Once We Became Real

The rest of the day followed quickly, with us sleeping the entire time. When Kakashi woke us up, it was to get us out of the room and to stand in a stadium of some kind with two other teams. The other two teams were from different villages, with a Kiri Team and a Rock team. Both teams were glaring at us as we stood between them, clean and put together compared to their muddy and wet forms.

"You three teams have passed the second phase of the Chunin Exams and are moving on to the Third phase. This one is a one-on-one battle between your chosen opponents. The battles will be held in one week. Today we will draw your opponents." A Jounin of Kiri said before the monitor behind him turned on.

Hiroto vs Kaida

Itsuki vs Jiro

Kenji vs Itachi

Riku vs Hayato

Souta vs round one winner

The thing that sucked is that I had no idea which team my opponent came from, so I would have to plan for all of them. Not to mention what we were supposed to do when it came down to the three of us.

The Jounin went over where the next round was to take place and when we were supposed to be there. Once we had all of the information, our teams were dismissed to the apartments our villages were being placed in. My team followed Kakashi out of the building into the afternoon sun and bustling Mist Village.

The week of break we get before the next event lifted the pressure of succeeding enough for the thoughts of the words on my body to seep into my head. Soulmate to a Kage. A father, widower, and one of the most powerful men in the world. And almost a twenty-year age gap. Daichi was right. Soulmates don't mean happily ever after. The chance to be with the person that would make me feel whole would be a nightmare to achieve. I didn't even realize that I wanted the happy ending till I couldn't have it.

"Kaida?"Looking up from my feet, I see that I'm standing outside the door of our building, being drenched in the pouring rain, while my teammates look at me in concern from their place in the entrance of the building. "Are you finally with us?"

"I can't." The whisper slips out before I can stop it.

"What did you say?" Hayato asked as they didn't hear me over the rain.

"Itachi, Hayato. Inside, now. Go get acclimated and check your gear." Kakashi interrupted, sending my worried teammates into the building before looking at me. "Ten minutes. Stay within the perimeter."

I barely get a nod before he's gone, and the door shuts in my face. Now more aware of my surroundings, I remember the perimeter the Mizukage gave us to be in while waiting for the tournament. Each Village has its own far from the main population of the Village. We had three blocks. Quickly, I found the tallest building and climbed it with minimum chakra use. By the time I got to the top, fifteen minutes had passed, and my time limit was up, but I stayed there, letting the rain hit me.

Closing my eyes I imagine the hard rainfall was washing the mural on my body away like chalk on pavement. Leaving nothing but an indiscernible mess of color. Another fifteen minutes pass before another person hops onto the roof I am standing on. While I didn't recognize the chakra signature, it was familiar but different.

Reluctantly opening my eyes, I turn my head, and my eyes land on Minato. He didn't have his Hokage Robes or Hat on. He looked exactly the same as when I first met him. He looked more in reach.

"Are they worried?" Turning back around, I look up to stare into the pouring clouds.

"They've been looking for you. I expected Kakashi to teach you well, but you're nearly impossible to track unless you're a sensor. No footprints, no scent, a new environment, so no regular habits; back in the leaf, you stayed near the ground, so they're looking in the wrong place, and you've put a pretty advanced Genjutsu that's unnoticeable if you're not looking right at it." His footsteps neared but stopped out of arm's reach.

"Were you disappointed?" Turning, I faced him, keeping my eyes on his face even though I knew he would never show anything he didn't want me to see.

"No. Meeting you was the greatest day of my life." The usually stern and emotionless face I saw the few times we went in for missions was replaced by a soft smile.

"I doubt that. A seventeen-year age gap. You've married and have a son. You've achieved your life's dream. I've barely started my life. I'm nobody. I don't even have a dream. The only thing I want is to live. I would have still been in the academy on no one's shit list if it wasn't for Itachi. A nobody with little to no potential. I'm sure I'll end up like cannon fodder once I get that Chunin vest." Sighing, I walk over to the ledge, sit on it, and let my legs hang over the edge.

"The day I met you was the best day of my life." Minato took a seat next to me as he talked. "Because on that day, I met the person I have been waiting for, for the past twelve years. You had an attitude, you were snarky, and you liked poking at people, making them squirm. In all honesty, you were nothing like I imagined. I used to think that my wife Kushina was what I wanted in my soulmate. She had a bite and bark but was so sweet and bashful once you broke down her guard. I made my image of you into her. She used to say that she wasn't what I needed or wanted. I never understood what that meant until I met you. Don't get me wrong, I still loved her with all my heart, but the beauty of her red hair pales compared to your striking silver eyes. Her fiery temper that drew me in didn't catch my eye like your mischievous grin when you teased me. I know the mountains of obstacles, but I believe moving mountains is worth being with you."

"Wow, talk about laying all your cards on the table. You have no shame." I scoffed and rubbed my eyes before getting up and jumping down the building. 

"You have no idea about what to do with the information, so you're trying to make it go away. I've been where you are. I know what you're thinking. And while everything I've said doesn't make sense now, it will once you've processed the information. We can wait for your answer." I continued to follow me back to the hotel. He was not getting in my space, but his presence was calming a deep part of me.

"Wait. WE?" His change in wording registered too late since we were stepping into Kakashi's range of hearing, and I couldn't say more.

While none of my teammates commented on my disappearance, they were always near me. Usually, that would be suffocating, but my recent discovery gave me the excuse to ignore my marks and focus on the tournament.

Training for that week was rigorous. We planned for each of us to go against the other opponents using just the basic knowledge of what an average Genin from their Village would know and what they were wearing when we saw them. Any plans for each other as opponents were put together when we had our individual sessions with Kakashi.

None of us intend to fight the other, but we don't know the parameters that we have to have to get our Chunin vest, so we have to prepare to win the entire tournament.

Even though I was focusing completely on the tournament, living within the same building as one of my Soulmates, there was a small part of me always watching his every move. What had used to be like breathing, not even being consciously aware of the act, was now like unlearning a bad habit. Every time he enters the room, I turn my body to him. I match my breathing to his. Every time he moves, I have to look at him. Without even noticing, I start to drift closer to him. Everything I notice I do feels so natural, but I force myself to stop and do something else or even leave the room.

Once we became real, I felt like I lost everything before I had it.