Keiko, is a Inu-Yokai that was taken in by the Village of the Hidden Leaf before they knew what she truly was. She traveled between worlds to find her place and find love only to find that there were others in this world who were alone among their k...
Keiko woke up in the hospital at the Village Hidden in the Leaf for what seemed like an eternity later. Sakura was there by the bed. Naruto sat in the corner, pulling at his hair in boredom.
"Keiko," Sakura breathed a sigh of relief.
"Nee-san! You're ok. I mean of course you are. You kicked Itachi's ass!" Naruto said.
"I had help," she grimaced.
"Sasuke?" Sakura asked.
Keiko nodded, "And Gaara. Sasuke is ok," she said seeing the look on Sakura's face. "He wouldn't come back with us, but he's alright. And Orochimaru is no longer a threat for the moment. Itachi had a hand in sealing him away for now."
Gaara came in to check on her and relief crossed his face when he saw she was awake. Sakura tugged Naruto through the door to give them some privacy.
"About earlier..." She began.
"Keiko, I thought I already made my feelings on that subject clear. I'm just sorry you had to go through that again," he said.
"How did you know?"
"Because I saw the same look in your eyes when you thought you lost me," he replied. He sat down next to her and took her hand. "I missed you."
She smiled at him softly and he returned it. "It's good to see you smile. All that sand cracked away after all."
"Well, you make me smile and I make you cry, so I guess we're even," he joked.
"Gyah, stop, it hurts to laugh." She giggled. "I guess I'm going to have to come to accept that this is part of being human....feeling things. Sometimes it's clouded my judgement. I need to learn to balance it better, but I don't think it's all bad. Having something I want to protect, makes life worth living."
He kissed her deeply and stroked her hair. She ran her hands over his torso. "There will be plenty of time for that when you recover," he said grasping both of her hands in his.
Keiko pouted.
"Don't give me that look. I'm not going to be party to making your injuries worse. I think the Hokage might come down here and destroy what peace we've managed by beating me senseless. We have the rest of--"
"Don't you do it. You jinxed us last time you said that," she teased. "The rest of the Akatsuki are still out there, and I don't believe Orochimaru is truly gone."
They heard a commotion out in the hall. Naruto was yelling something at someone. One of the healers was trying to calm him down. The door slid open and Keiko heard, "sensei, no!"
Keiko was dead. She knew it now. She died facing Itachi. Kakashi stepped through the doorway and her vision swam. She wasn't sure if it was from tears or she was about to pass out. Kakashi looked from Gaara to Keiko, still in his arms.
"Well, I guess I have a lot of explaining to do," he said awkwardly.
Keiko shifted and Gaara sensed danger boiling up in her. He gripped her tight before she could leap from the bed. "Let me go, if he's not dead, I'm going to kill him," she growled.
Kakashi slid the door closed behind him and pulled up a chair. "I just got back, so I really haven't been filled in on everything. I was looking for Tsunade-sama and was told she was here, but I ran into Sakura and Naruto in the hall. I overheard them talking about you," he said still shifting a glance between Keiko and Gaara.
"A lot has happened...since you've been gone," Gaara said quietly.
"Naruto saw you die. We held a memorial for you. Over a year it's been!" she shouted.
"I am so sorry. I was hurt so badly...someone from a nearby village found me and their healers had some special medical jutsu I have never seen before. I've been in a coma for some time," he said. "As soon as I woke up and was strong enough to leave, I came back" he finished lamely.
A healer opened the door, "I'm so sorry, but she needs rest. I can't have her getting so upset. I'm going to have to ask the visitors to leave." She stepped up and injected Keiko with sedative and laid her back gently.
Gaara and Kakashi stepped out into the hall. "We were married you know," Gaara said, "several months after we thought you died. The council still wanted it and I think part of her was running away from here, but part of her wanted to do her duty to the villages. I never forced her; she wanted to stay with me."
"Do you love her?" Kakashi asked quietly.
"More than my own life," Gaara replied.
Gaara filled him in on what had been missed while he was away.
Kakashi nodded. "All I want is that she is taken care of. I copied a new jutsu watching the shinobi of the village that looked after me...it modifies short term memory. If you have no objections, I can make her forget she saw me. She's been through enough."
"Mhm," Gaara nodded, closing his eyes.
Making sure the healer was gone, Kakashi slid back into the room. Keiko was awake, but groggy. "You never came back to me," she slurred. Kakashi's heart caught in his chest as he reached for her hand.
"I'm so sorry my love. I wanted to." He touched her cheek with his other hand before sliding his fingers up to her temples. His chakra glowed white across her forehead for a moment and she passed out. He held her for several minutes before laying her back down and leaving the room.
"Take care of her," he said to Gaara before walking away without a sideways glance.
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