eight, Distractions

TRAINING WITH KAKASHI, who now was a Genin, was much different from training before he had risen up in the social chain and become a Shinobi. The boy had grown harsher, his hits stronger and deeper. There were now no doubts to Izumi that he held back on her. All she could do was give it her all, to become stronger, to maybe one day, match his strength and become somewhat of an equal to him.

A kunai flew past her head, the sound of it cutting through the air rang in her ear.

"Don't daydream while fighting, Izumi." scolded Kakashi.

She huffed, panting from the fight. "I'm not daydreaming!" She was, but he didn't need to know that. "I was thinking."

"About what?"

"About how to beat you someday."

That seemed to spurn him on. The silver-haired boy pushed himself off of the ground, flinging himself at his friend with a kunai drawn, ready to clash against her own. Metal met metal and a sharp noise rushed through the air. The kunai Izumi had thrown to deter her opponent's successfully hit its target, making Kakashi's kunai fall to the ground alongside hers.

Izumi cheered at that, letting out a quiet "Yes." at her success.

Kakashi snorted drily at her action.

Izumi playfully glared at him in response, pointing a finger at him. "Stop laughing at me, Hatake!"

He smirked. "Stop acting ridiculous then."

She wagged her finger. "Aha! So you admit that I'm funny then?"

"I said ridiculous, not funny."

"You see, Kashi, same thing."

He sighed. "We aren't having this conversation again, Izumi."

"Never say never-"

In response, he threw a kunai, one he made sure not to hit the brunette, but rather to shut her up.

She glared at him. "Hey!"

"Mission accomplished."

"Rude." She threw a kunai at his feet in retribution.

Kakashi jumped back from the weapon, landing several meters away. "Watch it."

"Mission accomplished." Izumi mocked, giggling.

"Let's continue, Izumi. As a Shinobi you can't fool around all the time."

WITH 'LET'S CONTINUE', Kakashi apparently meant to tire her out further because Izumi began to feel as though at any moment she could drop to the floor and sleep there if it weren't for the throbbing pain in her left knee. She refrained from grimacing at the sensation.

"Giving up?"

"Never."

Their kunais clashed again, though this time, not mid-air. Izumi was now so close to Kakashi, so close that she could hear him pant, also exhausted from their weapon exchange. He pressed the blade of his kunai closer to hers, pushing the brunette back a little, but not enough to make her lose balance and fall over.

In reaction, Izumi kicked him in the shin, making the silver-haired boy jump back from her to evade further contact. His eyes were blown wider than usual in surprise, not having expected the action. While he was caught off guard, she threw a kunai in his direction, one he easily dodged.

The throbbing in her left knee got even worse, joined into a choir of pain by her right knee. They felt as though they were burning. Not now. Not now. Tears began to prick in her eyes but Izumi blinked them away, not wanting to risk being vulnerable. She promised herself, were the pain to become more incomprehensible to her, she would stop their spar.

A hiss rushed past Izumi's lips before she could stop herself, her hand going reflexively to position itself on her knee. She winced again as the pain began to increase instead of subsiding. The sensation distracted her, took away all her focus. She wanted their spar to end. Towards her rushed a kunai her sparring partner had thrown before the pain had visibly kicked in and her eyes widened at the sight of it. Her left knee felt as though it were on fire, she was unable to move out of the way.

"Izumi!" Kakashi had yelled out, but his cry fell on deaf ears. He rushed over to his friend, though already knew that he would not be fast enough.

"Mud Release: Mud Wall!" As fast as she knew she could, Izumi formed the hand-signs necessary for the jutsu. The kunai meanwhile came closer and the pain in her left leg intensified to an extent she had never experienced before. Between herself and the weapon, a wall of mud sprung up, with which the kunai collided before it fell to the ground.

Kakashi had arrived by her side, surprised by her sudden display of ninjutsu. Never had she mentioned knowing ninjutsu except for the Yamanaka clan's, especially not ninjutsu classified as kekkei genkai. He made sure to remember that fact to ask her about later.

"What was that?"

The girl kept quiet, refusing to even look at him. Kakashi scoffed, crossing his arms at that.

When she still had said nothing, hadn't explained what had occurred just now, he resigned. "We're done for today."

To that Izumi reacted, head snapping up to face Kakashi in an instant. "But-"

"No, 'but', Izumi." He rubbed at his eye with the palm of his hand, clearly irritated. "There is a reason why Rule 12 exists!"

"A shinobi must never show any weakness." They spoke simultaneously, though one more irritated and the other tiredly

"You aren't the only one who knows the rules, Kashi."

"If you know them, Izumi, then just follow them. You could have gotten hurt."

She frowned at his suggestion. "I was following them, I just got a bit distracted."

"Distracted? What could have distracted you?" He thought back to the way she clutched her knee, expression contorted into a pained one. He had observed this happening several times now, most often occurring with her left knee and found it to be curious, something he did not understand. He hoped she would tell him what was bothering her.

Izumi opened her mouth though no words came out. She closed it again and sighed, arms wrapping around herself as though to bring comfort. I can't tell him, she thought. One part of her was aware that at one point he would figure it out, he would know and then just as others had done, he would push her away. It was her weakness, one she could not lose by training enough, by working hard enough, by giving her best. Her weakness was a life-long issue, one she would carry as a burden until the day she took her last breath. It was a distraction. She couldn't tell him, she refused to.

"It's nothing, just leave it."

"It's not 'nothing'. That 'nothing' could get you killed one day." He took a deep breath. "I don't want that, I want my friends to be alright."

Kakashi was right, it could get her killed. I want my friends to be alright. He was worried. It could get her killed. It was the reason why her parents were reluctant about allowing her to attend the academy so young, why her mother was careful about teaching Izumi the possibilities of their kekkei genkai. Memories by memories were plagued by her weak spot, the one thing she couldn't control. Those who knew acted like it would bring her into her grave one day, be the cause of her death. She didn't want Kakashi to think the same thing, but now he did. That scared her.

"Don't act like I don't know!" Never before had she raised her voice like that in Kakashi's presence. Sweet Izumi, who always had a smile for everyone, the dedicated and gentle friend he knew her to be. Now she stood in front of him, chest heaving as she panted, a combination of both the training and the pain. She had yelled at him and that surprised him, left him speechless even. "I'm not weak, Kakashi!"

It had been a while since she had used his full name to address him, he noticed that immediately. Just as he noticed the way she began to curl into herself, building up a wall between the two that had never been there before.

"I never said you were," The words came out quieter than intended but he knew by the way her cerulean eyes snapped to his charcoal that she had heard him clearly. "I just said that you were distracted and that it could get you killed one day." And I don't want that, he added in his mind, not daring to speak the thought aloud.

"I know. I just-" Izumi didn't finish the sentence and instead fell silent, turning away a little from Kakashi. "Just leave it, please."

His brows furrowed, but he nodded. "Okay."

"Thank you." Her voice was now barely above a whisper, soft and gentle as he always knew it to be.

"Let's just go back, okay?" Kakashi was concerned about his friend, never having seen her so disgruntled before. He was aware that she had a tough outer shell, and somehow he had broken through it without intending to. Something was obviously wrong and she wouldn't tell him. That hurt.

"Okay."

Kakashi held out his hand for Izumi to take and she reached out her own to accept the offer. Once he had got a good grip, he pulled her upwards from her position kneeling on the floor, only to pull the girl directly into him.

They jumped apart from one another, faces red. Izumi's knees buckled slightly at the sudden motion, though she managed to stabilise herself.

"Our parents might be wondering where we are, anyway." Izumi looked past the boy, avoiding looking at his face.

Kakashi coughed to break the tension. "Father might want to go home soon."

She felt disappointment bubbling up. "You can always stay over, Kashi. Only if you want, of course. The offer stands."

Kakashi nodded, not rejecting the offer. His charcoal gaze wandered to her left knee which was bent at an angle. Concern overtook his features. "Can you make it to the house?"

Izumi gave him a tense smile. "Yeah, I think so."

The silver-haired boy watched his friend closely. "If you say so." Until they had made it to the Yamanaka house he knew he wouldn't let her out of his sight. She wouldn't get hurt again, not today.

After a few minutes of slow walking, an eggshell-white house was in sight. On the windowsills, various types of flowers grew, roses, chrysanthemums, and more all blossomed into beautiful colors. In the small garden in the front the same could be seen, garden flowers blooming, greeting the guests. One of the windows was opened, allowing the quiet stream of voices to escape from the inside to the outside. It was also how the adults inside knew that their children had returned before they even rang the doorbell.

The door opened to reveal Yamanaka Miho smiling gently at the two children. Her blonde hair was pulled into a bun now, giving her a sharper appearance. Said appearance helped her convey the stern look she immediately took on when she made eye contact with her daughter. Izumi leaned slightly against Kakashi, who stabilized her, right knee still bent oddly.

Miho sighed. "Izumi, what did we discuss beforehand?"

"If it is too much, I should resign." mumbled Izumi.

"And what did you do?"

She avoided direct eye contact with her mother. "Not resign."

The interaction left Kakashi even more confused and also slightly irritated. He didn't know what the mother-daughter duo was discussing, what they had agreed upon, but to him, it was obvious that the incident could have been avoided. Instead, Izumi had defied her mother's orders for reasons unknown to him, leaving him to worry about his friend.

"In, now. Izumi, no discussion."

"Alright," As Izumi walked past her mother, her head hung low, ashamed. "Thank you for training with me today, Kashi. I'm sorry for inconveniencing you." She had turned to look at him and gave him a weak smile before her mother ushered her further inside.

"Don't fill that lovely head of yours with worries, okay, hun?" Miho sighed, she turned to look at the boy apologetically. "I'm sorry, she can be very stubborn sometimes."

"Is Izumi okay?" asked Kakashi hesitantly, attempting to take a look around the woman, so he could check on his friend.

Miho's answer came delayed. "She's fine." The blonde sighed again. "When she's ready to tell you, she will. Just, it takes time, y'know?"

"I understand." If he said he wasn't curious to know, Kakashi would be lying. At the same time, he knew not to push the topic.

"Sakumo."

Behind Miho now stood Kakashi's father, giving the woman and his son a smile. "Kakashi, I think it is best if we leave them be now."

Miho waved her hands frantically in dismissal. "You can stay a little longer, both of you, don't think that I'm kicking either of you out."

"Thank you for the dinner, Miho. It was very delicious, I appreciate it," Sakumo moved past the blonde Yamanaka, coming to stand beside his son. "But I think we are overstaying our welcome now."

"You can never overstay, you are always welcome here."

Sakumo nodded. "We better get going now. Thank you again."

"Of course, come by another time."

The older Hatake turned away, making his way down the front porch to move towards the wooden fence of the family home. Kakashi meanwhile hesitated, staying behind for a moment longer.

"Tell Izumi from me that I hope she feels better soon."

"I will, don't worry, Kakashi." Miho gave him a motherly smile, patting his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him.

The worry he felt was obvious on his features, face contorted into an expression of concern. Still, he nodded at the woman before turning away to join his father. Distractions were dangerous, and so he had always known, but the experience only solidified his belief.