Reaper

Reaper

?How does it feel today??

?Hmm??

?Your eye. Does it still hurt??

Kakashi rolled over on his back and stared up at the clouds. Birds sailed on the wind, their wings outstretched. The corners of his mouth tugged upward.

I used to be like them. Not a care in the world.

He sighed.

What a fool.

?Yeah, he replied, one of his fingers moving unconsciously to the scar that the surgery had left behind, a constant reminder of all that he had lost. ?Like a b*tch.?

His companion responded by slapping a piece of cloth dipped in a strong-smelling poultice over the eye. Kakashi winced. It stung even more than the dull throbbing he endured on a regular basis.

?Baby,? she chided, sticking her tongue out at him. ?This stuff is tame compared to a lot of the remedies my mother used to concoct.? Her features became soft, and Kakashi noticed.

She?s given up about as much as me, maybe even more?

?Do you miss them?? He inquired, his normal eye focused on her.

?When I was a little girl,? she began, stretching her legs out before her,? my brother used to tell me stories about our village, and the great warriors who existed long before my time. I was enthralled by them.? She paused, as if to collect her thoughts. ?From that point on, I vowed that I would become like them, that I would be a fearless soldier with no ties to bind me.? Silvery hair whipped away from her face, hair quite similar to Kakashi?s own.

We?re a lot alike, he mused. That must be why I stay with her.

He had not known her for very long, perhaps a month or so. The events leading up to the present were fuzzy in his mind, but he remembered that she was the one who found him after he had been reduced to a creature no longer resembling a human. She had not feared him in this state, but rather took the time to nurse him back, never leaving his side for a moment.

During those first few days, his consciousness faded in and out, but he was always aware of another presence, so close, yet so far?

*****************

?Hey there,? a light, musical voice met his ears. ?It?s about time you woke up.?
Kakashi tried to open his eyes fully, but a sharp pain like a thousand needles stopped him. He had forgotten about the Sharingan.

A cool hand rested upon his brow, and he relaxed slightly. The pain seemed to melt away under that touch.

?Easy, now,? the voice spoke again. ?Lie still for a bit. You?ve been through quite an ordeal, if I?m any judge. It?s a good thing I ran across you when I did, or you?d be on your way to see the Gods.?

?Where am I?? He whispered through cracked lips.

?Not in heaven, that?s for sure.?

Leaving the Sharingan eye closed, Kakashi allowed his other eye to crack open slightly. A young woman with long, silvery hair and a cheerful, open face stared back at him. She had laid her forehead protector aside on the ground near her feet, and he was just able to make out a heavy slash through the symbol it bore.

?Who are you?? He asked, keeping his expression neutral.

?Does that really matter?? She replied, grinning. ?But, if you must have a name, call me Rin.?

?Rin,? he repeated. ?That?s pretty.?

?Thank you, Kakashi.?
When his brow furrowed, she held up a chain that normally hung around his neck, a metal dog tag swinging from the end. ?I was curious, so I looked. Don?t be mad.?

He really had no position to become angry with the woman who saved him, so he brushed that aside.

?How long have I been asleep??

Rin moved over towards the small fire she started earlier and stirred the contents of the pot situated over it with a wooden spoon. ?About two days, give or take.?

Two days, huh? Feels much longer than that?

?Let me ask you something,? Rin said, facing him again. ?That eye of yours. It?s a Sharingan, is it not? I?ve heard a right tale or two about it on my travels. An advanced bloodline, and one of the strongest, or so the rumors claim.?

Kakashi did not offer an explanation, so she continued.

?I?ve also heard that it?s a bloodline passed through the Uchiha clan.? She raised her eyebrows, appearing very much like an inquisitive bird. ?All the members of that clan have dark hair and eyes, and you have neither.? Reaching out one of her hands, the sensitive pads of her fingertip traced the line of the red, still-puffy scar that ran down his cheek. He flinched, though she did not withdraw. ?And I don?t believe that is normal, either, is it, Hatake Kakashi?? She smirked at him. ?Somebody?s been a naughty boy.?

Though she unnerved him, he was not so churlish that he couldn?t accept a good sense of humor when it ventured into the open.

He smiled back.

?It would certainly seem that way, wouldn?t it??

?Indeed,? she bantered, her attention on back on the pot. ?I?m not much of a cook, but it?s the best we?ve got for now, and I?d imagine you?re hungry.?

In response, his stomach let out a loud growl. ?Ravenous.?

The stew Rin made was thick and filling, perhaps not high-grade cuisine, but good enough for both of them. Kakashi felt a almost himself again after he ate, that is, until his mind began to wander.

I left. I left the village.

Konoha. The place he had been born in, the place he had lived for nearly eighteen years, the place he called home?

I left Konoha.

His eye throbbed suddenly, as if to throw the reality of the situation at him without mercy, saying, ?for this, you have sacrificed all. Everything you knew, everything you loved, all of it scattered in the wind for the power that I grant you. For this, you have sacrificed all??

I?m an exile.

?You saw my forehead protector, I assume,? Rin said as she sat across from him, her chin resting on her knees. ?So you know what I am.?

Metal glinted in the firelight, the deep fissure that marred its surface catching his attention once more.

?A missing-nin,? Kakashi supplied, not liking the sound of the word. It reminded him of poison, seeping through his veins. As a child, he could think of no greater crime than to denounce one?s own soil, to become a criminal, a betrayer, and for no other reason than to satisfy the twisted lusts of one?s mind. Once, such a term had been remote, almost like a myth, but no longer. It was as if a brand had been seared into his forehead, marking him for what he truly was.

Rin could read the expression on his face and she chose not to press him any further on the matter. She had not taken her own fall lightly, besides, and she could hardly expect him to do so.

?Where did you get the eye?? She asked instead. ?From a friend? Or an enemy, perhaps??

Silence.

Kakashi?s throat had gone dry.

?Both,? he whispered when he was able to force his mouth to move. ?A friend?and an enemy.?

No more words needed to be said.

****************

?My wish came true.?

Rin?s voice hurtled him out of the world of his memories. He looked at her.

?I have no ties to keep me in one place,? she murmured. ?That was what I wanted, and that was what I received.?

Kakashi blinked. ?But the cost??

?The cost was expected.?

Their eyes met.

?I understand,? he said quietly.

I paid the same price as you?and I made the same decision?

Movement in the brush.

Rin shot him a wolfish grin. ?Enough drabble about the past, Sharingan Kakashi. Let?s do what we do best, eh??

His hand was already reaching for the holster on his leg.

"What's it look like? Two, I'm wagering."

More movement.

One last exchanged glance.

"Whoever gets the first kill buys the grub tonight," Kakashi said over his shoulder before he advanced upon his prey, winking. "And no cheating this time, either!"

Rin's laughter echoed through the trees, and it was the last sound that thier enemies would ever hear.

Can y'all guess who I axed?? I'll give ya MAJOR brownie points if ya can!!!

#1 sharingank

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