Chapter 29: a Month in Solidarity

Kakashi's POV:

I watched Elle run away into the forest. It was weird to see her trust someone she barely knew, but I guess she expected a different reaction. I can't leave her out there by herself with Orochimaru on the loose. I jumped from tree to tree, following her chakra. It took me a couple of minutes but I was finally able to see her. She was on top of a really tall tree, looking down sadly. Wasn't she scared of heights? What's she doing? I jumped up to the tree next to her. She didn't even turn to look at me. she sighed and spread a smile on her face, turning to me. "Hey Kakashi. Thank you for coming after me." did she know I was coming? "if I didn't feel your chakra, I don't know what I would've done." My eyes widened slightly, a frown forming on my face. "Were you going to jump?" my tone was blunt and harsh, hoping to god she wasn't. she shrugged slowly. "I don't know. I can't tell." I sighed deeply, looking away from her. "Why?" she sat down, looking up at the sky slowly. "Did you ever know you were doing something wrong, but every time you tried to fix it, you just couldn't?" what is she even talking about? she continued on not waiting for me to answer. "Since I came here, I realized something. The fault really isn't in the world but in me. I realized that I always felt alone, because I always carried my burdens alone. I realized that no matter where I am…I will always be a coward." Her expression was still the same. She was looking at the sky with empty eyes, the wind blowing in her short hair, except now, she had silent tears streaming down her face. My eyes hardened at the thought of what could've happened if I didn't come. So many questions rushed through my head. What if this happens again when I'm not around? Will I return one day and she won't be there? Sick of the questions in my head, I jumped down branch by branch grabbing her with me. she just moved along without any resistance. Once we were on the ground, she sat down and went back to looking up at nothing. I sighed and sat down next to her. "you're not a coward for not wanting to hurt those around you. You're a coward for not trusting them." she looked over at me with no expression on her face. "you're just too scared you'll end up alone again." she smiled slightly and then began laughing. Her laughs echoed through the empty forest. "oh Kakashi, I was always alone. No one ever knew me. not even you." I shook my head at her. "I know you. you don't need to know everything about a person to know them." she shook her at me violently, all hints of laughter leaving her face. instead there was a big scowl. "You don't know ANYTHING about me. I lied to you. I MANIPULATED YOU FOR GOD'S SAKE! I EVEN USED YOUR OWN WEAKNESS AGAINST YOU. You don't know anything." My eyes widened at her outburst. "Which part of it was a lie?" She just shook her head and looked down. " I hurt you. I hurt sakura. I hurt Sasuke. I hurt Shika. I hurt everyone." She looked so mad and disappointed at herself. "Elle, what part of it was a lie?" I asked again, my trust in the girl in front of me wavering. "the visions…the visions were a lie." My eyes widened even further. "then how did you know all of that? Are you a spy?" I tensed, not wanting to fight her. she shook her head slowly. "what does it matter? Even though I am not, I betrayed your trust." I relaxed slightly. "how did you know then?" she finally looked up at me. "I know because I saw it in my other world. I watched it over and over again. it was the only comfort in my life." Dammit, can't she just say something that makes sense for a change? "how did you watch it?" she looked away again. "it was all a story. A tale about a boy and his friends as they grow up and faced life." I sighed slowly and stayed quiet, trying to digest it all. It was insane, there's no other way to put it. I was snapped out of my thoughts by the sound of her scoffing. "This is exactly why I didn't tell anyone. The look in your eyes…you're questioning everything I ever did. She was right. I was. "you're questioning whether everything else was true." She got up slowly, a weird look in her eyes. "That's why I broke the adoption…because of that look. Goodbye Kakashi." Before I could get to her, a single flare of chakra could be felt then nothing. She was gone.

Elle's POV

That jutsu took way more chakra than I thought. I felt bad for leaving Kakashi there by himself, but I needed to be alone. I couldn't keep doing things the way I was doing them before. I felt like I no longer had a purpose. I was running away from Konoha in no particular direction. I needed to find my purpose in this world, not as a supporting character for Naruto's story, but as the main character in mine. I was done living for others, that only ended up driving them away. I was going to live for me.

With new resolve I headed over to my next destination: nowhere. I was going to spend the next month by myself. I kept moving until it was dark and I was tired. Too tired to keep running. I made my way to the ground and looked around for a place to sleep. I stumbled upon a small empty cave that was fairly close to a river. This will have to do. I gathered some leaves from the trees and laid them down in the cave, making a small bed for myself. Too drained to set up a fire, I just fell on the leaves and fell asleep.

I got up next morning by the feel of a familiar chakra. What the hell is Kakashi doing around here?! he was still a bit far but close enough for me to sense. He was heading straight towards me with his dogs! So much for a month of self-discovery. I quickly transformed into one of my friends from the other world, and used my own jutsu on myself. yes, I suppressed my own chakra. I headed to the nearby flowers and rubbed them all over me, hoping to hide my scent a bit. Before I knew it, I was jumped on by a huge dog. If my chakra wasn't suppressed, I would be releasing the hell out of it. I pushed the dog off of me and got up, looking over at the owner. "what the hell was that?! Hold you mutt, will you?!" he looked at me with an emotionless gaze, before revealing his Sharingan. He sighed at the sight of my different chakra. "are you sure it's her?" he spoke to his dog. "She smells kind of off but the scent is all over her." I cleared my throat and spoke again. "care to explain why you attacked me?" he sighed and spoke in his business cold voice. "did you see a girl with short brown hair and green eyes? She's about this tall." Oh shit! Umm think quick! "YOU KNOW THE BITCH THAT STOLE MY CLOTHES! WHERE IS SHE? I SWEAR TO GO I'LL CAVE HER HEAD IN." his eyes widened a bit. "you saw her?" I nodded quickly. "we had a meal together. This morning I went for a swim and didn't find my clothes instead I found hers!" I said pointing down at my usual outfit. He sighed and rubbed his temples. "where did she head off to?" I shrugged. "I don't know she was long gone by the time I noticed." He nodded at me slightly and jumped back into the trees with his dog. That was the most terrifying thing ever. I released the breath I was holding and headed off, walking on the ground instead of the trees. It's safer if I stay like this for the rest of the month. I also need to buy new clothes so that my scent won't be so obvious. A new perfume would be good too. With that, my month-long journey in hiding began.

During that month alone, I was able to get way more progress in my training than in my entire time in Konoha. My chakra control was almost perfect and I had managed to find my passion. I had been taking a couple of shifts every now and then at a small hospital in a nearby village for money. It was great medical ninjutsu practice, and I loved helping those in need. Living by myself, I was able to focus on my well-being and health. I had started eating again and my anxiety was way better than before. It truly was a peaceful time, but I knew deep down that I have to go back. I sent a clone every now and then to check on the village and once I was told the final exam is tomorrow, I knew my month in solidarity was over. I knew I had to go home.