Lightning In The Hidden Leaf

12 - Promise and Possession

"You're good to go, Kakashi. Anything of interest to report?"

"No, actually it was a quiet night. Well, except Ci and Damien were causing a woman a bit of trouble. They took off when they saw me so they should lie dormant for the rest of the night."

His comrade rolls his eyes. "That's nothing new. They're more of a nuisance than a threat."

"Agreed."

"Well then Kakashi, if you're all done I'll take it from here."

"Sounds good. Hope you have a quiet night."

Kakaski leaves after midnight. He could go straight to bed but as opposed to taking the street home, he finds himself at the academy.

"If it's for my own curiosity, I'm not really meddling which means I'm not breaking Calista's promise."

Kakashi enters the library not surprised to see the young Lees and Sasukes of the village still up studying. He walks up and down the aisles locating as many books on Jitsu markings as he can find. He them to a desk and quickly flips through the pages stopping only at something that resembles the marking he saw on Calista.

If there was one thing Kakashi learned is that there is a lot of information on Jitsu markings. He recognizes some markings and even witnessed them first hand. But those are few and far between. There is something else too. Many Jitsu markings look very similar with only minute differences. They are almost indistinguishable.

Hours pass and Kakashi has narrowed down twenty-seven jitsu markings that resemble Calista's. Assuming that what she has is even a jitsu marking.

"If I can see her mark, I might be able to determine which one it is. I wish I kept that picture," he says sighing as he leans back in his chair.

"It's been a while since I have seen you pull an all nighter at the library," says a voice from behind.

"Oh, Sensei Kai, it's been a while. How have you been?"

"I'm not feeling too bad for an ole fellow." Sensei Kai is a seasoned professor at the academy. He was a ninja for a while but a love for being in the books took over him. He has spent his days researching jitsus and traveling the world to uncover ancient ninja skills and techniques.

"What brings you here this late in the night?" He says noticing Kakashi's books.

"I was curious about something and I know I wouldn't sleep until I looked into it."

He nods. "I see. Well, maybe I can be of assistance. I have retained quite a bit of knowledge throughout my life time you know."

"I appreciate that."

As Kai pulls out a chair, Kakashi thinks of what he can say without revealing anything about Calista.

"Tell me what is it exactly you were wondering."

"Well," says Kakashi as he slides out his papers. "There are lot of jitsu markings and they all look nearly identical to me. How do you distinguish them?"

"You're right about that," he says looking over his glasses as he analyzes the markings. "One thing to keep in mind though. The markings you have sketched out. What's the first shape that stands out to you?"

"The circle," says Kakashi.

"Right. So Jitsu markings are categorized by their most prominent shape, in this case it's a circle. That makes it a possession marking."

"Possession marking? What does that mean exactly?"

He pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "It means that the person who puts this mark on someone, essentially owns them. To what capacity? That depends on the rest of the markings. It could be a tracker, a manipulation of speech or thought or a combination of them plus so much more."

Kakashi leans back in his chair, looking a little defeated.

"I hope that helps. That is the most basic of introductions."

"There is one more question."

"What's that?"

"How do you get rid of it?"

Kai looks out the window then back to Kakashi. "I have traveled the lands in search of an answer to that exact question and what I have found is that the person who puts this mark on someone is the only person who can remove it. Not very comforting, eh?"

"So the culprit literally takes the marking to the grave?"

"No not really," says Kai followed by a long pause.

"What is it?"

"Markings are inherited. Just like how you might inherit your father's hair or your mother's eye, the person who has the marking will pass it on to their children. And even more unsettling, the person who does the manipulating will pass that on to their offspring too. This level of power and control can go on for generations. So long in fact, that I'm sure there are families who don't even realize they are using or being control by a jitsu mark. This jitsu can live on for eternity. It's sad but I have seen people be driven to insanity because of these damned markings."

"So if the person who cast the marking dies, only their children can get rid of the mark."

"That is correct."

Kai watches Kakashi, noticing his face turn a sickly white.

"You ok, son?"

"I'm fine. Just thinking. Thanks." It doesn't help but it does answer some my questions.

"No worries. I'll leave you to it. I will say," he says before walking away, "she is in good hands if you're looking out for her."

Kakashi blinks at him. "I don't know what you mean."

He chuckles. "Please. The only thing that will keep a man away from his home after a days work is if they are trying to get away from their woman or trying to protect her." Kai gives a weak smile before he walks away.

He's right, thinks Kakashi as he leaves the library. Why am I so invested? I mean, I don't wish her no harm but I don't know Calista or her situation. Maybe she's fine or has things under control. Maybe she's just... passing through my life.

He arrives home and bangs the books on the table with a heavy thud.

Right. So why else did I carry all these books home?