Chapter 2 Yugito

I Repeat This FanFic Is Not Mine

She's glad that the present she had gotten for him is something that is relevant no matter when he received it.

It's a simple sword made of the best chakra conducting metal she could find. It's not fancy in design and even lacks a proper handguard but it is perfect in terms of practicality, just like his personality. She knew that he will one day learn how to use a sword like all Kumo shinobis do and she is glad that she made the right choice. Her present will serve him well.

She watched as her first friend tried to get used to using the present she had gotten for him years ago when she was on a mission near the Land of Iron. He is skilled with a sword, that much she can tell. His expertise with the Lightning Release is at a solid Jonin level by now and so she cannot help but ask herself why he is still a Chunin with that level of skill. Is there something that she is missing out on? They did lose contact with each other for about nine years after all.

Her hand subconsciously went up to touch the purple hair clip she wears on her head, just as how she did many times over the years to reassure herself that it is still there in its rightful position. She is sure that this present must have cost him almost everything when he first gave it to her. It was the very first gift from her very first friend and it holds a very special place in her heart. Where many others fear her, he doesn't. Where many others left her for fear of being ostracised by the village simply by being associated with her, he doesn't care. Where many others simply see her as Matatabi's container, he sees her as who she is as a person, Nii Yugito.

Kan doesn't realise it, but what he had done for her is a lot more than most of the villagers would do for her, simply by being her friend at a time when she needed it most. It kept her sane in her darkest times when Matatabi kept whispering dark thoughts into her mind, kept her alive and human at a time when she was so very close to lashing out at everyone and everything, consequences be damned.

Yugito's experienced eyes picked out and dissected Kan's skills without her meaning to. Proficient in the Lightning Release and Kenjutsu, masterful grasp over chakra control, skillful in hiding his presence even in plain sight, there are also clues that might hint to him knowing a thing or two about Water Release and the Earth Release but she isn't too sure. He doesn't really look like he's a frontline fighter although he could probably hold his own just fine from what she observed thus far. Is he a shinobi that is more geared towards subterfuge and sabotage? Maybe espionage and assassinations? She wouldn't be surprised if that were the case.

The crackle of lightning died down as he smoothly sheathed his new present across his back. She let out a cheshire grin when he turned around to face her once more.

"Like it?"

"I do." He nodded with a smile on his face. "Thanks, Yugito. I will put it to good use."

"Spar? Just like old times."

She's curious. He's definitely no pushover and even when he is still officially a Chunin, something at the back of her mind tells her that the truth is far from it. A part of her also wants to see if she can still hand him his ass like she always did when they were younger.

He answered with a dramatic sigh.

"That's just plain bullying, Yugito."

"You didn't complain back then."

"I was young and naive."

"Sure. Suuure."

He half-heartedly tossed a kunai her way which she idly caught by the handle and flicked it back in his direction. He did the same and before long, they found themselves partaking in this ridiculous toss the kunai game that slowly increased in intensity.

Is this her cue to start their spar?

She grinned as she increased the amount of chakra she emits. This is her only warning to him before she gets serious.

"Watch out, Kan."

She launched herself at him in a burst of speed, blowing a small crater on the ground as a result. He didn't seem surprised as he blocked her extended nails with one smooth motion using the blade she had gotten for him.

"I know it's ladies first but damn, Yugito, you are too fast."

"And you still blocked my attack anyway. Stop whining."

They began their dance as her nails clashed with his blade. They are not yet serious in their fight. They are fast but this is not their maximum speed, his blade is not even coated in lightning just yet.

So, she picked up the pace, forcing him to show her more of what he could now do. She knew she succeeded when he had no choice but to reveal more of his capabilities when his sword began to crackle with lightning. Like her nails, his blade of lightning could extend at will as it cut down anything in its way. Shape manipulation? That's pretty advanced.

His free hand charged with lightning as well and he threw senbons made of pure lightning at her with a flick of his hand. She easily got rid of it by blowing a fireball and fired several Mouse Hairballs at him. He simply stood his ground and unleashed a cage of lightning with a radius of about a meter around his person, destroying her technique before it could get close.

"Pretty neat. What kind of technique was that?"

"Invented it myself. Too lazy to go about naming it though, you got any bright ideas?"

"Kitty Shock." She suggested with a grin as their dance resumed. He looked very unimpressed at her suggestion.

"Come on, Yugito. Kitty Shock?"

"It's a purrfectly suitable name!"

She blew another fireball at him and he simply cut it down with his blade. Should she push him further? She does want to see what he is truly capable of.

Unfortunately, they have to stop here. A messenger had come running for them from the main camp, telling them to report to their superiors immediately. It seems that their next mission will start sooner than expected.

Their first mission together. Now that's something she can look forward to.

Well, this isn't good.

She bristled as she and her team stood opposite the team from Iwa. Nobody told her that they will be going up against Han of all people, the jinchuriki of the Gobi. Powerful as she is, she is still ways off from being the perfect jinchuuriki and definitely a lot less experienced than someone like Han.

Their squad leader obviously knows this as well from how he gave them a silent hand signal to prepare to retreat. This mission had gone FUBAR the moment they ran into Han and Iwa knows this as well.

"Get them."

The earth exploded just as they scattered to evade Iwa's attack. Yugito can see how her comrades clashed against the Iwa shinobis as she fired attacks of her own. It only took another second before Han came barreling after her with a gush of steam.

His raw power is not something that she can match. Han himself is the bringer of devastation, each of his strikes leaving craters on the earth with the power of steam propelling him. Her agileness is her only saving grace as she danced around him while landing a flurry of cuts on him but that is pretty much useless considering how heavily armoured he is and his insane regeneration capabilities.

She needs to get serious. She could call upon Matatabi's chakra but she has no idea how attuned Han is with his tenant. If he is the better one at controlling the beast within then in a battle of tails she would undoubtedly lose. There's no point in taking part in a battle that she could not win.

A powerful blast of lightning got in between her and Han, allowing her to catch a breather as she pulled her distance. She could see how her comrades were slowly retreating and Kan signalling to her to get a move on. Some of her comrades are already dead and within the pile of corpses she could see their squad leader in there too.

She grimaced. This isn't good news.

She quickly rejoined Kan's side as a few of their comrades secured their retreat with a series of explosion tags thrown at the Iwa nins. That might stop the other Iwa shinobis but it definitely won't stop Han. If he really wants to give chase then it's only a matter of time before he catches up to them.

"Yugito, can you throw up a number of fireballs into the air? Large ones."

"Sure, but what for?" She asked curiously but still moulded her chakra to do just that. She spat massive fireballs into the air like he asked. The Iwa nins will know their exact location but it's of little consequence. Han is already charging straight at them like a rampaging bull.

Kan looked as calm as she is, but his face is one of seriousness as he went through a series of hand seals that she doesn't recognise belonging to any kind of jutsu that she saw before.

"Large scale AOE technique. One minute. Stop him for one minute. Pull back immediately when I tell you guys to do so."

She didn't hesitate to throw herself into the fray the moment he said that. She clashed with Han in an angry snarl, tearing and clawing at him with bursts of fire and Han retaliated with earth shattering punches and hissing steam. The other Iwa nins had caught up by now but their comrades moved to intercept them, recognising that whatever Kan is planning, it may be the only thing that might be able to save them now. None of them has any better options.

The skies became darker as thunderclouds formed at speeds too fast for it to be natural. Rain began to fall and Yugito knew that this must be Kan's work. The Iwa nins are obviously alarmed at this ominous development and try to go for Kan instead, only for her and her comrades to push them back with equal ferocity.

"Now! Fall back!"

She leapt back without delay, just in time to see Kan standing atop a tall tree with an incredible amount of lightning gathered into his right hand that is raised into the sky like a lightning rod. Right in the sky is a visage of a mythical beast that is entirely made up of natural lightning, baring its fangs down at their Iwa adversaries.

Kan's face broke into a predatory grin as the light from the lightning lit up his face.

"Been wanting to say this for a while now. Never had a chance."

"Retreat!"

The Iwa nins, including Han, immediately recognised the threat Kan's unknown jutsu posed to them as they started to beat a hasty retreat. Kan didn't bother stopping them. There was no need to stop them as she had found out a second later.

"Begone with the thunderclap."

His hand struck down as he commanded the heavens to crash onto their foes.

"Kirin."

"That vest looks good on you, Jonin Kan."

"Stop it."

She laughed without mercy as her friend stood in front of her decked out with a Jonin flak jacket. He grumbled something inaudible under his breath as he trudged his way forward, ignoring her howls of laughter.

This guy, he actually wanted to refuse a promotion from their Raikage. By the Sage, that was the most hilarious look she ever saw on her Raikage's face when he heard that!

She finally managed to laugh everything out of her system and fell in step with him. They are finally back in the village. It's been years, but they are finally back here.

The war is over.

"No, seriously, why haven't anyone realised that you were that strong before?" She cannot help but ask as she walks by his side.

That jutsu, the Kirin, it's nothing short of amazing, especially when he had invented it all by himself without any help from anyone. It's an S Rank ninjutsu! S Rank! Sure, the preparations needed for such a jutsu is overly long and the Fire Release or Storm Release are needed if thunderclouds are not present in the sky but hey, Kumo have no shortage of capable shinobis within their ranks to pair him up with in this endeavour, just like how she assisted him back on that mission.

That S Rank jutsu, Kan's achievements on the warfront over the years, and the recommendations from the numerous Jonins Kan had worked with over the years had convinced the Raikage enough to promote Kan the moment he returned to the village. With that, Kan is now a Jonin like she is.

"I just want to survive. Things like rank doesn't matter as long as I come back alive and besides, I don't really like the responsibility that comes with the title. A career chunin sounds a lot more relaxed and safer. Patrol, sleep, rinse and repeat."

"Careful, you are starting to sound a lot like Darui now."

"Darui?"

"Oh, I forget that you don't know who he is. Remind me to introduce the both of you one day. Pretty funny fellow, that one."

She gave a sweeping glance at their surroundings.

"Where are we going?"

"I was about to find a place to crash for the night, actually. Was wondering if there is an inn or sorts here, it's been too long since I've been back here and too much has changed."

She looked at him in surprise.

"You don't have a place to stay?"

"Orphan, remember? Kicked out of the orphanage the moment I received the forehead protector and drafted into the army the moment I graduated. This is the first time I came back to the village ever since I joined the army as a freshly minted genin. Why will I have the time to find a place for myself?"

Her mouth opened and closed without a sound. Right, she had forgotten. She had forgotten how hard his life was when they first met.

"Then why not come over to my place?"

"What?"

She can't remember when was the last time she saw an awkward Kan.

It's like he has no idea where to place his hands and no idea where to stand or sit the moment he stepped into her house. She lives alone because her parents had died in the line of duty just before she entered the academy. It's a little dusty because she was away for so long, but they had quickly cleaned it up without fuss.

She still takes secret joy in seeing Kan acting so out of place within her home. Jeez, it's just them in this small little cottage. What's there to be awkward about?

She took a nice long bath and changed out of her combat attire, letting her long blonde hair flow down freely behind her back untied. She emerged from the bathroom a fresh person and was about to tell Kan that he can use the bathroom now when she spotted him snoring away on the couch.

Guess he really was tired. Sometimes she still has troubles remembering that not everyone has near unlimited stamina like she does after all.

She knelt down beside him from where he had passed on the couch, resting her face on the side of the furniture and allowing herself to observe his sleeping face better. He looks so much more… gentle when he's asleep. None of that carefully constructed mask that he wears out there on the field and none of the carefully concealed danger that he usually exudes.

Just like how he was when they first met. They had all changed and at the same time, never changed.

Her enhanced sense of smell picked up on his scent, the same scent that she memorised almost a decade ago when they first met. She doesn't know why, but she ended up staring at his sleeping face for more than an hour in that position until she snapped herself out of it.

She smiled. This feeling isn't too bad.

She really doesn't mind staring at his sleeping face all day.

"Ruthless, I tell you! Ruthless! Monsters, every single one of them!"

The very first thing she did when she dragged her tired self through the door was to loudly complain to him how utterly inhumane her instructors are. She really is doing it for nothing but the sake of being dramatic, but who cares?

"Welcome back. I see that Bee's training must not have been rigorous enough if you can still mouth off like that."

"Do you really want me to die, Kan?"

"You know that won't happen with me around."

She rolled her eyes as she made her way to the bathroom to clean herself from all the sweat, dirt, and grime. She is in his house now. She had made a very convincing argument that they should be neighbours the moment she realised that the house beside hers is empty and up for sale. He had accumulated a small fortune for himself over the years, mainly because he never had a chance to spend a single Ryo all these years when he was stuck at the frontlines. It was enough for him to buy the house with more than enough cash to spare.

So now, they are neighbours. Although, it really doesn't matter to them both because they freely entered each other's house like it is their own home. Well, it is mostly her that is doing that. He doesn't enter her home without her invitation because he just doesn't think it is right for a grown man to enter a woman's home unannounced.

That idiot.

A few years had passed again. Things are starting to look peaceful once more. Several big events had happened, like the Kyubi attack on Konoha and their village's attempt on Konoha which resulted in the Hyuga Affair. Both of them had made Elite Jonin. It still surprises her sometimes with how many cards Kan had hidden up his sleeves and not showed. He probably still has quite a number on him that he never shows, even to her.

Heck, the only reason why he got promoted to Elite Jonin was because he was forced to reveal more of his skills during a mission that brought him face-to-face with Sharingan Kakashi. He was the only reason why his team made it back to the village at all. According to the witnesses, the Lightning jutsu they both wield are strikingly similar, which was what allowed Kan to fight Kakashi to a standstill and buy enough time for them all to escape.

By the time she emerged from his bathroom trying to dry her hair with a towel, Kan had finished cooking a meal for her. They ate their meal with her directing a large part of their conversations. She is usually not this chatty around others, but it is different if it is Kan. With him, there's nothing she cannot talk about.

"The Winter Festival is tomorrow. Wanna go?"

"I never peg you to be the festival type." He commented with an arched eyebrow while drinking on his miso soup.

"You have a problem with that?" She challenged with the same expression he wears on his face, daring him to continue.

"Nope." He raised his hands up in a gesture of surrender. "But I'm saying this upfront, I have no yukata or whatever related attire to attend the festival."

"Then all we have to do is to get you one. We are getting you a yukata, right now." She decided right there and then with a determined gleam in her eyes.

"Wait, what?"

"Right, now."

"I think this is my third time or so wearing a kimono. How do I look?"

"Very different, and in a good way." He admitted as they both walked side by side down the streets, basking in the festive mood. She is wearing a dark orange kimono with her hair tied up into an elaborate bun. The same purple hair clip is still pinned on her hair.

He is wearing a dark blue yukata that she had picked for him the day before. He is obviously not used to wearing anything outside of the usual shinobi attire. It can be seen from the way he walks.

"Relax, we are not on a mission right now. No need to be so jumpy." She told him as she wrapped her right arm around his left and started to drag him around, ignoring his protests.

"Come on, liven up a little! This is a festival!"

She had a lot of fun and she is sure he did as well. They played the games at the stall, ate all they wanted, saw the sights they wanted to see. It's easily the happiest time that they both ever experienced. It got her wishing that this moment will stay forever and so that is what she wished for when they passed by a wishing well.

"What did you wish for?"

She was curious, so she asked. They were on their way back home and they both had unanimously decided to take the scenic route back.

"That you will stay alive no matter what." He replied truthfully without looking her way, the gaze in his eyes is as though he is looking at something so far away that she could not see.

"I will have you know that I am an Elite Jonin and a jinchuriki to boot. It takes a lot to put me down."

"I know."

She could not help but let a small smile rest on her face. He is worrying about her in his own quiet way. Ever since their lives start to get so closely intertwined after the war he has always been looking out for her as best as he could. He didn't do anything overly special, but it's in the little things that he does for her in their everyday lives.

"Say, Kan?"

"Yeah?"

She walked up and stood in front of him, allowing them to see each other face to face. The full moon shone brightly overhead as the vast mountain range became a scenic backdrop that she will never forget.

She did a nervous gulp, her hands not knowing where is the best position where they should be at.

"D-Do you… A-Are we…"

She closed her eyes as she tried to get those words out, the words that she had been trying to ask him since a long time ago, ever since they became neighbours, ever since they became more than just friends.

"I'm afraid."

Her eyes opened when she heard his words and she looked up to him in confusion.

"I'm afraid." He said once more with a downcast expression. "I'm not blind, Yugito, and I admit that I start to see you as something more than a friend since quite a while back, but I'm afraid. I'm afraid of committing too much when our job and duties require us to die for the village at any time, I'm afraid of the repercussions that you might face if you ever tangled yourself with a nameless shinobi like me, someone who will never make it big in the world out there where monsters reside. I'm afraid that I will hurt you when I go out one day only to never return. I had seen too many of such things happening around me during the war, I had seen what it does to those left behind. Dying is easy, living is hard."

"Kan…"

"I'm afraid. I'm afraid that I will sink too deep and get too attached to this village which I hold no real love for. I will be frank, Yugito, I never did understand the attachment and love you have for this village who treats me as nothing but an expendable tool right at the very start no matter how much effort I had put in. If it wasn't for you I might be planning my defection from this village right at this moment. I'm afraid, Yugito, that you will one day die and I will go insane because I got too attached. I'm afraid that I will live to see the day when this village takes away the only person left that I came to care about in this entire world, you."

He took a deep breath and sighed.

"I'm still that useless nobody back at the academy, aren't I? Elite Jonin my ass."

"Then don't."

She knew she had caught his attention with the certainty she had in her voice.

"I don't need you to care for the village, I just need you to know that I care for you. I don't need you to be afraid of whether I will die because I just need you to know that I will do my utmost best that it will never happen, that I will always return. I don't need you to be scared of admitting that you are afraid because I am too, but we can face this together just like we did during our days at the academy. You might not know this, but your presence was what kept me sane when I was at my lowest point in my life. You mean a lot to me, Kan, and I want to be able to mean more to you, I want us to mean more."

She took another step in front of him as her hands gently cupped the sides of his face.

"It's alright to be afraid. I'm constantly living in fear too, afraid of the cat, afraid that one day one of us might never return without being able to say a last goodbye, but we will survive it, just as how we survived long enough to meet each other again. I'm willing to face that fear with you, but are you willing to let me do so?"

She saw how a lone tear fell from his eye. It was joined by another, then another, and soon she found herself hugging him, trying to ease the outburst of emotions that he had bottled within himself for more than a decade.

"I won't let you die, Yugito."

She can feel his hug around her tighten a little as he said this, his voice hoarse.

"The same goes for you. I won't let you die. Together, we will survive."

That night was the most beautiful night she remembered.