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Rei’s feet ached as she crossed this vast expanse of land. It seemed as if the further she went, the longer the forest stretched out before her. She wondered if she ought to start walking backwards instead, so as to reverse the curse.
Clouds dark and heavy rolled in overhead, a sure sign that they were nearing their destination. The mission was simple: venture to Amegakure to present it’s leader, Hanzo of the Salamander, with a note requesting participation in the joint chunin exams. The journey itself wasn’t so terrifying as the prospect of entering Amegakure, however. The Hidden Rain village was known for strict immigration policies—no one goes in, and no one goes out. A shudder raced down Rei’s spine.
“Do you want to stop?” Kakashi asked over his shoulder. He was admittedly hesitant when Rei insisted on accompanying him. She was supposed to be taking it easy. She was supposed to be on maternity leave.
“No” Rei shook her head. “We should keep going. We’ll only waste more time.”
“There’s no point in pushing ourselves too far” Kakashi countered. His eyes darted to her small bump, barely visible beneath the thick padded plush of her jonin vest. She had already been so sick as of late, her morning sickness racking her body daily. He didn’t think he could live with himself if he had let her overwork herself. The first trimester was always so uncertain.
“There’s no point in laying around like bait” Rei countered. There was something about the climate of their current landscape, something about the implications of their mission, that left her panicked and paranoid. The whole purpose of these chunin exams in the first place was to attempt to lure the Akatsuki out of hiding. A place like this would be the perfect hiding spot, Rei surmised. Inclement weather, dystopian architecture, and a tight border control. No one goes in, and no one goes out.
Kakashi sighed and obliged by her wishes. He had to admit, while her dedication was admirable, her insistence sometimes worried him. If he had been partnered with anyone else, stopping every five minutes would no doubt frustrate him but when it came to Rei, he would rather be safe than sorry.
Rei scurried catch up to him, taking his hand in hers as another crack of lightning illuminated the sky. She wasn’t afraid of lightning, she told herself but her heart pounded faster in her chest regardless. “Are you sure you’re okay?” Kakashi asked, glancing down at her.
“I’m fine” Rei nodded. Furrowing her brows, there was a definitive hunger in her eyes. A determination to stick to the plans, to complete the mission against all odds. To prove that even in her current state, that she was still capable. She squeezed Kakashi’s hand lightly, chewed the inside of her cheek. “We can rest later.”
Kakashi nodded slowly. At least that was their saving grace: the plans he had made for a relaxing getaway, just the two of them. A little house in the rural parts of the Land of Fire, a place he remembered in hazy visions from his youth. It was just the respite they needed. Their weekend vacation couldn’t come fast enough. But he could not afford to get hung up on idyllic visions now. Rei was right: they had a job to do—they could rest later.
As they neared the gates to the village, foreboding and mechanical in nature, Rei paused and pressed a hand to her stomach. She sucked in a sharp breath through her nose, eyes shut.
“Rei? What’s wrong?” Kakashi asked, turning around to face her. The guards were just barely visible ahead through the haze of heavy rain.
Rei swatted at the air dismissively, shook her head. “It’s fine, I’m just…a little nauseous” she whispered.
Dammit. Kakashi knew they should have stopped earlier. He knew she was going to push herself too far. He glanced back toward the gates, pursed his lips. They were too close to stop now. The guards had surely already sensed their presence. To disappear and hide in the shadows now would only garner suspicion. “Can you make it into the village?” he asked.
“I can try” Rei whimpered, reaching for his hand again. Kakashi intertwined his fingers with hers, kissed her knuckles through his mask.
“Remember: calm. Professional. We’re on official Konoha business” he reminded her. Defeated, Rei gave a single nod and pulled her hand away. They could not reveal that they were engaged, involved, or that she was carrying the legendary Kakashi Hatake’s child.
Side by side, they approached the gates through the thick rain. Kakashi did all the talking, of course, more diplomatic than Rei could ever be. He was steadier, calmer. His temper did not flare when met with resistance. For that, Rei truly admired him.
The guard eyed the scroll in Kakashi’s hand quizzically. “I’ll take that” he said. Kakashi pulled his hand back.
“I was ordered to deliver this directly to Hanzo of the Salamander” Kakashi corrected.
“Is this your way of trying to get close to Lord Hanzo?” the guard asked, as his henchman pointed their spears in Kakashi and Rei’s faces. Rei recoiled, grimacing, as she ducked behind her fiancé.
“I’d be careful with those” Kakashi mused. “A threat to me is no different than a threat to both Konoha and Suna.”
The guards quickly backed down. “I’ll let them know” the leader said but as he spoke, his eyes then drifted to Rei. “But your reinforcements must remain outside.”
Kakashi gritted his teeth, expanding a defensive arm out in front of Rei. “Either we both enter, or neither of us do.”
“Kakashi, it’s really fine” Rei whispered. “I can stay here.”
“No” Kakashi snapped, glancing back at her over his shoulder. He refused to think of what may become of her left alone out here, both in terms of being attacked by an enemy and in terms of her health in this weather. Glaring down at the guard, he insisted, “She is of no real threat. She comes with me.”
The guard, still displeased, rolled his eyes and stepped aside. Kakashi jerked his head minutely, a signal for Rei to follow him. She did as she was told, but not without flashing a mocking smile to the guard. He grimaced at her and tightened his grip on his spear.
“That was close” Rei whispered once they were out of earshot.
“I know” Kakashi murmured back. “Just stick close to me. I won’t let them separate us.” Rei nodded and her fingers itched to interlock with Kakashi’s, but she forced herself to practice restraint. Calm. Professional. Official business. They could not let their personal feelings interfere with their mission.
Amegakure was a landscape of gray, the pavement constantly wet and the buildings intimidating as they loomed overhead. Rei followed Kakashi to a small building, much more welcoming and older in design, in the center of the village. The guard insisted they leave their weapons outside.
Rei grimaced as she began emptying her thigh holster of her kunai and dumping her back pouch onto a table. A myriad of shuriken, paper bombs, and other weapons spilled out. The guard cocked a brow in amusement. “For someone so small, you certainly carry quite a bit on you, huh?”
Rei smirked up at him, dropping one last shuriken into the pile with a metallic clang. “It never hurts to be prepared.”
Before the guard could take her comment as a threat, Kakashi took hold of Rei’s hand and pulled her into the building, feeding the men standing by an apologetic smile. “Keep your mouth shut” he insisted in dark whispers. “Say the wrong thing and we could have a war on our shoulders.”
Rei sighed and shook her head. “Sorry” she muttered under her breath, mildly irritated.
Another guard led them into a small, dark room where other shinobi were lying in wait. The room was surrounded by shoji. Kakashi invited Rei to sit beside him on one of the tatami mats and await their turn.
The door slid open. “Kakashi Hatake. It’s nice to see you again” Hanzo’s voice echoed from behind one of the screens. “Leave the message on that tray there, and my subordinate will bring it to me.”
Kakashi gave a single nod before doing as he was told. Meanwhile, Rei pursed her lips and eyed Hanzo’s hand curiously as he reached out from behind the screen and took the scroll.
“Don’t you think that’s a little suspicious?” Rei asked as they made their way out of the village. “I mean, shouldn’t he have made himself completely visible?”
“Maybe it’s just for protection” Kakashi mused. “Amegakure is very strict.”
“Yeah, I know, but still…” Rei said, glancing back at the building over her shoulder as it faded behind them.
“I know what you mean” Kakashi replied. “I have a strange feeling about this, too.” He nodded to the guards by the gate as they made their exit, letting the men pat them down to ensure that they were not leaving with anything that they did not enter with.
The captain of the guards then narrowed his eyes at Rei, her wrist in his grip, though not with any true malice, as he grumbled, “Don’t tell anyone what you saw here.” Rei blinked in confusion, searching his gaze for a hint of his true intent. His eyes then glanced down to her stomach and a smirk flickered across his lips. “By the way, congratulations.”
A shiver raced down Rei’s spine as she broke free of his grip, fed him an absent-minded nod, and rushed back to Kakashi’s side. He stuck close beside her, protective, until they disappeared into the woods once again.
“What the fuck was that about?!” Rei shouted once they were finally in the intimate coverage of the heavy trees. She leaned against a tree trunk in order to catch her breath, feeling for the first time as if she could finally safely breathe. Her hand found it’s way to her stomach, pressing hard against the small bump through her jonin vest. “Kakashi, I have a really bad feeling about this.”
Kakashi grimaced as he gazed back out in the direction of the village. “Something definitely feels suspicious about all of this” he murmured. Then, turning back to his fiancée, he fed her one of those trademark masked smiles and added, “But that’s not for us to worry about right now.” He cupped her cheek in his hand and pressed a masked kiss to Rei’s forehead, taking hold of her opposite hand in his. “We did what was asked of us. There’s nothing more for us to do. Let’s just get back home. Alright?”
Nodding despondently, Rei resolved to agree with him. As they made their way back to the Hidden Leaf, she did her best to bury her uncertainty deep down into the pit of her stomach. It was not her problem to worry about. And besides, she had far greater things to expend her energy on, anyway. She rested her free hand dutifully to her stomach and continued walking ahead.