This is basically a take on the old 'The Owl and The Three Jewels' folktale in the book 'Tales of Moonlight and Rain' by Akinari Ueda - (the tale of an old man and his son who stop in an old monestary for the night and are greeted by the spirits of several samurai and a nobleman - a beautiful tale), just so I don't get done for crazy plagiarism lol I guess this is a fanfic in a fanfic in a fanfic o.O lol, oh and the poem is lifted from the story too! There is something about the old Japanese folktales / ghost stories that really inspire me! Hope you all enjoy - this is going to be week 4: Ghosts/demons / AU/Crossover Yosh!

Triratna - The Three Jewels

Kakashi sighed silently to himself as he crouched on the edge of a rock a slimy rock, his body was tired, the fog was thick and already the night was long. The path that lead him into the mountains had already become so steep that he'd given up trying to walk hours ago, it was tricky trying to follow the disused and convoluted path through the poor visibility; Kakashi doubted he'd ever been so far north in Kaminari no kuni [Lightning Country] territory before, he had no idea the mountain ranges reached such high elevations. Still, he had to admit that the scenery was breathtaking and it was thoroughly refreshing to be alone in the wilderness again, the recent stability brought about after the Fourth War had meant that there was now so much too-ing and fro-ing of civilians between the major nations that he couldn't more than five steps before meeting another convoy in the forests of Fire.

He still had this peak and the next to climb before he reached his destination, perhaps another two or three days of travel, he supposed; looking back over his shoulder at the climb ahead he searched between the rocks and thin smattering of evergreen trees that peppered the peak, he couldn't see more than a couple of meters ahead of him, but the more he stared, the more convinced he became that some of the angles to the rocks did not look natural: much to straight and square to be anything other than constructed. Just as he tensed his legs ready to set off, the sudden chaos of birds' wings almost had him sending a kunai into the large, old pine nearby. A small, teal bird flew out of the branches, Kakashi watched as it seemed to tilt its head down to look at him from over its crimson beak before quickly disappeared back into the fog.

If he was starting to get spooked by the local wildlife, then he was definitely overdue for some rest, Kakashi thought to himself. He hopped upon the next rock and climbed up, searching for the house he thought he'd seen, but the more he climbed, the more he realised that the straight edges he'd seen were nothing more than illusions created by the layers of rocks nearer or further away from him. He pressed on, looking for a better resting spot, one that wasn't quite so steep or a rock that wasn't so overgrown with now damp moss; further and further he climbed until a building was exactly what he found.

It was crumbling, he realised quickly, although it still stood, much of the great, sweeping eves had caved in and almost all of the wall decals and architecture had been weathered away or crumbled completely. It must had been an old monastery, way back when the mountain was still a popular pilgrimage route, Kakashi guessed; he approached closer, finding a better foothold along the path at the front of the monastery, where it sat against a nearby rock face, almost immediately. The main door was still attached, though badly rotten in places, he pulled on the handle carefully, cautious of doing anymore damage than had already been done. Although not a religious man, he was cautious of creating any fresh damage which might leave clues he had been there and, well, the temple might be old, but it was no less disrespectful to damage it, whether he held a faith or not.

The wooden floors creaked uneasily at his footfalls as he pushed the door closed behind him, the room inside was bigger than it had looked and immediately to his left and right, Kakashi was flanked by two, large stone warrior statues; they too had been weathered so badly that it was hard to make out what they were in the poor light. He padded silently further into the room, finding that the temple extended into the rock face, he crept in, past the "skylight" of the fallen roof and down three steps well into the cave. The air was cooler, though smelt surprisingly fresh with a familiar undertone, as if someone had been here recently, burning a candle. There had been no one nearby and Kakashi could determine no human scent in the building whatever; he guessed it was just his tired mind playing tricks on him — what other smell would he most expect walking into a temple, even one so old as this? He explored further, finding an enormous buddha statue at the end of the cave as well as a small adjacent room, it was in tact and looked undisturbed, he found no evidence of animals or a draught and decided that it was the perfect place for a few hours sleep. He slipped off his pack and pulled out his bedroll on the far side of the small disused fire pit at its centre, as soon as he laid down flat, he was asleep.

Kakashi could feel himself almost become aware that he was asleep, but quickly decided that it couldn't be the case for how warm he felt… and the brightness against his eyelids. He remained in his semi-sleepy state for a few minutes, or maybe it was a few hours before a sudden snap brought him fully to his senses and his eye shot open. He bolted upright only to find himself staring at a fire that crackled and danced happily in the centre of the room,

"You're finally awake," Kakashi blinked at the familiar voice — he had to still be dreaming — but as he looked up, over the tips of the flames, the long, slivery hair unmistakable. "It must be a hard mission, Kakashi, for you to sleep so deeply," His voice quipped, lilting with poorly suppressed humour,

"F-father?" Kakashi rose slowly to his feet as he could barely believe his eyes, Sakumo smiled up at his son from where he sat on the opposite side of the fire,

"Don't you recognise me? Come and have a seat, Kakashi, I'd offer you some tea, but I'm afraid I travel rather light these days," Sakumo kept his signature smile on his face as his eyes returned to the fire, Kakashi walked slowly closer, before taking a seat a foot or two from his 'father',

"I don't understand… how are you here?"

"Well, it certainly has been a while since we last met in the afterlife, but surely you're not trying to stop me from checking up on my only child? Your mother was worried about you, down here all alone; but don't worry, you aren't dead - you just chose well in resting in such a holy place."

"M-mother?"

"Yes, she's well, she loves you,"

"Uh… I…" Kakashi could only blink, he must be insane, completely insane.

"I'm sorry for having been gone for so long, but I'm here now. Tell me about yourself, how have you been since we last met?"

"Fine, I guess,"

"Just 'fine'?" Sakumo pushed, "Still on mission after mission?"

"Pretty much,"

"No wife? Or girlfriend at least?"

"No,"

"Why not?" The question was phrased in all genuine curiosity, but Kakashi had no answer,

"I don't…. I just…"

"You do remember what I told you, back then, don't you?"

"Of course I do," Kakashi sighed, he'd listened and taken it seriously at first, his farther's warning about loneliness, but by the time he'd recovered from having died, the Fourth War broke out and he was too on edge for too long. Everyone else after the war seemed to quickly pair off and it all seemed like Kakashi was trying too hard to make himself in someone else's image. He'd been so lonely for so long, he'd almost stopped noticing how cold his apartment was whenever he got home, or how he always left the bar alone; almost. He still had a few of the other Jounin to keep him company for a few drinks, or Naruto and Sakura, who regularly tagged along with him; more often he found himself preferring some quiet conversation with Sakura over warm saké. He gravitated to her often, they too seeming to have the same reactions to the loss of those around them, where Naruto immediately reached out to create new bonds, Sakura was far more like himself, cautious of her wounds and uneasy with reaching out with quite such eagerness as she had done in the past. He felt the easy kinship with her, unpressured and humorous with their likemindedness; he had missed her company in the past several weeks he'd been away.

"Who are you thinking about?" Sakumo asked, Kakashi glanced up at him before darting his eyes quickly back to the fire,

"Just a… friend," The sudden call of a bird interrupted them, buppan…buppan.

"Oh!" Sakumo exclaimed, "A buppōsō, a very rare bird, I've heard they prefer the solitude of the mountains; as a young child I heard folktales of their nesting up here… what a blessing, Kakashi, they say this bring can help one find enlightenment and cleanse one of their sins, bringing good karma in the next life," Sakumo smiled more deeply before looking back at his bewildered son, a sly smile of understanding growing on his face,

"What?" Kakashi asked, "You heard something?"

"Listen carefully, Kakashi, maybe you can find the triratna, too,"

"The… what?" Sakumo almost rolled his eyes at his son's ignorance,

"I know we weren't exactly a religious family, Kakashi, but haven't you learned anything of the ways of the world?"

"The world? Don't you mean buddhism?"

"Same thing," This time Kakashi rolled his eyes,

"I have no time for religion,"

"This isn't about religion, Kakashi:

'In the forest sitting alone in my hut at dawn,

I hear the call of the Three Jewels in one bird.

The bird has a voice, I have a mind —

voice, mind, clouds, water, all perfectly enlightened.'" Sakumo recited with a strange reverence, just as the fire danced erratically, as if disturbed by some breeze unfelt by Kakashi, the light danced over Sakumo's face lengthening the lines and shadows, for a moment, revealing his age.

Kakashi drew breath to say something to his father, but the moment was lost as the sound of the door opened and closed and yet again, the fire was buffeted by a very real draft, this time; both men tensed at the sound of heavy footsteps approaching them on the timber. Kakashi leapt to his feet as a figured appeared around the doorway; she was dressed unusually - in the clothes of a male samurai of a bygone era - yet both in the present and female. Perhaps, Kakashi wondered, she was an actress? She even held a long katana at her side along with the shorter wakizishi, both firmly tucked into her obi. She wore no armour but was dressed in a simple, clean, grey kimono with a darker haori over the top, along with an archaic pair of waraji on her feet.

Kakashi didn't recognise her, but there was something gnawingly familiar in her pale hair and green eyes, in the shape of her face, the Copy Nin was sure that he knew her;

"It is rare to find anyone in the temple this late at night," She spoke, eyeing the two men carefully,

"I'm sorry if we're intruding, but it is late and we were weary, please join us," Sakumo spoke with his typical, gentle timbre; the young samurai offered a short smile and stepped into the room, taking a seat beside Sakumo, opposite Kakashi. She untied a small bag from her side and began to open it,

"I am here early to await my Master, but it would not do to leave those hungry whilst I have food, please, eat with me," Her language was formal, even archaic in her courtesy, but still something bothered Kakashi about her - and it wasn't the obvious things. She rose to her feet, momentarily to pick up a small, upturned chabudai in the corner that Kakashi had not noticed before, she set it down beside the fire and lifted her small bundle of food onto it, from which she withdrew a bottle of saké with cups and a large quantity of sushi, wrapped in waxed leaves; she poured out three cupfuls of saké before offering some fish for Sakumo, who happily accepted,

"This is delicious, how have you kept it so fresh?"

"A… friend of my mine used to enjoy fresh sushi, but I never managed to make him some that was to his taste. He is dead now, but I suppose that habit isn't,"

"I am sorry to hear that," Sakumo offered,

"Forgive me, I haven't introduced myself, I am Sakiko,"

"A beautiful name, I am Sakumo and this is my son, Kakashi," The elder Hatake introduced as Sakiko nodded warmly to them both,

"Would you like some saké and sushi?"

"Thank you, no. I will need to be leaving soon,"

"Don't be rude, Kakashi,"

"It's all right," Sakiko rejoined, "I don't blame you for not trusting the fish this far from the ocean. So tell me, what are you both doing on this mountain, so far from civilisation?"

"Ah, my son and I are travelling. Its rare for a meeting to be a place like this, who is your master?"

"She is well respected by trade, though not a samurai herself anymore, she has taken to politics in recent years and I fear that I have now become something of her run-about, since I lost my teacher. He was an honourable man, a skilled samurai and had been my friend for many years,"

"Can you not carry on the skill in his memory?"

"I do when the need arises, but there is little trouble on my routes these days, I haven't drawn blood for several months,"

"Aah, that can't be so bad, a samurai is one who makes his art out of murder, the murder of those who like to watch others bleed is the only punishment befitting a crime so heinous,"

"You are not wrong, Sakumo-san,"

"Was he killed in battle? Your friend?"

"No, he died up on this mountain, though he'd lived a long, hard era, I was very sad to loose him, there were many things I wished I could have told him," Sakiko took a strangely wistful look upon her face, though it was the look of regret that settles only on the face of one who has long accepted the past, their regret lying only in the memories. A look much to mature for her young face, Kakashi decided. Before any response could be given however, a voice from the doorway caught them all off-guard,

"Have you picked up stragglers again, Sakiko?"

"Shishou," The young samurai exclaimed before shifting swiftly onto her knees to bow low, "I did not hear you approach, please forgive me,"

"Its not a problem," The older woman dismissed and took her own seat in front of the fire, in the vacant fourth quadrant between Sakiko and Kakashi, "Introduce us, Sakiko,"

"Sakumo-san and Kakashi-san, this is my Shishou, Tsukane-sama." The Master was dressed in a very formal kimono, though it looked to be of the same era as the samuai's dress, with no detail of her costume out of place, right down to details on her tabi,

"Pleasant to meet you," Tsukane nodded, "It is interesting that you chose this night for refuge, Kakashi-san, what has been bothering you recently?"

Kakashi blinked in surprise, "Bothering me? Nothing,"

"Oh?"

"Hmm-hmm," Sakumo chuckled, "It will take more than that to get answers from my son, Tsukane-sama, he is a good deal more taciturn than he appears,"

"Well, then I shall not force the issue. Sakiko, please prepare me some fish and saké," The young samurai did as ordered and the room fell silent until after Tsukane had eaten one of the morsels of raw fish laid delicately on a small ball of rice, "You still make it to his tastes, rather than mine, but a fine effort, Sakiko. The memories of those we hold dear are in our senses and whatever it is that provokes those senses are to be treasured - you were talking about him earlier, weren't you? About Hojou-san?"

"Yes,"

"This is the time of year remember him; even as we should observe the flow of the Jewel River, the sushi is enough," Tsukane suggested, falling quiet as she sipped at the wine spirit,

"If I might ask, how did he die?"

"He was up on this mountain years previously, on a pilgrimage to determine if he could truly leave the way of the samurai when he stopped to drink of the cool river water, unbeknownst to him, it was poisoned," The same disconsolate expression settled itself onto Sakiko's face, "I regret that I had told him of my feelings in such a hurry that I had not the ability to explain them to him, or that he need not return them, but the fates can be cruel and the human heart more so," Kakashi guessed she must be referring to the river he had passed half a day previously on his climb up, he would have stopped to take some of the water, had his own supplies not still been full.

"Did he reject you?" Sakumo asked gently,

"No, but he offered no reciprocation either."

Kakashi's mind was suddenly drawn to Sakura for a reason he couldn't explain - at how often she seemed to be near him, how often she offered him little smiles and wry, mischievous glances whenever Naruto said something foolish or naive in his own good natured innocence. He'd never considered that there could be something hiding beneath those looks, or in how often she'd be sat next to him — though at a good enough distance that Kakashi never felt encroached upon, but he was well aware of her all the same. It was a strange comfort, maybe it was because he chose not to look any deeper into it, though he knew she wasn't dating anyone and didn't seem to spend much time out with anyone besides himself, Naruto or the Yamanaka.

Kakashi himself had, more than once, caught himself a little bit too aware of her presence and later found himself reluctant to say goodnight, or had silently rebuked himself for allowing his eyes to linger over the curve of her neck or on her hands as she played with her drink. Never once had he considered that the might be something in her that was waiting for him to make a move… or for him to offer a clearer signal that any broaching of the topic on her part would be met with encouragement and mutual feeling.

"Loneliness is a painful disease, Sakiko-san, but it is not confined to you alone; I hope you will be able to find your peace again," Sakumo's deep timbre drew Kakashi from his revere, though as he looked over to his father, hearing his same message with greater clarity, a sudden gust of wind whipped through the fire causing it to flicker wildly, crackling an odd sound, akin to a bird's cry, Kakashi was forced to blink in the blinding light and realised, suddenly, that he was alone. Still sat upright in front of the long dead fire pit, the air around him was cold and damp, with only dirt and mould was left there, signifying no such fire had been lit for many years at least. He clearly remembered lying down to sleep and as he looked over, his bedroll looked exactly as if he had just climbed out of it. Surely what he had experienced had not been a dream.

If one after-life experience had not been enough to shake him from his waking slumber, then surely two was asking too much. He quickly gathered up his things and hurried out of the monastery, finding the mountain exactly as dark and foggy as when he had entered, as if he had been inside no longer than five minutes, though it had certainly felt like hours. He looked around at the thick fog, aware of his duty to his mission, though he would certainly hurry through it - now it was so clear what unfinished business he still had to tend to, far away in Konoha.

He would not ignore it this time. He would not ignore her this time.

A/n - The 'Three Jewels' Sakumo speaks of are Buddha, dharma and saṅgha - i.e. the Buddha, his teachings, and the community of monks, nuns and laity (ordinary folk),

Glossary if you aren't quite sure:

katana - the long, curved sword traditionally depicted under the lay-term 'samurai sword'

wakizishi - a short sword worn with a katana

obi - the sash worn around the waist, over a kimono

hoari - a small 'over coat' worn over a kimono

waraji - old style, straw sandals traditionally worn by samurai

tabi - traditional split-toed socks

chabudai - a small short legged table, (think delicate coffee table lol)

Hojou - a synonym for 'field' (Hatake means 'dry field' fyi :3)