Chapter: 20

I'll show Sasuke-kun that I can be a great kunoichi! Then he'll have to acknowledge that I belong on Team Seven just like he does!

Sakura kicks a stray rock off the path in front of her, staring out the big gates of the village with her arms crossed. She didn't think that the security would be so lax, but there's only one Chunin guarding the gates from what she can see, and he's sound asleep, drool pooling on the desk beneath his head.

She's about to turn around and head back into the village when she hears it: a horrible, wet, hacking cough that makes her stomach roll. She doesn't know much about medicine, yet, but she knows as well as the next person that a cough like that can only mean one thing-lung damage. Sakura tiptoes closer to the gateway, glancing around the wall and hoping that she doesn't get caught. Maybe it's an animal? Or somebody with a really bad cold-

It's not an animal. It's not somebody with a cold.

It's Kitsune, and she's injured. Badly injured. There's blood all over the place, what's left of her clothes is in tatters.

Sakura spins toward the gate guard and shouts.

She doesn't know how it happens, exactly, but somehow, she ends up being stationed in Kitsune's hospital room to keep watch over her, because "You're a genin now and until we get answers, Kitsune must be attended 24 hours a day."

It's not that she doesn't want to stay and watch over her, but what if Kakashi-sensei kicks her off the team because she doesn't show up for their evening missions? Will she have to go back to the academy?

Don't be silly, Sakura. Kakashi-sensei will understand that these are special circumstances.

She shakes herself out of her thoughts, returning her focus to the ANBU on the bed beside her. Most of her body is wrapped in gauze and medical tape, but the patches of skin she can see are pale and still speckled with blood.

Her mask had been cracked and bloodied when she found her collapsed against a tree outside the gate. Without it, her hair is no longer a muddy brown, but blond. Blond like the Fourth Hokage.

The Hokage's lost, daughter?

But if Kitsune is the missing daughter…, why is she still considered missing?

Because of this? Because of the person who did this to her?

Well. She supposes it's none of her business who she really is. From what she's gathered about Kitsune, she's kind-hearted and strong. She's done a lot to save the village and is one of the most powerful shinobi in Fire Country. And despite her talent, she's probably one of the nicest people she's ever met.

Sakura hopes she wakes up.

How old had she(Kitsune) been when she met her all those years ago? She'd been young, absolutely. The kunoichi thinks she might have even been younger than she is now! An ANBU at that age… Kitsune really is incredible.

Whoever did this to her must have been equally as powerful.

A small gasp escapes her when Kitsune's hand twitches, followed by a low groan. The woman blinks one eye open, staring at the ceiling for a long, breathless moment. She breathes a sigh of relief when she hums thoughtfully like she's trying to decide something.

"Kitsune?" she asks quietly.

The women's eye finds her and lights up in recognition. "Ne… Sakura-chan." Her voice is hoarse and thick, so Sakura reaches for a cup and the pitcher of water on the table nearby, dropping a straw in it before holding it close enough for her to drink out of. She downs two glasses before she drops her head back (probably a stupid move considering the amount of damage to her body, but she's no healer so she can't say anything). "Thanks… You found me?"

Sakura's fairly certain that somebody who came into the hospital in critical condition only hours ago should not be awake and making conversation; however, this woman is no ordinary shinobi, so Sakura doesn't call for help. If something's really wrong, she'll say something, right?"

Yes. You collapsed just outside the gates, and if I hadn't been around, it might have been hours before anybody found you because the gate guard was sound asleep and drooling all over his paperwork." Sakura pokes at her(Kitsune) hand. "I was really scared at first, you know? I thought you were gonna die."

Kitsune hums, wrapping her hand around hers with a fond look in her eye. "Ne, I'm pretty hard to kill. You should see the other guy." She clears her throat and said. "You're a genin now, huh?"

She can't help but grin. "That's right! But… Sasuke-Kun said I was just going to hold him back and if our team doesn't have three members plus Sensei, he might as well be on a team by himself."

Kitsune makes a face, clucking her tongue. "Fortunately, I'm friends with Sasuke's big brother. If you want, I could say something to him."

The offer is honestly tempting, but Sakura shakes her head. She's a shinobi now, and that means she needs to be able to fight her own battles, so she tells her as much. She looks proud of her for the admission.

"Who's your sensei?"

"That lazy pervert?!"

For some reason, Kitsune grins. "Kakashi, huh? I don't know, Sakura, Kakashi's one of the strongest shinobi Konoha's ever seen. You should give him a chance."

Yeah, well, you're cooler. She must not hide her pout very well, because the injured woman laughs at her."So, it's just the three of you on the team, then? No other genin?"

"We didn't have enough classmates, and when we were assigned, Iruka-sensei said that there was a note on our sheet about a second sensei. Somebody out of the village on a mission."

Kitsune squeezes her hand for a moment before letting go and pushing herself up as slowly as possible.

"Um… are you sure you should be moving?" Sakura slips out of her chair, hands hovering despite not knowing what she can do to help. "What can I do?"

"Ne," her voice comes out strained, "fix the pillows behind me to help prop me up?" She smiles at her after she sits back down, hands working to unwrap the bandages around her arms. Some of the wounds she had seen before are healed completely, not even scars left behind, but others are still healing, though they're mostly scabbed over. If she didn't know any better, she'd say they were a few weeks old."

Your healing ability really is incredible," she breathes. She can barely peel her eyes away from her arms when she hums."

The downside of my Kekkei Genkai is that I'm unable to use it myself. I can heal any wound, but not on my own body. Those take a little longer. Still, I heal faster than most.

She hadn't known what a Kekkei Genkai was when she was four, but it's fascinating to know how she'd(Kitsune) healed her the way she had. Other medics use green healing chakra, but Kitsune heals with purple chakra. She'd been mystified when she started picking up books on healing after entering the academy.

It would really be cool if Kitsune was our other sensei…

Obito Pov

When the gate Chunin rushed up to Obito in the middle of his lunch hour, he had immediately known something was wrong. He didn't even try to finish his ramen, but slapped some money down on the table and followed the man out of the restaurant.

"A genin found Kitsune collapsed outside the gates."

Narumi's back? Collapsed? Focus! He picks up the pace, daring the Chunin to fall behind. He doesn't know the guy's name but maybe he should find out-who lets a genin discover an injured comrade outside the gates? "What was a genin doing outside the gates? A mission?"

"N-no, she was inside the gates when she saw her-"

She was inside the gates, yet the gate guard didn't notice the dying women that some little genin did? Obito pauses in the street and grabs the man's collar, pulling him closer. "If Kitsune was within sight from the entrance of the village, shouldn't you have noticed she collapsed?"

He pretends he doesn't notice the sudden odor of urine permeating the air around them, shoving the younger man away. "Where is Kitsune now?"

"S-she's in the hospital, sir. She's in critical condition. I told the Genin to keep watch over her."

Obito nods once, turning toward the training grounds. "Clean yourself up and report to the Hokage. He'll want to know about Kitsune's condition as soon as possible."

Not ten minutes later, he locates Kakashi seated at the base of a tree while Obito's cousin attacks a training dummy. As much as Obito would have liked to rush straight to the hospital and check on Narumi himself, Kakashi has every right to know that his fiance is injured, but alive and home after her fight with Madara.

"Kakashi."

He must not control his tone very well, because Kakashi's gaze meets his gaze almost immediately. Even Sasuke pauses in his training to turn and look at him. It kind of makes him want to stall. "You're short a genin today?"

Kakashi stands, eyes boring into his. "What is it, Obito?"

A sigh. "She's back. She's unconscious and in critical condition, so we aren't sure how-" He doesn't get to finish. Kakashi uses the Shunshin the moment Obito mentions that Narumi is in critical condition.

He'll deal with it later, he decides, glancing at his young cousin, who's looking far too pale despite the fact that he's always been pale. "Sasuke-Kun, you should take the rest of the day off."

"Is… Kitsune going to be alright?"

After a moment, Obito sighs and gestures for Sasuke to follow him. If what Minato-sensei said is true, Narumi's going to end up on Kakashi's team anyway, so it can't hurt, right?

Narumi Pov

The next time Narumi wakes up in the hospital after her fight with Madara, she still isn't alone, but this time it's not a young genin still growing her wings.

Kakashi.

She doesn't fight the smile that breaks out on her face, reaching to poke the man in the cheek. "Oi, Kakashi, are you going to sleep all day? Oi!"Kakashi, still asleep, swats at her fingers as if it's any other morning, and Narumi is glad for it. Pushing herself up, she considers herself: her bandages are gone, so she supposes she's slept off the rest of the damage, though her eye socket is sunken in and empty when she touches her fingers to it. Ah, it's not like they keep spare eyes in a call. But at least I still have one good eye.

She prods Kakashi's cheek again, curious about the date.

Has he been neglecting his students because of me?

Another jab, this one to his neck. Kakashi suddenly leans back, uncovered eyes wide and confused. Narumi smiles.

"Good morning, Kakashi. You're looking chipper today."

Her fiance sags in the chair, unamused. "You're awake?"

"No, this is just a dream. We're both still asleep and we're late to the wedding."

A soft grey eye blinks at her before the man stands, ruffling her hair. "Go home and get cleaned up, we're meeting the kids in thirty minutes." He's out the window before Narumi can formulate a response.

So I am the other member of Team 7. She smiles, slipping out from under the sheet. Thanks, Dad.

Fortunately, she makes it to the proper training field five minutes early to find Sasuke standing sullenly under a tree while Sakura weaves a shoddy flower crown. Her arrival is silent, so it's no surprise that they don't notice when she sits cross-legged at the edge of the field and meditates.

Both students scream when Kakashi appears in the middle of the field in a cloud of smoke, but Narumi manages to stifle his laugh.

"Good morning, my cute little genin! The four of us are going on a mission today!" Kakashi gives them his eye-smile and clasps his hands together.

"There's only three of us, Sensei!" Sakura shouts, arms crossed.

Narumi stands, coming up behind them, silent as a mouse. "Wrong!"

The children shriek again, throwing themselves behind Kakashi for protection. The man smiles at her, genuine and soft. "Narumi-chan, officially meet our ducklings! I know you already know each other, but the circumstances are quite different now, don't you think?"

Narumi gives her teammates a smile. "Sasuke, Sakura-chan, don't be so shy! Now that I'm back home and fit for duty, we'll be able to get you all shaped up by the time the Chunin exams roll around, yes?"

Surprisingly enough, it's not Sakura that immediately appears at her side to hug her, but Sasuke. Then again, of course, Sasuke wouldn't have forgotten the day she'd been the clan babysitter or the countless hours Narumi's spent with Itachi just goofing off, so it makes sense that he would be concerned for her. She shoots Kakashi a look while she ruffles the boy's hair."

"Alright. First things first, we'll be reporting to the missions desk in a moment, but I've already been briefed on this particular mission. Hokage-Sama suspects the client is lying about the amount of danger he's in."

Narumi hums. "Which is why he's sending us, yeah? Life experience for the genin and a safe client despite being lied to. Still, we should remind him that lying about the seriousness puts not only him, but the entire team, and therefore the village, at risk."

"Which is why you, my love, will be going undercover."

Sasuke and Sakura both gape at the two of them.

Narumi hums, forming the proper signs, and when the smoke clears, she's a nameless twelve-year-old. "Alright, Kakashi, let's go."

The two of them set off, silently amused that it takes the rest of their team a moment to realize they've been left behind. The two true Genin are breathless and sweating when they finally catch up at the mission's desk.

Narumi grins at her father, bouncing around Kakashi in circles, amused when the other Chunin at the desk stare in confusion.

"Sakura," she hears behind her,"did Kakashi-sensei say 'my love' to Narumi-sensei?"

"I… think so," comes the whispered reply. She sounds dazed.

"Ah, Team Seven, you made it. Leave it to Kakashi to come ten minutes late." The Hokage smiles at them, though, but his eyes seek out Narumi. "How are you feeling?"

Narumi fights another grin, rubbing the back of her neck. "Much better, Hokage-Sama. Do you want me masked for this mission, or is this sufficient?"

"Something tells me your henge is much stronger than the average Jonin's, but you'll need a name."Narumi hums, resting her chin on a fist. "Ne…, I could let Kakashi choose?"

Her father concedes, tossing Kakashi a mission scroll. Narumi shares an amused look with him at the expressions on the desk Chunin's faces. The fact of the matter is quite simple: nobody had been allowed into Narumi's recovery room that wasn't treating her or was unaware of her secret, so nobody has discovered her identity aside from Sakura, who would have been told this morning anyway. She'd simply worn a mask on the way to the training ground, though she'd thrown a wave at Gai, knowing that Kakashi wasn't around to keep them from greeting each other.

We'd have the most fun, though.

Even though the client isn't in the room, Narumi and her father had decided that she'll come forward either after the wedding or during the next Chunin exam, whichever comes first, so she won't reveal herself, yet.

If the mission is as simple as the client claims, she won't have to reveal herself during it either, though if she's forced to release the henge, she'll mask herself. Rumors spread quickly in shinobi nations. Unfortunately.

The moment they meet the client, Narumi is put on alert. The man is trashed, and rude. Somehow, she decides that Narumi, in her plain-looking henge, is the weakest of them, and makes several jabs about how he's paying for proper protection.

To Naruto, it sounds like she's scared. And poor.

Well, I suppose we have nothing to do but watch him.

"Don't worry, Tazuna-san. I don't look like much, but I'll give my life to protect you."