ஐHatake Kakashiஐ Entangled in a Missing Memory ❧009❧

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Chapter 9: Odd Encounters

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The group arose bright and early to continue their journey to the border; they didn't have much further to go before they reached it. Their client had been surprising cooperative about waking up so early. It must have been routine for him. At least they were off to a good start. Today, Rairakku was feeling just as restless as Naruto was. She had to admit that she was itching for a fight. Maybe not even a fight, just anything that would distract her thoughts, which kept drifting to the events of last night. What was that about? Rairakku shook her head; she shouldn't forget what had happened to her on her last mission because she was distracted.

The lilac spent the short time they had set aside for breakfast explaining to Sakura once again that there wasn't anything happening between her and the silver haired jounin. Part of Rairakku didn't believe that was true though. After all, it's not like intimate encounters were an often occurrence between Kakashi and her, especially that intimate. The very thought of him holding her like he had last night made her blood rush to her cheeks. Then again, she could just be over thinking the whole thing. She was upset, and Kakashi had offered her comfort, that was all. For some reason, that made her feel worse. Why did that make her feel worse?

The Copy Nin didn't seem to be dwelling on the matter. At the most, he might be feeling a little awkward from all the looks and questions the genin directed towards him. Those questions he ignored and left Rairakku to answer, much to her chagrin.

"Rairakku-san?" a certain young kunoichi asked in a hushed tone, pulling on Rairakku's black, arm length fingerless gloves. "Can I ask you something?" There was no fighting the eager look in the young one's eyes. The woman gave her a nod and Sakura continued, "Even though you and Kakashi-sensei aren't together—" Sakura said it as if she still didn't believe it. "— the two of you seem really close. Are the two of you childhood friends or something? How did you meet?"

Rairakku had to think about this for a moment. She noticed Kakashi glancing her way, wondering how she would respond to this. Naruto seemed to be listening in as well. "Well, I guess you could say that," she answered, scratching the back of her neck uncomfortably. She wouldn't want to divulge any information to the students about Kakashi that he didn't want them to know. "I have known him since I was a kid. As for how we met..." she trailed off. A smile grew on her lips as she thought of her beloved nii-chan. "We were introduced by a mutual friend."

Sakura seemed content with that answer; she seemed to be thinking of something else to ask. Rairakku's gaze met Kakashi's surprised one. He hadn't been expecting that. Kakashi remembered a time when she couldn't even think about Obito without tearing up. Now she was smiling warmly at the memory of him, and he couldn't help but smile with her.

The pink haired girl was tugging at Rairakku's clothing once more. "Well, if you aren't with Kakashi-sensei," she began, an excited grin on her face. It seemed like she was never going to get that idea out of her head. "Surely you have someone special back home, right?"

"Yeah!" Naruto interjected. He was on the opposite side of her now, holding onto her arm tightly. "'Cause you're so pretty, Nee-chan!" Sakura nodded in agreement with him.

"W-W-Well, no, actually," she stuttered, a blush crossing her cheeks. It was true that it wasn't often she got complimented on her looks, but she was blushing more at being called a sister. No one had ever called her that before. "I don't have a boyfriend. Actually, I don't have a romantic life to speak of." The two genin looked extremely confused at that statement. Rairakku cleared her throat awkwardly and continued, "I mean... I get asked out and go dates on here and there, but it's never been anything serious."

That was true, Kakashi thought as he listened in. He had always made a point of staying out of Rairakku's dating life, which wasn't exactly hard. He had noticed that she seemed to avoid things like dates. More importantly, she seemed to avoid the closeness that came with dating. Then again, she had been a sexual relationship for two years and he hadn't known about it... Maybe he was wrong about all of that.

Rairakku patted Sakura on the head. "Things like that get a lot more complicated when you're my age," she chuckled. "Enjoy the fact you don't have to deal with that for a while." She had to admit that she missed the days where she was too young to be worrying about romance. Back then it seemed like such a simple thing. Then again, she didn't have much to complain about. It wasn't like she had ever been in love before...

Rairakku's advice didn't seem to bring any comfort to Sakura though; she was looking longingly over at Sasuke, who looked completely uninterested in this conversation. "So, are you one of those girls who doesn't want to get married or anything?" she questioned.

Well, she didn't say that. Rairakku chewed on her lip in thought. She had always liked the getting married concept, the idea of falling in love and truly committing to it. She especially liked the idea of children. The thought of being a mother was particularly appealing, but she really doubted... A stabbing pain pierced through her chest at the thought.

"Don't hound her so much, Sakura," Kakashi interrupted as soon as he realized how uncomfortable the russet haired woman looked. Although, he couldn't help but wonder why she had been bothered by it; there was a look of pain in her plum eyes. His student shrunk back a little and muttered her apologies. The jounin tactfully changed the topic. "Rairakku, I can't help but notice that your hair looks like it's starting to curl," he stated, one eyebrow lifted while he looked at her curiously.

Rairakku took a moment to inspect her once straight hair, which has become slightly wavy from loose curls. "Oh! That just means we're almost there," she laughed, which only seemed to confuse the Copy Nin more. The lilac elaborated, "My hair tends to do this when I'm near the sea. I guess it has to do with something in the air."

At her side, Naruto became extremely pleased with this news and let out a shout. Soon the blonde genin quickly became distracted by pulling at a curl in her hair and watching it bounce back. "Haha, boing~"

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The port village they arrived to had a particularly pleasant ambiance about it. Rairakku enjoyed the sound of gulls and the smell of the sea air, even though said air made her hair go wild. Sakura assured her that the look suited her, so she didn't mind that so much. The market place had a strong fish smell that she didn't feel very appealing, so she picked up her pace when she walked past it. Other than that, the village seemed nice. While the others were admiring the village, Kakashi was busy looking for the group of Kiri nin they were suppose to rendezvous with. He finally spotted the group of four when they reached the boardwalk.

The Kiri jounin accompanying the group seemed just as enthusiastic as Rairakku had when they started the mission. He was significantly older than Kakashi and her, which showed in the lines on his face and his graying hair. Kakashi signaled to the man and caught his eye, but he didn't seem very interested in Kakashi. Instead, his gaze did a double take in surprise at the young woman at his side before glaring fiercely, his hand ready on a hidden weapon. This didn't go unnoticed by the Copy Nin; he took a few steps in front of Rairakku to stay between them. Rairakku had assumed he was looking at the Shinkoku and took the defensive in front of the boy. Sasuke had noticed it, too, while the other genin hadn't. The Uchiha shifted his position as well.

Both groups halted in front of each other; the amount of tension that had built was unreal. "I take it you're the one we're supposed to meet with. Gorou, is it?" Kakashi began, pulling his hands out of his pockets to shake with the other jounin.

The Kiri nin calmed down when he noticed the client among them, almost dissatisfied. He removed his hands from anything lethal he had up his sleeve. "Yes, that would be me," he answered, taking Kakashi's hand and still glancing back at the young woman guarding the weapon maker. Gorou looked convinced of something.

Rairakku didn't like this, but they made the switch with the client nonetheless. Gorou showed fake politeness made small talk with Kakashi, asking how their journey was. Naruto and Sakura were saying their goodbyes to Shinkoku. The young apprenticed promised the Konoha nin if they ever came to Water Country to come see his family; he would fix them up with a hot meal and whatever weapons they fancied, at a discount of course. The Kiri genin accompanying Gorou seemed rather annoyed that everyone was taking their time, but kept their mouths shut, not wanting to be reprimanded. Rairakku spent this time next to the young Uchiha with concerned.

"Rairakku-san," Sasuke muttered to her while the rest were preoccupied. "Something doesn't seem right about that jounin. Is it alright to leave Shinkoku with them?" He seemed just as concerned as she did. Either that or he was just as itching for some action as the rest of them. His onyx eyes seemed to gleam at the idea.

His voice had startled her at first. This was the first time Sasuke had ever addressed her personally. "Yeah, I notice it, too," she answered in a hushed tone. "But it seems Shinkoku's family does a lot to help out the Kirigakure ninja. I don't think they'd harm him." Still, her whole being seemed to not trust that man.

As if he read her thoughts, Gorou smoothly stepped past Kakashi and towards her. "I'm sorry," Gorou apologized with a charming smile, reaching out to shake hands with the lilac. "But I can't help but feel I've met you somewhere before. What's your name?"

She took his hand carefully; there was something about him that didn't sit right with her. "Rairakku," she answered cautiously. "And I don't think so." She certainly would have remembered the creepy aura he was giving off. This old man wasn't hitting on her, was he? It dawned on her that this man hadn't been glaring at the client before, and she pulled her hand away quickly.

He looked slightly disappointed, and appeared to be pondering something. Then it was replaced with a look of realization. He had a look on his face like he had a secret he wasn't planning on telling. What was he playing at? "Perhaps I'm mistaken then," he admitted. "Well, we should be heading off now."

That's right; they had to go home by sea. Rairakku did not envy them. They said they're awkward goodbyes to the group and wished them well. As they left though, Rairakku could feel the Kiri jounin's eye on her back. Hopefully she would never have to meet him again.

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When Team Seven and their extra member made it back to the village it was well into the evening. Luckily, without the client with them, they were free to sprint back, which Sasuke and Naruto quickly turned into a competition. Sasuke won that race, and it put Naruto into a very unpleasant mood when they past the gates. Rairakku had pulled the blonde against her side in a hug that made the young boy turn red, and the promise of ramen from a pretty girl soon immediately put him back in a chipper mood.

"You have no idea what you've gotten yourself into," Kakashi commented to the lilac as they sent the three genin home. They weren't exactly needed to turn in a mission report; besides, they needed rest for all the pointless D ranks they were going to be doing tomorrow. "That kid's stomach is a bottomless pit."

Rairakku shrugged, smiling warmly after the group. "I'm sure it's not so bad. He needed some cheering up," she responded truthfully. "And he's a sweet kid. They all are. Well, Sasuke would be if he wasn't so arrogant at times, but I like him."

"Hm..." The Copy Nin looked at his companion, reaching out and tugging at a lock of her russet hair. The curls had fallen from it only half an hour after they had left the port village, much to Sakura's dismay, and he had to admit it had been a good look for her. His visible eye smiled at her, and his tone was teasing, "I'd say you've become rather attached to my little team, Rairakku."

The twenty-two year old's cheeks turned rosy and she swatted his hand away a little too harshly. Rairakku hated to admit she felt uncomfortable with contact between them ever since the night before. Kakashi was looking at her questioningly. "I-I guess I have," she mumbled. "It's not my fault they're so... attachable—"

"Kakashi! My Eternal Rival!"

Rairakku came to an abrupt halt at her friend's side. That voice was unmistakable. Oh, no. She took a step behind Kakashi where she would be safer. Not to say she didn't like Gai, that wasn't true. He was very kind to her when they spoke, and she respected Gai as a strong shinobi. After all, not many could go toe to toe with Kakashi, but that certain green spandex-wearing jounin was a bit too... flamboyant for her tastes. It was hard to handle him in large amounts.

At least he was only interested in Kakashi for the moment. Perhaps she could slip away before she was roped into being the referee for one of their challenges. There was one thing about Gai she didn't mind though. He had known her so long that he didn't pester her about her "relationship" with Kakashi.

"Gai," Kakashi sighed, deadpanning. This again? "I really don't have the time for this right now. I have a mission report to file." He looked over at Rairakku who looked like she was waiting for the right moment to bolt for it and using him as a shield. Her short stature made hiding behind him easy. A chuckle escaped his lips; her actions reminded him of the first time Rairakku and Gai were introduced.

Kakashi had been fourteen, Rairakku was ten. He couldn't remember exactly what they were doing together that day, perhaps they had been walking back from the training grounds. Kakashi did, however, remember Rairakku pouting unhappily at the fact that he was forcing her to spend time him. He also remembered Gai making a rather dramatic entrance to challenge him.

"I have plans," he had responded coolly to the challenge to spar. He motioned to the girl next to him, who was giving incredulous looks Gai's choice of wardrobe. Kakashi hadn't ever mentioned to her that he had such an eccentric rival.

"Ah! I did not realize!" Gai had apologized in a very loud tone, turning his attention to the young one." Rairakku took a step back as he advanced. He didn't get the hint and leaned in too close for comfort, resting his hands on his knees. "Hello, there! I do not believe we've introduced. I am Maito Gai!" The strange boy grinned widely, the sun reflecting off his extremely white teeth as he patted her on the head, ruffling her short hair. "I did not realize you had such an adorable little friend, Kakashi!"

Rairakku had let out a startled squeak when Gai did that. She took one more look at the green clad teen before bolting to Kakashi. The little lilac had hid behind him, clutching the back of his shirt tightly. She cautiously looked over Kakashi's shoulder with wide plum eyes back at Gai, who looked disheartened and confused. "What did I do?" he had questioned.

Kakashi had looked at her in surprise as Rairakku pressed her forehead against his back. It was ironic how only a few years prior she was clinging to the back of Obito in order to get away from him. Perhaps this was a sign that she was finally warming up to him? "She's a little shy at times," he had explained smugly. "It looks like you've scared her, Gai."

His rival's voice brought him back to the present. "But it has been far too long since we had a challenge!" he exclaimed. Gai finally noticed Rairakku standing behind Kakashi. A grin broke out on the man's face. "Rairakku! I am glad you—"

"We just had a challenge last week," the Copy Nin pointed out as he interrupted Gai. He scratched the back of his neck, turning around to face the russet haired woman behind him. "You can go now if you want, Rairakku," he chuckled. He knew how much she hated getting in the middle of these things. "This could take a while. I'll turn in the report myself."

"Well, if you're sure," Rairakku responded reluctantly. Kakashi nodded, but Gai looked like he was about to protest. She managed to slip away before he had time to interject. Besides, she was looking forward to a good night's sleep in her own bed again, which was something she hadn't gotten while on the mission. The lilac bit her lip in thought, Kakashi's actions from the night before still plaguing her mind.

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"Everything will be alright," came that beautiful, sweet voice. "I promise. You won't feel a thing." Normally, it would have been a soothing sound— this person's voice sounded like warm tea and honey— but she was confused and frightened beyond comfort. What was better this way? All she felt was pain, searing pain that emitted from her very soul. Her eyes felt cloudy and heavy with tears.

The blurred figure tried to hush her, but the tears kept flowing. She didn't want this. "Trust me, my little one, it is better this way." She felt hands on either side of her face, caressing her dampened skin. Then she noticed that the eyes staring into hers were... her own?

"I love you... So very, very much..."

Then her head started to lose feeling, and she felt herself slipping away...