Falling for you - Kakashi x OC FF
He was my anchor - until he disappeared without a word. Now he stands before me again, as if nothing ever happened. But the past isn't so easily forgotten... and neither is my heart. A fanfiction about Kakashi Hatake and Akari Yukimura (OC).
Chapter 2 - The Farewell to Darkness
Time passed faster than she had expected. For years, she had lived something of a double life. By day, she was Akari, occasionally spending time with Naruto and Shikamaru. Over the years, she had befriended several Shinobi in Konoha. But most of her time was still spent as Yuki, among the ranks of the ANBU.
One afternoon, she found herself standing before the Hokage’s office. She pressed her hands against her chest as if trying to steady her heartbeat. She knocked—Tenzo’s last words echoed in her mind.
"You should leave." "I’ve been watching you. It’s like the light that always burned inside you is fading day by day."
She understood immediately what he meant. Ever since Fukuro had left, the two had kept each other company more often. She made Tenzo laugh, and he watched over her. But he had noticed—every mission, every day spent in ANBU, she lost a little more of her light.
"Don’t let the light go out."
Akari knew she had to leave ANBU. But no one simply left. Not until Tsunade became Hokage…
Tsunade studied her for a long time.
"So, you want out."
Akari nodded.
"Why should I let you go?"
Akari swallowed. She gathered all her courage and suddenly spoke.
"Because if I stay, I will die."
Silence. It stretched on endlessly. Then Tsunade leaned back and exhaled slowly.
"Alright. You’re a Jonin now."
Akari blinked, unable to grasp what had just happened. This conversation had played out differently in her mind.
"That’s it?"
Tsunade grinned.
"Trust me, that was a HELL of a lot of paperwork."
She laughed and handed Akari her new uniform. For the first time in years, Akari pulled on a standard Konoha Jonin vest and took a deep breath. It felt as if a weight she had carried for years had finally lifted from her shoulders.
The first few weeks after leaving ANBU were filled with uncertainty. She had lived in darkness for so long, accustomed to being a faceless shadow. Now she was expected to return to normal village life? It felt surreal. She trained alone, took on occasional missions, mostly keeping to herself.
But over time, she began to find her place in this new life. She rediscovered old habits she had forgotten—the simple pleasure of drinking tea at sunrise, the warmth of the sun on her skin, the hum of the marketplace, the voices of the people. And then there were the conversations with Shikamaru and Naruto, small moments of light that reminded her she was more than just an ANBU.
Years passed. Naruto left the village to train with Jiraiya, and with him, another piece of her old life vanished. Akari threw herself into her duties as a Jonin, but the emptiness remained. Sometimes, when she ran across the rooftops of Konoha at night, she felt as though she had left everything behind—and yet, something was missing. She had left ANBU, but the shadows within her remained.
Three years passed. And then, one day, he was back.
The streets buzzed with life, filled with voices and laughter. Children ran past, merchants called out their wares. Akari had forgotten how loud it could be here. How alive.
A loud voice pulled her from her thoughts.
"AKARI!"
Before she could react, she was tackled by an energetic force.
"You’re back!"
Naruto.
His wide grin was the same, but he had grown. Stronger, more mature—yet still the same loud, reckless boy she knew.
Akari placed a hand on his head and lightly pushed him down.
"Did you even train, or was Jiraiya-sama just busy drinking?"
Naruto burst out laughing. "Both!"
He grabbed her wrist and pulled her along. "Come on, I have so much to tell you!"
Akari let it happen—until she suddenly noticed that Naruto wasn’t alone.
A tall, lean figure stood beside him, arms crossed. Silver hair, a headband covering his left eye, and a black mask hiding most of his face.
Akari froze.
The man lifted his gaze from his orange book and gave her a brief, uninterested look.
"Oh? And who are you?" he asked in a calm voice.
Something about him felt strangely familiar. But she couldn’t place it.
"That’s Akari!" Naruto said excitedly. "She’s one of the strongest kunoichi here! She used to buy me dango and taught me how to annoy people!"
Kakashi set his book aside.
"Oh? A useful skill."
Akari crossed her arms. "And you are?"
The man studied her for a moment, as if deciding whether her question was serious.
"Hatake Kakashi. Jonin. Team leader of these troublemakers."
She knew his name, but it meant nothing to her.
His voice… somehow, it did.
But she pushed the feeling away.
It was the first time she had seen him without a mask.
And she had no idea she already knew him.
Kakashi hadn’t paid much attention at first.
He had come because Naruto had dragged him here—and now the boy was chatting with a young woman he didn’t recognize. But as she spoke, as she moved…
Something about her made him pause.
It was just a small thing. The slight sharpness in her voice, the way she shifted her weight with her arms crossed. A déjà vu.
But he didn’t know her.
Kakashi had seen many faces, many people had come and gone in his life. Maybe she reminded him of someone from an old mission. He didn’t want to think about it further. But when she heard his name… her gaze lingered on him a second too long. As if she felt it too.
Something was familiar.
But why?
He pushed the thought aside. "Nice to meet you."
He didn’t expect that sentence to repeat in his mind over the next few weeks.
Tsunade had given Akari her next assignment: she was to accompany Naruto and Sakura on a training mission. It wouldn’t have been a problem—if Kakashi hadn’t been there too.
Every time she was near him, that strange feeling returned. It was as if she was stirring something buried deep inside her. But she ignored it, just as he did. Kakashi didn’t seem to pay her much attention—or at least he pretended not to. But she noticed how his gaze sometimes lingered on her just a moment too long.
A hesitation, barely noticeable.
And then there were the techniques.
During a sparring session, Kakashi let Naruto attack him. As she watched, she recognized a movement. A grip, a sidestep—an ANBU technique.
Her fingers tensed. Of course, he had been ANBU. Everyone knew that.
And yet… it felt strange to see it.
Kakashi tried to ignore the thought. But with every mission, every training session, it became harder to see Akari as just another Shinobi.
She moved like someone he knew.
She reacted to attacks like someone who had fought in the same battles as him.
She was too fast, too precise.
No normal Shinobi had that instinct.
No normal Shinobi had that look in their eyes.
A look that was so familiar he had thought he had buried it deep in his memory.
But that couldn’t be.
"Yuki is gone," he reminded himself. "Yuki doesn’t exist anymore."
And yet…
When she moved in battle, perfectly silent, precise—just like before…
One word slipped past his lips before he could stop it.
"…Yuki?"
Akari froze.
Her heart pounded. Slowly, she turned.
Kakashi stood there.
And in that moment, he knew.
She was Yuki.
Akari was Yuki.
The partner he had left behind.
And then she did something that hit him harder than anything.
She said nothing.
She simply turned—
And walked away.
As if he had never existed.
