at him with such devotion that she (Rikako) knew she could never feel. Regret.

A clear memory in bright colors of an almost pretty dark haired boy with cold sharingan eyes learning the chidori. Redemption.

Some of the memories were different from what she knew. She had learned of White Fang’s suicide. She did not know his son bore witness. She knew of Obito’s death and his sharingan gift. She did not know he died actually saving Kakashi.

Yondaime’s funeral. He was both friend and sensei, a double loss. The young woman, who was she? A past lover? The girl on his team? A pang of unreasonable jealously struck her. The boy, his first disciple, now missing.

Loss after loss, three decades worth. A tide of pain previously dammed, now trickled through.

But none of it was what she was looking for. The event was before his disciple left, and after Yondaime. She continued to search, fast forwarding and rewinding at will. There, there it was. She could tell because the landscape around her was mountainous. Overcast natural tones. She was no longer in Konoha but in Hidden Cloud Village.

A calm determination, the goal to complete the mission, to rescue the Leaf agent was foremost in his mind. A cool confidence as he entered the complex. No fear at all. His senses were heightened and he was prepared for anything. A bright flash from an attack. He appeared behind the Cloud shinobi. This one was her father. She recognized him from her grandfather’s memories. A tall rugged handsome man with dark features. A quick slash of the kunai ended his life in arterial spurts. No guilt, no qualms, no hesitation. He redirected his attention to the shadow that appeared by the stairs.

Shock, complete utter surprise, panic as he realized what he had done. Two lives in one shot of his chidori. The dark-haired, dark-eyed young woman looked at him intensely, imploring him for her unborn child’s sake. Horrified at the consequences, the young jounin desperately tried to grant the dead woman’s wishes.

He had saved her; she would not be here stripping his mind if he had not. An act of remorse and humanity, not a harvesting mission. Rikako was satisfied now and slowly started to withdraw from his mind.

But not quite. 'While I’m here I mind as well snoop around,' she thought a bit guiltily, but as usual that never stopped her before. A time skip, fast forward to present events.

A sad longing, a profound need, a hopeless love…frantically trying to hang on…

A desperate plea, 'Don’t leave me.'

Thoughts from three decades worth of painful losses. Thoughts to which pride would never give voice.

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

Author’s Notes: I have to admit I feel bad when I write serious stories about Kakashi. He normally doesn’t have angsty thoughts like the other Naruto characters. He suppresses and hides his angst, which makes him more interesting to me than anyone else. Poor Kakashi will be in for more trouble in this series of stories, but he’s the loyal type :)

6.4 Forgiveness

Kakashi woke with a pounding headache worse than the time he had his sharingan installed. He found himself lying on the floor with a blanket over his body and a pillow under his head. His clothes were still wet. He heard the rhythmic sound of sweeping and the clunking of debris. He stood up and gingerly felt the bandages around his neck and arms. 'Damn that hurts,' he thought, 'but I'm alive, she didn't kill me after all. But what did she do to me?'

Rikako was sweeping the remaining debris from their fight into a dustpan.

"You're up," she said nonchalantly.

"How long have you been able to..." He thought, 'mind rape.'

"Read minds? Ever since I can remember. At first I thought I was going mad. All these voices in my head. I was about 5 when I learned to control it. Later I found if I made contact with someone using chakra, I could scan his memories. To be most effective, the person has to be conscious yet immobile. I never really used that power to the full extent until... But I had to know the truth, the entire truth. I had to know how my parents died,” she explained without remorse.

"Umm, you could have just asked," he pointed out.

"Would you have been able to tell me all I needed to know?"

He shrugged and the pain made him wince.

"I'm sorry I had to hurt you, but I couldn't just say 'Excuse me, let me scan your mind for your most private memories.' But I tried not to be too invasive and concentrated on just what I needed to know,” she lied. “Anyway, I'm just about done here. I'm sorry about the mess. I hope none of it was irreplaceable." She was trying hard to act casual but Kakashi caught the quiver in her voice.

He didn’t care about any of his material possessions (other than his favorite books), all he wanted was for her to forgive him for killing her parents. But that would be impossible, wouldn’t it? Yet she didn’t kill him.

He wasn’t sure how he felt about what she did to him. He knew he should be furious with her. Invading his mind should have been an unforgivable offense. But was it anymore unforgivable than what he did? And he couldn’t help but admire her determination, her planning, her poise. He had missed her desperately these past few weeks. The night they spent together still lingered in his mind and he still hadn’t changed the bedsheets just so her scent would remain. 'She would be quite horrified at that. Will have to change them immediately,' he noted to himself.

Was it so bad to have her know his secrets? He would not have to speak of those events, which made him the man he was; yet she would know; she would truly know him. And if she could love him despite his failings, or because of them…

He approached her. "The only thing irreplaceable to me is you," he replied softly; his decision made, but only after he checked to see none of his books was destroyed.

"You can still say that after what I've done?" She turned away from him as she started to tear up from his tender words, but also to laugh at the same time. 'He's still using lines from those books!'

He moved closer to her, close enough to catch her scent without having to concentrate his chakra. He hesitated before saying, “I don’t expect you to forgive me for killing your parents.”

She shrugged as if that were of little importance. “There’s nothing to forgive. It was a mission, at a time of war, and you saved me. I’m grateful for that,” she replied matter-of-factly.

'For her to forgive me so easily…' he thought warmly. He wanted to tell her again that he loved her, to reassure her that his feelings hadn't changed despite her questionable actions, to be able to return to the point before he told her the truth. But he knew it was too soon and given her rather contrary nature, could have the opposite effect. Instead, he ventured to whisper in her ear, “Then you still want me, don’t you?” (a confident comment rather than a question) while snaking his arms around her thin waist.

She blushed and felt her skin prickling and her heart pounding madly at his proximity and audacity. Finally she turned to him, her eyes level with his chest, unable to meet his gaze. “I don’t know,” she replied just as softly, as if to herself.

Her target, her adversary, her lover, held her tightly. "Well, either I have to kill you, or you'll have to kill me, or we'll have to be together, always. I can't have you running around with my memories and secrets in your head," he said almost seriously.

'Why do I want this man in my life?' she asked herself. 'He uses his past as an excuse for his current behavior. He’s always late. He reads those indecent books. He’s such an idiot sometimes. But he’s a good person. That's what's most important isn't it? And I think he needs me. Shinobi are just tools needed to protect the village. To be needed as an individual is something different, unique. Being needed is more important than being loved. It serves a function. And I do like him, a lot, I think. And I have to admit he’s quite handsome…a good cook…has such interesting hair and… that hypnotic red eye…'

"I…I suppose the last option is...is the most preferable..." she replied hesitantly. But she was tentative. Were his feelings genuine or were they a result of her suggestion? But in the end it didn't matter, did it? What was important was how she felt now, at this precise moment in time.

All her life she sought the truth behind her birth, her adoption, her powers. After a lifetime of plotting and planning, she now knew the full truth - not just her adopted parents' version, or her grandfather's version, or Kakashi's version. But her future was unclear. What would the Hokage do with her? Would she be allowed to roam freely with such powers? Would they seal them if they could?

This man holding her, who had aggravated and enraged her in the past, his destiny had been intertwined with hers since the beginning. She lived because of him. Her parents were dead because of him. But she had a life in Konoha because of him. In Thunder Country she would not have had such freedom. If her real parents knew, would they have chosen to let her live a life of freedom? Would they have sacrificed themselves for her? She wanted to believe that her parents would choose her happiness over their vengeance. She had to believe it; her future depended on it.

So how did she feel now, with him holding her so close she could feel the confident beating of his heart and the dampness of his clothes? She felt warm and loved, safe and at peace, and...

…annoyingly wet!

-…-…-…-

END OF BOOK I

-…-…-…-

Author’s Notes:

I do not address whether or not Kakashi’s feelings are real here, but I will in a future story. I tried a slightly different ending from my original where she does tell him about her manipulations, but I felt to be true to her secretive nature, she wouldn't until an opportune time. If this last part seems a bit short I have to admit I got tired of rewriting this story, but I may write an epilogue to bridge it to the next story.

Hope you liked it. Thanks to anyone who took the time to read this entire story. Please leave a review especially if you have any suggestions since I'll be rewriting the second story soon and would like some feedback. Should this have been more/less mushy or angsty? Need more action or plot or sex? I am considering adding in more sex scenes because it will be part of my OC's development

To be continued in “Kakashi's Stolen Sharingan”
Summary: Rikako steals Kakashi’s sharingan and becomes a missing-nin then joins up with a gang with plans to take over Grass and Rain. Kakashi resolves to get his eye back.