Naruto Shippuden: The Legend Of White-Wolf Shadow [Naruto Shippuden FanFiction]

Act 18: Promises Between Us

"Huh! The village is in this condition, yet I have to look for a lost girl?" Kakashi complained to himself, as he walked down one of the village's path that got blocked with debris; a result of the Kyuubi Attack last night. All night long, he was protecting and evacuating the villagers with Guy and other shinobis.

"Hm?" He looked up at The Great Stone Faces, and saw a girl, dancing on top of the Fourth Hokage's head. "What is she doing up there?!" Quickly, he ran up against the earth wall, up towards the girl's location. The first thing that came into his mind as he got onto the carved head, was to scold the girl, but then stopped as he watched the girl.

She was dancing softly and elegantly with her eyes closed, as if she wanted to release something.

"Hey you!" Kakashi called, making the girl to turn around. Surprised of his sudden appearance, she tripped her own foot, and almost fell off the rock, when Kakashi grabbed her arms in time. "Watch out!" Slowly, he pulled her up to the flat surface of the rock safely, and stared at her as he stood himself up. "Yellow hair, bloody blue kimono-like blouse, bandaged left foot. Then you must be Hishouka Mirai."

The girl slowly looked up at Kakashi, expressionless. She hesitately stood up and turned her back to him, looking out to the wrecked village. The moment was silence, accompanied by the sound of rustling trees.

"Did you lost someone last night in the attack?" Kakashi broke up the silence, as he approached her and put his hand on her shoulder. Hearing no answers from her, he pulled her shoulder, turning her around, facing him.

She bowed her head down low enough, letting her hair to hide her face. Kakashi cupped her face, and pulled it up, facing him. Tears were rolling down her cheeks, without expression reflected on her face. Furrowing his brows, he became more confused with her. Her tears kept flowing down her expressionless face, despite she kept wiping it.

"You must be so sad. Sandaime ordered me to look for you. Now that I've found you, let's go," Kakashi soothingly said, before he put his arm behind her shoulders. As they started to walk, the girl almost lost her balance on her left foot. "Hm. You're good at holding in the pain... until now." Suddenly, he brought her up in bridal style.

"Now you have an expression on your face," Kakashi said, as her face showed him a surprised expression. She looked away as he continued to walk. "You're never alone. And you'll never be. I've been alone before. But as I looked around, I have my friends."

"I will have. If I'm just a normal girl," she finally said, even though it was like a soft whisper. Stopping his steps, Kakashi was shocked with her sudden talk. He silently looked at her, who was crying into her clenched fists. "If only I'm a normal girl..."

"What do you mean?" The only answer he got was just a headshake, as she wiped away her tears. He waited for her to stop crying, before he started to talk. "Hold me tight, we're going down and meet Sandaime."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"It's going to take some time to rebuild the village," Hiruzen said, as he stopped at the front of the wrecked Hokage's mansion. He looked up, just in time when Kakashi appeared with the girl in his arms.

"Sandaime," Kakashi said, as he reached the ground next to Hiruzen. "She's the girl, right?" he asked, as he set the girl's feet on the ground. Hiruzen walked towards her, and put his hands on her shoulder.

"Yondaime told me that you're ten?" Hiruzen asked, which then the girl nodded, giving Kakashi a surprise. "Looks can deceive. I bet Shiruma-san had take a good care of you. At ten, you almost reached his height," he continued, and pointed out his finger to Kakashi. "He's... 3 or 4 years older than you."

"Sandaime..." Kakashi said, staring at Hiruzen with his one eye. Hiruzen smiled, before he turned around, gazing up towards the Stone Faces. "Sorry for asking, but... who is she?" There was a moment of silence, before Hiruzen started.

"She helped Yondaime in sealing the Kyuubi last night." Her head went down lowly, as Hiruzen walked back towards her. "She's the last Senkou."

"You mean, the legendary Gochakura of Senkou?"

"Hm. She was in the barrier made by Yondaime during the sealing ritual. She was hiding behind a tree, but then she came out as Yondaime became weaker as he started the sealing."

"She... did?"

"Senkou clan has the ability in performing sealings too, just like Uzumaki clan. She's a brave girl, to come out like that and helped the sealing became faster." Hiruzen patted the girl's shoulder, making her to look up at him. "I've told Shiruma that you're going home today. I'll make sure Kakashi protect you on your way home."

"Eh?! But... Sandaime! The village-"

"Anyone can be after her, Kakashi! Remember, she's the last Senkou, and if she falls into the hands of someone with bad intentions, her powers may have been misuse," Hiruzen explained, as he turned to Kakashi, who was clenching his fist. "This is Yondaime's last order for you." The mention of the Fourth made Kakashi shocked, unclenching his fist. "So..."

"I understood... Sandaime," Kakashi firmly said, as Hiruzen gave him a smile. "Where will I go with her?"

"To Suna. Just make sure she's safe all the way to the Suna gate. Shiruma-san will wait for her there," Hiruzen told him the details. "Mirai, with your foot like that, is it possible for you to come home today?" he asked, but she just nodded once, silently. "Remember about what I've told you before." Once again, she nodded silently, before turning around and started to walk towards the main gate.

"I'll come back soon." With that, both Kakashi and the girl walked towards the gate, leaving Hiruzen behind. He watched the two making their way over the debris, ruins, rubbles and others from the attack. As he thought he saw them looked like dots of yellow and grey, he sighed.

"Minato... I still don't get it why did you want her to come home in a day? It's impossible for her. It takes a day or two to get to Suna. Hm... I wonder if she understand it."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Let's make it quick. I need to come back here as soon as possible," Kakashi coldly said, as the gate came into their sight. The girl kept quiet again, irritating Kakashi. "Oi, you've lost your voice again?" The girl flinched in fear, still walking beside him. "You're a Gochakura, can't you defend yourself?"

"I'm not trained well," she softly whispered, feeling embarassed. Kakashi crossed his arms, as they arrived at the gate. As he continued to walk, he didn't realize that she had stopped until she softly called out. "W-Wait..."

"Huh... What am I stuck with?" Kakashi mumbled to himself. "What is it-" Before he could even turn around, the girl approached him and faced him.

"Promise me that one day you'll never grow taller than me! Promise me that one day we'll meet again! Promise me that one day you'll train me!" Suddenly she blurted out, deeply blushing. Kakashi was shocked, his eye widened, and he totally froze on the spot.

"Mi-Mirai?"

Slowly she stepped backward a bit, placing her clasped fists on her chest, still deeply blushing. "Promise me that one day you'll protect me. Promise me that one day you'll remember me. Promise me..." she paused, as she grabbed his arm. "That one day you'll make me your friend."

Kakashi stared at her, still shocked with her sudden action. Both of them became silent, accompanied by the whistling sound of the wind. "Huh, alright."

"Arigatou. But..." Slowly she placed her hand on top of Kakashi's head, before he felt a disturbance in his head. He almost fell to the ground, but he was caught by the girl. He felt as if the world was spinning. Before his eye fully closed, he took a glance at her. "I'm sorry."