Impossible to Forget

Chapter 9: Rings, Gloves, and Knockers

The old house was several miles from the main body of village in a small, civilian settlement that has grown next to but not a part of the Leaf. The grass in everyone's lawns was a painfully emerald green, so dense and thick that it seemed that all of the water and fertilizer in the world went into their front yards.

Kakashi looked around the suburban neighborhood skeptically, "I thought that Toukuro was a ninja."

"He was. His parents were ninjas too. His mother was a member of the Nara Clan, but his father came from a civilian family. His grandmother was extremely excited to have a ninja in the family and that's when I think that the strange picture hoarding started. Baaneko... she's one odd bird, that's for sure. However, I don't know how she feels about ninjas now. The last time that I saw her was at Toukuro's funeral, and she did not look happy, for obvious reasons. I just hope that she isn't holding some sort of grudge against me or the village."

The main road running down through the center of the small town began to narrow slightly, and the houses became slightly more spaced out until the dense neighborhood had dissolved into large homes with a fair amount of space between them. White picket-fences surrounded each property, and children could be heard screaming and playing and laughing from the backyards as they soaked up the summer warmth.

Sticking out like a sore thumb from all of the fences with their open lawns, was a thick hedgerow bordering a large property that was completely hidden by the lush bushes. It couldn't have been more different from the rest of the town if it had tried. The hedgerow was broken only by a wrought iron gate and through it you could see a dirt drive, curving into the main body of the property. The grass was over grown and filled with weeds, and the trees lining the path were gnarled and skeletal.

Kakashi's eyes appraised the black gate leading into the shadowy front lawn, "She lives here?"

"Yep. It looks even more overrun than the last time that I was here. But that makes sense since Toukuro used to come here on his days off to clean the place up and visit with his grandmother." I took a deep breath and pushed open the gate, which whined and squealed like a pig being tortured, and Kakashi and I winced as the noise put our teeth on edge.

"Well, the gate sounds like it hasn't been oiled in years," he scratched the back of his neck as we made our way in and shut the large, creaking gate behind us.

"You could say that again."

The air on the other side of the gate was a good ten degrees cooler and was damp, almost like rot hung in the air. Each breath smelled like mulch, and the sounds of the playing children were cut off by the thick hedge until it was almost painfully silent.

We followed the dirt lane on its short curve to the house. It was at least three stories tall, all dormer widows and Victorian architecture. The pale blue paint was coming off in large chips, and the previously white trim was grey with age. It was once a gorgeous house and property, but now it could only be described as a "fixer upper." The only sign of life in the whole building was a soft light coming from one of the windows near the front of the house on the bottom floor.

Kakashi leaned over to whisper in my ear, "Are you sure that she's not some sort of evil enchantress? I mean, just look at that place..."

I sighed and pushed him out of my personal space, "You've been spending too much time with Anzu lately. Baaneko's not even remotely magical unless crazy can be considered a type of magic, in which case she would definitely be some sort of witch."

Our feet kicked up pollen and dirt as we walked across the large porch. The palm of my hand came up dusty after it brushed over the newel post at the top of the three steps leading up to the covered porch. Taking a deep breath, I raised my left hand up to the brass knocker, but froze as soon as I looked at my ring finger.

Kakashi glanced over at me, frozen with my hand floating half way between my side and the door.

"Kaiyo, what's wrong?"

"My ring."

"Hm?"

"My ring. I no longer have my ring. What if she takes it as some sort of insult to Toukuro's memory, what if she thinks that-"

"Kaiyo," he cut me off by placing his hand on my shoulder. "First of all, it's nothing that you had any control over. Kanaye destroyed the rings; you didn't stop wearing it on purpose. I also have a spare set of gloves in my weapons pouch. If it bothers you that much, I can let you wear them. They'll be too big, but if you are that uncomfortable about not having the ring..." He reached behind his hip with his other hand and pulled out a pair of dark blue, fingerless gloves that were identical to the ones that he was wearing.

"Thank you," I whispered as I pulled them on. They were too big, but luckily I'm pretty tall so my hands are larger than the average woman's so I could make them work.

With new found confidence, I rapped the knocker twice, loudly, with my freshly gloved hand.

There were no sounds for about thirty seconds afterwards coming from inside.

Kakashi put his hands in his pockets, "I really hope that she isn't dead."

I swatted him in the chest, "Kakashi, you don't just say stuff like that."

He shrugged, "You were thinking it too. When do you think was the last time that someone came to check on her? And how old is she, almost ninety?"

Then I could hear the slow shuffling of feet over the floor inside.

"See, she's not dead."

"Or her corpse is being manipulated by some sort of strange sorcery," he smirked under that mask of his.

"For the love of the First, what is with you and witchcraft today?"

He brought his hand to his chin in deep contemplation before shrugging dramatically, "No idea."

We froze as we heard the locks being unlatched from the inside.

The door was in just as much need of oil as the gate, and it slowly creaked into the darkened interior of the house. A pair of slippered feet shuffled into the light streaming through the door, followed by a hunched over form in a dull, pink dressing gown. Her white hair was held in curlers on the top of her head, and her face was a myriad of lines and creases and age spots. It was the face of someone who must have been exceptionally gorgeous in their prime, but who had lived over eighty years and had the wear to prove it. There was an arch in her back that made her stand at barely five feet tall so Kakashi and I towered over her by eleven and eight inches respectively. Her bright blue eyes, strikingly similar to Toukuro's, looked between Kakashi and I.

"Kaiyo, it's been a while. I'm sorry that I'm still in my curlers; I wasn't expecting any company."

I gave a sheepish smile in return. I'm only about thirty-four, but I commonly feel much older than my age (probably a result of all of the death that I've seen). However, in front of Baaneko, I felt like a small child.

"Mrs. Nakahara, I'm sorry I didn't let you know beforehand, but you don't have a phone."

"What brings you here? I'm guessing that you aren't here for cookies, but instead knowing you, it's most likely work related."

Kakashi gave a weak laugh, "It seems that you know Kaiyo pretty well."

Her old eyes narrowed in on him, "And who's your friend here?"

"Oh, right. Sorry. Mrs. Nakahara, this is Kakashi Hatake, the Sixth Hokage. We are currently working on a case pertaining to a former Leaf Ninja, but all of her files are missing. We were hoping that you might have something here that could help us."

"My son and his wife and my grandson all died helping the village. Why should I help you now?"

My heart dropped to the pit of my stomach; this was exactly what I was afraid of happening.

"I-" I started lamely but then trailed off as I realized that I didn't know what to say to her. How do you explain away the grief of burying your own child and grandchild?

A/N: My last two tests were today! I'm done! I'm free! In celebration, I have three new chapters to post!!!! We're not going I talk about the first test... Hahaha ha... Yeah, I wasn't ready. The second test was unbearably easy, though, and that sort of makes up for the dreaded first one.