Mysterious Kunoichi (Part 1 of 2 in the MK Series)

The Idiot

*** Kakashi's POV ***

I sat back down and kept my eye on the fire. I could feel Rowan's analyzing glare on me. I felt shitty and he wasn't helping. I know what I did was hurtful, but it needed to be done.

"Your scent is all over her."

"She asked me to stay the night last night." I had no reason to lie to the wolf.

"So you're mates?"

I stiffened at the question, "No."

"Humans make no sense."

I glanced to the wolf to see he was sitting, gaze focused on the fire now. "How so?"

"I can smell the desire on both of you."

"Desire is a fleeting thing in humans."

"Not for Y/n."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm going to tell you some things you probably don't know about her. Things she'll never likely admit to anyone. Master Jirayia might be the only one who knows the true Y/n."

"Why are you telling me this then?"

"I'm trusting you to protect her."

"From?"

"Her enemies. And herself." I must have looked confused because he added, "You'll understand once I'm finished."

"Alright."

"Do you know that she's trained to the point of passing out many times?" I sat intently, "She's suffered chakra depletion before as well. Master Jirayia said she was unconscious for ten days once."

"Why would she do that?"

"She wants to be accepted. She wants to be needed. Desired, in more ways than one. She wants to be loved. She wants to fit in somewhere. Think about her life. Left at the gates of an unknown village at the age of 4. She was taken in by a couple who were killed defending the village and their child. Don't get me wrong, she holds no ill will towards Naruto, nor his parents, but imagine how that felt to her at age 6. Then she's thrust into another family who kept her away from the ninja academy. She didn't really get to socialize. She was never allowed to be around children her age. She doesn't understand why. I don't really know why either, mind you. Once they realized her potential, she was utilized as a weapon. Then she's sent out of the village. Yes, she received training from a Sannin, and she's a strong kunoichi, but at what cost? She's never had someone say the words 'I love you' to her. Minato wrote them in the scroll he left her. She reads that scroll, every year, on her birthday. She has such a pure heart that's shrouded in darkness that she put around it. She's selfless. I don't want to see her hurt again."

"How do you know all this?" His words had my heart aching. I wanted to scoop her up and hold her. I wanted to kiss all of her pain away.

"I was the one she held on to as she cried. I was the one she spoke to when no one else was there. I was the one who licked her wounds clean, inside and out. I was the one that made her get back up when she felt all hope was lost. She's a precious soul that needs someone gentle and strong at the same time. Someone who is patient. She puts on a mask of stone, but behind it, she's breaking and crumbling to pieces."

I had my elbows on my knees and hands folded under my chin. I sat looking at the fire. A Phoenix rises from the ashes. That's what she is to me. Someone stronger at the end of it all. She's stronger than me. She's amazing and doesn't even know it.

"She would hold onto your crest and smile to herself. If she was stressed, she would play with her necklace absentmindedly. The ring and the crest tinkling as she did. When she spoke about you, or if Master Jirayia talked about you, she would touch the crest. She missed you dearly, but wouldn't return to you. Not until she felt she deserved to."