Kakashi Hatake is known throughout the shinobi world for his visual prowess and devastating past. He's a loner, figuring it's easier to exist in solitude rather than form a bond that he knows can so easily be severed by tragedy. However, after a new...
Later that night, Mare found herself in one of Kazahana's guest bedrooms, staring blankly out the floor to ceiling windows as the snow fluttered down freely. She could see the magnetic lights of the aurora borealis in the distance, dancing over the glaciers. As beautiful as this place was, all she could think about was her brother.
Why had he come here? Was he running from something, from someone? Perhaps he wanted to learn the secrets of the Yuki clan?
Mare truly had no idea. She closed her eyes and sighed deeply, figuring there was no good answer to any of her questions. The only person who could answer them was Ezume himself.
She wasn't sure how long she slept before her dreams took a dark turn.
She was standing in a dark field with vast emptiness surrounding her. She walked slowly, unsure of where she was going or what she was doing in this place.
"Turn around," she heard a familiar voice say.
Her heart skipped a beat as she immediately recognized the voice as Hamako. She froze, her body unable to obey his order. Another voice she knew very well added their own harsh command, "Face us, Mare."
With shaking breath, she slowly turned. She felt sick as she looked upon the pair. They had the forms of Hamako and Jiro, but where their faces should be was a blank slate. Her chest heaved as the bodies began sinking into the dark ground. "You let us die." "We hate you." "How do you live with yourself?" "Fall on your sword, Mare."
The disembodied voices swirled around her, growing louder and crueler until they were deafening.
Silence suddenly fell upon the field. The grass swayed and then Jiro appeared directly in front of Mare, his face twisted in a garish fashion. His eyes bulged from their sockets and the veins in his neck protruded as he screamed in a choked voice, "You let me die! You let me die! Ezume left because you let me die! It's your fault! It's your fault!" "No!" Mare rasped through her dry throat. She stumbled back from Jiro, the rage emanating from him almost palpable. "I didn't mean to! I didn't mean to, Jiro! I didn't... I didn't..."
When she woke, a sharp gasp left her struggling to catch her breath. She looked around the room, her eyes wild. Whenever she realized it was only a dream, Mare calmed her breath. She robotically wiped the tears from her eyes and swallowed the knot in her throat.
The sun had not yet begun to break over the horizon, but she could see the gentle pinks and blues beginning to peek above the glacier fields. Sleep wasn't going to grace her again, so Mare grabbed the book Kakashi bought her and perched on the windowsill.
It seemed she couldn't make it past three sentences before her thoughts ran away from her. She struggled to keep her mind from wandering from her nightmare... to her brothers... to her childhood best friend... to her parents... and finally, to Kakashi Hatake, where they rested for far longer than she would have liked.
It didn't help that the book had conditioned her to think of him. Maybe that was his plan all along–to buy her a book so that every time she opened it, her mind would go to him. He did have ninken after all, maybe it was a trick he learned while training them.
She let herself linger on him for a moment, and then remembered that their last encounter was probably not flattering. After all, she had been piss drunk.
Still, she wondered what their interaction was like? Was Kakashi annoyed by her inebriation or did he think it was amusing? She wasn't sure which scenario made her more embarrassed. And the thought of being seen as a weak and drunk damsel in distress made Mare want to puke.
She was one of the fucking Seven Swordsman and a goddamn elite assassin to boot. She didn't have time to worry about this frivolous bullshit. She had bigger things to worry about. Namely Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki. This foolishness would get her killed.
She grew disgusted with herself for losing focus. This had to stop. She stormed out the door with the book in hand and marched down the hall, stopping at the fireplace in the great room. She threw the book into the flames, watching as the pages began to curl in on themselves, blackening until they dissipated into ash.
Mare stared at the flames until the book had disappeared.
This was the end of her infatuation with Kakashi Hatake.
She could no longer afford to be distracted.
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*taps mic* Is this thing on?
Heyyyyyyyy guys... long time, no see. Sorry for disappearing for--uhhhh--two whole years. Oops, my bad. Won't happen again. I'm finally feeling inspired to write once more!
Plus I started rewatching Naruto.
Alright, let's get back into it! Love y'all, mwah.
