H-hellooo… A million apologies for my absence and definite lack of writing. After my last update, life was pretty chaotic. I changed jobs and moved three times across Australia, still worried about my visa, and in the end, I moved back to the US (temporarily, or so I said 6 months ago, ugh).

I've been stuck for forever on this, even if I have a few things to work in later, but here at last- the longest I could give you for your endless patience. I've said it before, I'll say it again: I'm not abandoning this story, I want to see it through, but it might be on the back-burner as I direct this sudden "just write already!" energy to my new short story and ongoing novel.

Tl;dr: THANK YOU for waiting, I love your comments, and I very much appreciate each and every one of you! ^o^

Chapter 16: Training

"Goooood morning Sakura-chan!" Naruto waved excitedly as he came to a stop next to a giggling Sakura. "What are you laughing at?"

Too winded to respond through another fit of giggles, Sakura merely pointed to the training grounds. Maemi laid on the floor, obviously panting, while Kakashi looked down at her.

"What's going on? What's Kakashi-sensei doing with her?"

Sai dropped down from his perch on a nearby tree and closed his book before answering. "He's training her. Well. He's trying, in any case." A tiny smile crept on his face.

"Huh? Why would he wanna do that? She barely has any chakra!"

Sakura finally managed to get her laughter under control, and wiped tears from her eyes. "Tsunade-sama asked him to. You should've seen how it started..."

"Haah? What's Tsunade baa-chan thinking! He could be training me instead! What a waste of time."

Sai nodded. "Yes, truly a waste. But it provides quite the entertainment."

Naruto frowned at both of them before taking off, grumbling to himself about setting Tsunade's mind right.

"Perhaps we should leave them for the time being? Less of an audience might prove beneficial to the training."

Sakura nodded, the smile on her face everlasting. "It's not like she saw us… I mean, Kakashi-sensei definitely knows we're here, but she can't sense us like him, and I didn't mean to spy! I just- walked by, I never expected to stumble upon a show!"

Amused, they both left the training grounds behind and went to attend their duties for the day, each secretly glad they didn't have babysitting duty.

Kakashi sighed (again), and sat on the nearest rock. Maemi ignored him, just like she ignored the stinging feelings of disappointment, both her own and her shadow's, though his were slight when compared to hers. She slowed her breathing slightly, feeling the stitches in her side ease with time.

"That was- a terrible beginning."

"Yes. Yes it was."

Kakashi's nonchalant response stung even worse than the bitterness of failure. "Are you sure you even have a training plan?" She heard him sigh but forged ahead. "Cuz if you do, I don't think it's a good one. Lemme look at it, I can probably amend it to fit my abilities, which I know better than you..."

"No, for today continue the basics. We can revisit the plan tomorrow if necessary."

Maemi groaned and mumbled to herself. "Worst bootcamp instructor ever." Her body was all kinds of mad at her for doing so much in a single day, all in a row! Stretching, fine. Jogging? Ugh, maybe. But core exercises too? Too much! Yet Maemi knew the first few days were the worst, and once her body got used to this new regimen, her muscles would protest less each day.

"Ok, let's try again." Kakashi stood up, his book already packed away.

Still grumbling, Maemi reluctantly stood up. "That's not fair, you know the stitches in my side have just gone away, and you're gonna have me run again?"

"Well… yes."

"Ughh, stop with that smartass smile! I'll make you regret making me sweat this much." How, she didn't know, but she'd think of something. Preferably a few weeks down the road, once he'd forgotten all about it.

"You're certainly not sweating enough sitting here, let's go."

The day dragged on, increasingly sluggish as Maemi's walking began to resemble a turtle's. Her stupidly strict shadow finally relented and agreed they could go home, picking up food on the way back, before she let herself collapse on the floor as soon as the door closed.

Kakashi didn't comment and simply put the food on the table before seating himself. "Not hungry?" He glanced at the girl leaning against the wall barely two steps away. He could feel her exhaustion reverberating down through his body, as if his muscles had had enough. It was a strange sensation, not one he'd felt since he last trained with his Sharingan.

Maemi's grunt was answer enough, but she did manage to push herself on her feet just long enough to collapse back onto the chair. She ignored him completely and dug into her food, surfacing long enough to gulp down three glasses of water before focusing on the food again. Kakashi had, of course, already finished eating. Hearing her eat with such gusto was definitely proof that the training did affect her, even if her overall performance was appallingly poor.

The silence stretched on for a while, which proved a surprise to Kakashi, who didn't think she had it in her to keep quiet. But it did allow him ample time to refine her training regimen.

Maemi finally finished eating and, satisfied, sat back in her chair with a content sigh. "So."

"Hmm?"

"I did horrible, didn't I? I just can't stop thinking that you're constantly comparing me to your dogs. How they must've performed at least 50% better, only because 100 is too generous."

Kakashi chuckled. "I actually wasn't, but now that you mention it… They did."

"Pfff… I knew it!" Her grin remained. "Well, I did tell you not to have expectations. It's your fault for not listening."

"Yes, of course, how could I not." He nodded wisely, as if having learned from his mistake. At least she didn't hate him, that was a bonus. Maemi stood up to clear the table, but Kakashi, no doubt with his ninja reflexes, did it first. "Let's get you a shower, shall we?"

Maemi snorted. "What, even the dogs smelled better after training?" She followed him slowly to the room, then to the bathroom. "Wet dog smell, coming right up!" She giggled like a teenager. A delirious teenager high on sleep deprivation.

Kakashi merely sighed, directed her into the shower and went to settle himself in the corner to read his book. At least with this much downtime, he'd have no problem getting through the series! He might even have to find a new one, if he managed to finish it (what an exciting prospect!). He registered the water running and flipped the page, keeping an ear out just in case she slipped again. He didn't need another bruise.

A few minutes later, Maemi crawled out of the shower with semi-wrapped wet hair, wrestling her arm out of the T-shirt's arm hole. "Your turn," she mumbled sleepily, and went to sit in the corner. Kakashi hopped out of the way before she collapsed on him. He could almost hear her muscles moan with each movement, and could tell she would fall asleep right where she sat if he didn't hurry up.

He was right. He could've walked out naked and danced and she wouldn't have budged. "Come on, to bed with you." He tried to shake her awake but her mumble didn't make it past her lips. Typical... Resigned, he gently grabbed hold of her arms and eased her on her feet, which did absolutely nothing. No surprise flickered through his chest and the jolt he half expected didn't manifest. At least she wouldn't object to sleeping in the bed.

Not wanting to drag her like a corpse – though she certainly slept like one – he wrapped her left arm around his shoulder, holding on with his left hand, and held her up on his right side. Usually, people being held against a human crutch could assist in basic movements, but it's not like he had any difficulty in holding her up for a few steps.

"There we go," he told the sleeping face once he'd settled her under the covers. "Good grief, I'm talking to myself now."

The plushie rolled down from the top of the pillow and landed in the crook of her neck. Maemi turned her head and nestled the plushie as she settled in the pillow, utterly exhausted and undisturbed by his monologue. Kakashi settled in his makeshift bed on the floor and read for a little bit, but random thoughts kept interrupting and ruining his relaxation. Which theory would be better to test first, the distance, the wounds, or the feelings? … Are the wounds and feelings even separate? They probably started together…

He shook the sigh away. Assumptions were no good, he'd need an open mind to elucidate the many mysteries now weaved into his life, but each exploration would consume precious time… Resigned, he rolled on his side and waited for sleep's embrace.

⁂

"Again."

Maemi groaned and turned her head away from her hellish bootcamp instructor, relishing lying on the ground for once. "Five more minutes..."

"You've had 15. Again."

"UGH. You're the worst." Maemi glared at him as she got up, not even bothering to dust herself off. "It's been three whoooole days of training, surely you can afford a break." I know I can.

Kakashi didn't demur and blinked lazily at her, looking oh so comfortable lounging under their usual tree. "Yes, yes, I'm a terrible instructor, you've mentioned it a few times."

"Only every time you want me to do something else," quipped Maemi with a smirk.

Her shadow barely sighed, he'd nearly heard it all by now. A long three days indeed. "And has it, or has it not, yielded results?"

Maemi made a point to look the other way with a slight grimace before mumbling, "It might have."

"Right." Kakashi flipped a page from his book. His fourth book. At least someone was progressing quickly. "Well, you know the drill."

"Unfortunately." Maemi sighed and set about starting her fourth circuit of basic exercises. As much as she found exercising repetitive and boring, she did notice how much easier it was getting. Until her merciless instructor increased the number of reps. And I always said I'm not a gym person. Although technically, this wasn't the gym, maybe nature's gym, but she didn't have to exercise in front of buff strangers, or passersby probably judging her in a flash through a window.

She finished her push-ups and moved on to squats, at least glad he'd relented in starting her off with exercises she'd tried in the past. Just enough to build muscle before moving on to new undoubtedly ninja exercises. What does that even mean? Throwing darts? Summoning pets? Teleportation? Before long she moved on to lunges, which she always did with a hand on the trunk for balance, she wasn't quite steady on her feet yet.

But her least favorite part was definitely the running. Not only because, despite gaining another foot between them somehow, she still had to stay in his orbit, or him in hers (she couldn't decide who should be Earth in that scenario), but also because running was boring. Though perhaps not as boring if you were a ninja, running from enemy ninja with ninja weapons hot on your ass. The thought made her chuckle, but she sincerely hoped that would never, ever, happen to her.

By the time she'd finished the last of her lunges, the sun was setting. Kakashi, tired of reading by now, stood up at last. "One last jog before dinner?"

Maemi's head fell back in despair, as if imploring the sky to end this nightmare. "If we must..."

"Giving in so easily merely on your fourth day? We'll have to work on that."

"Ehh, you're kinda stubborn." Maemi shot him a playful glare. "Besides, I could use more mind numbing. Not like I've had enough all day."

Kakashi chuckled. "If you insist."

Usually, Maemi would stay behind Kakashi, mostly because he knew where he was going. But they'd run the same path at least twice a day for three days (now four), so she found herself jogging nearly side by side with her shadow. He had, of course, reduced his pace to a mere human's, and Maemi felt herself observing him from her peripheral vision.

Talking would be the best thing to do if she wanted another stitch in her side, so instead she drew herself inward, and 'searched her feelings' a la Star Wars. She pushed down her muscles' moaning and explored what she found to be a pit of overlapping emotions. In her gut. The expression 'a knot in your stomach' sprang to mind. How accurate. So she had a few major issues to contend with (new alien world without a way out and high chances of dying), she'd done alright so far… Aside from nearly dying. Twice.

The sun kept on setting, lengthening shadows all around them. Maemi felt her stomach clench slightly but tried to relax it immediately. Ninja village. Skilled ninja. Loads of medics. We're good. Or so she hoped. Her shadow kept up the pace next to her, his hair bouncing ridiculously with each step. How is his hair sometimes immune from gravity?

Nothing made sense. Well, except her lessons. As if it wasn't enough to stretch and pull her muscles all day long, her brain got its exercise by ingesting, then digesting, a substantial amount of new information. That part she didn't mind as much, and her shadow clearly knew that. Maybe she needed a better poker face?

Kakashi slowed as they neared the end of the trail. "Name the Five Great Shinobi Countries."

Stirred back to reality, Maemi shook her head as she caught her breath, noticing he'd barely broken a sweat. "Earth, Lightning, Water, Wind, Fire. Unsurprisingly named after the dominant chakra type in each country."

Kakashi nodded once. "And-"

"Each country has a hidden village," interrupted Maemi while beginning to stretch, "Iwagakure, Kumogakure, Kirigakure, Sunagakure, which I've already visited, and Konoha, the land I tread with each step. Predictably, this just so happens to be deemed the strongest and most influential country in all the land, with the most powerful shinobi village to boot." Maemi smirked at her shadow and finished stretching.

"Okay, then explain the daimyou." He'd have to up his quizzes, or dump more information at once so she'd slow down sometimes, or get confused at least once. Granted, she was only learning the basics of their world, but even students raised here didn't ace history like her. Though she's done her fair share of schooling... Despite being a mouthy, physically sluggish student, he did appreciate her wits and eagerness to learn. At this rate, he might not even have time to be bored.

Maemi picked up her backpack and chugged some water before answering. "Each country has a Feudal Lord, which sounds like a mix between a King and a President – I don't think you covered how they get there, whether handpicked from a political family, chosen by other politicians, or elected by the people-" She saw the look on her shadow's face and rolled her eyes playfully. "Anyway, they're in charge of all the important decisions – no but seriously, the more I hear about this, the more I'm concerned about what the hell actually happens on the global landscape-"

"Alright!" Kakashi had to interrupt, she'd been doing this since day one and her thoroughness could last longer than necessary. He motioned to head towards the gate, but didn't stop grilling her. "Fine, you've grasped the gist of our government affairs, as long as you also understand how the Kages interact-"

"-within the scope of the Feudal Lord's power? Way ahead of you. I guess Kages would be mayors, unless we're considering each village like a prefecture – but if that's the case, are there other non-shinobi villages in each country? I'm not sure I understand how the rest of the country's ruled if there's only one Lord and one Kage, that's one Prime Minister and one mayor? Shouldn't there be at least a governor in between somewhere?" Maemi started mumbling to herself, but followed him at a comfortable pace nonetheless, ignoring her body's exhaustion (she'd feel it in the shower).

Kakashi sighed, his head dropping in defeat. He managed to quiz her about the Three Shinobi World Wars on the walk home, taking a brief pause while picking up dinner (he was careful to rotate the restaurants on the days food wasn't delivered to them, lest he wanted to answer undesirable questions), but she didn't falter.

Just as they rounded the corner to Kakashi's apartment, Maemi turned a questioning look towards him. "Are you done, or have you been thinking of questions for the past ten minutes?"

Chuckling, Kakashi shook his head. "Fine. Bonus question: name the three emergency protocols." They walked up the stairs, each step accentuating the trembling in Maemi's legs.

She answered once they got through the door. "Trick question. For regular folk, they would consist of eliminating the enemy, evacuating the civilians to shelters, and going all out to kill the intruders. But since I'm not a regular folk, my emergency protocols are to blend in with the civilians – assuming that's possible, otherwise I'm not sure what disguise suits you best – and evacuate to one of the shelters, hide the plushie in whichever mystery spot I hope you'll show me soon, and leave the village for Sunagakure."

She slumped in the closest chair, took the bag of food from Kakashi's hands, and unpacked the boxes while he grabbed plates. "Not bad."

She stared at him, eyebrows lifting expectantly.

"Alright, alright," he added conciliatorily, "you pass. Better?" He half smiled at her as she generously loaded her plate with steaming food.

"It's not worse," she chuckled. She dug in without waiting, she could almost hear her muscles crying for some carbs and proteins to repair themselves. Sitting never felt so good, and Maemi wondered if that enjoyment didn't stem from the perception of having to 'earn' the right to sit down and relax. She finished her plate not long after her shadow's and fell back in her chair with a content sigh.

Kakashi felt the faint screams of protest from her muscles and distracted her by quizzing her on the Academy, Shinobi Rules, and the basic shinobi classes. Maemi nodded along, her brain slightly clouded by the (now) usual food coma following her substantial meals. Out of habit, she followed him to the bathroom after grabbing her sleepwear. They'd gained an extra foot again (yesterday? Two days ago?), and although Kakashi hadn't pondered the why aloud, Maemi could tell when his silence sank to dark depths.

She saw him sitting next to the shower, flipping through his book as usual, but he seemed distracted. She went to shower, as had become routine, noticing a growing humming interrupting her methodical checking of physical pain. Not only that, but the humming felt similar to the blurry buzzing she'd come to associate with her shadow. "Hey, so um-" she cleared her throat, "how long do I have to keep training?"

Kakashi blinked himself out of his stupor. The water was still running, and he'd apparently read five more pages without actually reading another word. It's like she knows. He smiled faintly and shook his head. Of course she knew, he'd known from the first night in the village she was perceptive – a skill he'd tried to measure up to on her but was slightly falling short. "Well. The Hokage wants you to train as a shinobi, which involves skills we're not even close to approaching, given your progress rate so far, I'd honestly say at least another six months." Just saying the words felt like dropping a stone in his stomach, a sensation he was sure Maemi perceived as clear as the water touching her skin.

"Six-" The words caught in the growing lump in her throat. She coughed once, turned off the water, and grabbed her towel. "Is there even a point? I mean, didn't Tsunade mention a Yama- something who could help?"

"There are several, different, outcomes associated with each component of your training. The physical aspect is one, mostly to build up your chakra tolerance, which is much too early to test. Knowing about the village and this world is both a necessity and a precaution, in the unlikely case we come under attack and we're no longer- paired."

Maemi stepped out of the shower in her shorts and T-shirt. "Right, I get that, having to blend in or whatever in that slim eventuality, but… when are we even going to breach my possible way homes?" Because there sure as hell better be a way home.

Kakashi scratched his head leisurely before standing up and facing her. "At the end of the week. Let's focus on your basics for now, your training shouldn't last as long the better you get, and you should have a solid foundation of our world in another three days." He smiled at that last part, knowing full well she already had a strong foundation, but he didn't want to deprive himself the pleasure of quizzing her.

"Fine, in four days then." She sighed softly and went to sit in the habitual corner while he stepped in the shower. "But it's not like we even know why we keep gaining space, we talk every day and it doesn't happen every day." She combed her hair, thinking back to the last instances they'd found themselves further apart.

"Well, I did have a thought…" He shut off the water and toweled himself dry.

"Do share," replied Maemi in her natural lightly sarcastic tone. Kakashi, now dressed, extended his hand by her face, and she gave him his comb back as she stood. "Are you gonna make me pester you? Cuz I will!" She smirked mischievously at his reflection in the sole mirror.

He answered by walking out the door, keeping her in suspense until they were seated on his bed, legs crossed. "I think, and it should be easy to test this, that the more personal the talks are, the better chance we have of soon being able to wait outside the bathroom."

Maemi blinked, trying not to laugh. "Sorry- are you still mad about the soap incident?"

Despite his apt poker face, for which his mask and headband gave him unfair advantage, she felt his reaction more than she heard his rebuttal.

"No, of course not, I thought yo-"

"I told you it was an accident, but I guess you do have an ego after all huh?" She could see a bit of his cheek flushing. "I'm sorry okay? I was tired, I am tired, and I didn't notice it slip to the bottom… If that happened to me, I'd probably have a broken arm, you have amazing reflexes!"

"That's not why I-!"

"Yes, yes, I know… We'll both be happier having a bathroom to ourselves," she interrupted again. "You were saying, personal talks?"

Sighing, Kakashi unclenched his jaw and continued. "Yes. The first time we gained some space was on the way to Konoha, do you remember?" The tightening of her stomach told him she did, in fact, remember the trip.

"Yeah, most of it." She looked away, gaze trailing anywhere but his face, as if he couldn't feel the residual fear from her introduction to the shinobi world. She stilled, and Kakashi could almost hear the light bulb going off. "Wait- you mean, on the bird? When I was homesick?"

He nodded and let her unravel the thread. He hadn't wanted to mention this, not because he'd grown accustomed to this strange way of life (though in a sense, he had), but because he didn't want to share details of his personal life. Only a few people knew, and he trusted them implicitly, but to allow a new person in his past…

Maemi didn't seem to mind, in fact, it made sense in a way. "Great, let's give it a shot then. Should I start, or do you feel particularly inclined to bare your soul to an almost stranger?" She gave him a rueful smile.

A pang of guilt shot through him. Damn accuracy. "You seem in a chipper mood, I'd hate to stop you."

She laughed heartily and grabbed her pillow, settling back against the wall. "Okay uh, not too sure where to start, you already know I'm from another world and my best friend is obsessed with manga-" she winced briefly, "sorry. I'll be 23 this year, only child of two pretty great parents. My mom's a professor, and my dad is an energy consultant, and since they were pretty much working all the time Tsuneko and I latched onto each other since we met in elementary school and we've been friendsters ever since." Maemi paused, smiling at surfacing memories.

"Friendsters?"

"Yeah, great friends, like sisters, of course we had to make a word for it." Maemi chuckled fondly. "Then… I don't know, went to school, shit happened, I got my degree in Global Studies and- now I'm here… stuck to you." She stuck her tongue out teasingly.

Kakashi snorted, amused. He could feel a trembling ball of angst in his stomach and for a moment couldn't discern whether it belonged to him or not. He cleared his throat and caressed his chin with his index, clearly buying time as he debated how little to share. "I was born September 15, weigh approximately 68kg and stand at 181cm. As you know-"

"Wait wait-" Maemi stared at him, mostly in disbelief but partly in surprised delight. "Are you serious? How the hell would sharing your height and weight at all impact our situation?"

"I'm sharing personal details." His face was quite deadpan.

"HAH. That's the funniest joke I've ever heard! You're literally sharing details, but they're NOT personal, they're what your doctor checks every year."

Kakashi blinked lazily. "Is there such a difference?"

"Um… yeaaa? Those are data points, they tell me nothing about you. Which is the whole point, I guess, but then you're not really helping me get away from you, so you're really not helping yourself." She crossed her arms and let her head fall back against the wall and sideways to stare at him with mighty judgment.

Her shadow sighed and closed his eyes. She felt shards of pain ebbing and flaring along with the faint hum she now recognized as his runaway thoughts – strong ones, if she could feel them. She softened her gaze, the shards iced over and melted only to come back in force, bigger and sharper. "I don't need details you know, a summary or an outline work just fine…"

She noticed the tiniest frown for a split second. What life he has, to hide such pain so expertly… More so because she actually felt his pain, and she didn't understand how he wasn't a blubbering mess of tears and snot, like she would be. "I remember the vague story you told me on that weird ass bird… I don't know if you know this yet, but I love stories." She smiled as childhood memories floated to mind.

Kakashi focused on the feeling that was Maemi, yet not entirely. It was part Maemi and part himself. His regrets and guilt still stabbed him, but the warmth emanating from her encompassed all of him, pain included, as she recalled her past softly, giving him time with his emotions. As she kept talking, the warmth grew around and within him, and he realized it wasn't foreign at all. He'd received compassion before, he'd just been quick to dismiss it, convincing himself he wasn't worth it. What had changed? How could he have detached himself from well-meaning friends because he didn't feel he was enough? How could a virtual stranger be able to reach him where he hadn't allowed himself to be for so long?

Maemi, not oblivious to the subtle variations in her shadow's emotions, kept talking, topping each inane childhood story with another, slightly more inane. Nostalgia crept up on her only to be replaced by homesickness again, so she stopped talking and focused instead on Kakashi, sitting stoically on the end of the bed. She noticed the shards of pain were ebbing gently, not receding but transforming. The stabs slowed in pace and intensity until they were pangs and throbs. Kakashi remained stoic, but she knew it was too impassive to be natural, he was still fighting something.

Before she knew it, Maemi wound her arms around him, tucking his shoulder under her chin. Softly, she said, "You don't need to keep hurting yourself. It's okay to let go, you're not a bad person for doing so."

Kakashi tensed at the hug, surprised. And yet, it was as if he'd been waiting for those words, waiting for permission… Slowly, he wrapped his arms around Maemi and hugged back the warmth, the promise of better days.

… Erm… Wow, that ending took ME by surprise, what! I also didn't think I'd spend so much time on the Naruto wiki, yet here we are… At least this should be mostly accurate!

Also, I've edited the previous chapters while rereading them (to get me back into it) and ended up adding a few details here and there to nix possible plot holes (and fixing a bit of grammar, I can't help it!).