As the lights flashed she took the stage. The music began - the first few bars starting slowly, building gently to the correct tempo. She felt the music in her bones, her heart matching the beats of the tune now surrounding the venue, her muscles twitching ready to begin. Taking a deep breath she stepped forward and felt the heat from the crowd, the smell of stale alcohol in the air, felt their eyes on her, and exhaling she takes hold of the pole and swings into her routine.

...

The room is dark bar the one the dim lamp in the corner, the light not even reaching the corner they're all huddled in. Looking around he could see the usually immaculate house had fallen to chaos, but given the circumstances it was understandable. Bringing his gaze back to his hosts he tried to reason with them. "I don't know what you're expecting me to achieve? This is an entirely new situation. at least with Sasuke we knew where he went..."
The couple opposite slowly looked at each other, then back at him in unison.
"We've tried everything. No-one can find her, and everyone else has given up. She always listened to you and we know you've got the ability. Shino and Kiba both say they can't track her. We'll do whatever it takes we just need her back. Please." Her voice was controlled and even, but he could tell it was masking he fact she could crack at any moment. The dim light highlighted the lines on her face where she'd obviously not been sleeping, the worry of not knowing where her daughter was keeping her up. "They could only follow her so far, I know you can find her."
He lowered his head for a few moments before raising it sharply again.'hmm. Ok, but I can't promise anything, I can only try my best...' He took hold of the fragile mothers' hand 'but I will do my best. And normally I get a pretty good result.' She could see he was smiling beneath the covering over his face, and the glint in his one visible eye made her feel suddenly at ease.

...

The lights coming on at the end of the night awarded her with the chance to breathe. Looking in her mirror she hardly recognised the person staring back at her. She'd gone from the shy, quiet girl in the corner to the brash alter ego who dances on stage in front of 50 strangers. It felt odd that just the one act of defiance can change everything about you. Breaking away from her parents, the village, her past made her feel like a new person. No-one knew her here - apart from the one or two she had chosen to keep in contact with - she was able to be who she wanted, create her past as she wished and take control of her future as SHE wanted.

She looked at her scant outfit - just a black bra and panties with stockings tonight. After all it's a classic for a reason. Her dark hair and big, crystal eyes made her stand out from all the factory issue blondes that dominated the venue and she'd build up a solid client base because of this. The wad of money sticking out of her purse made her feel better - that and the luxury apartment and lavish lifestyle. There had been a few men in her life since leaving the village but no-one steady, some only lasting the night. She smirked to herself as memories came flooding back of the guys in he village and how different the ones out here were. Being trapped away from civilisation they all seemed to remain so childlike - Naruto, Kiba - her heart felt heavy as she thought of them, wondering if they still thought of her... She shook her head to help clear the fog of emotion. No this was definitely the right direction. She was fed up of being treated like she had her whole life mapped out for her, not getting to choose who she would be with as she had to uphold the family name... Oh if they could see her now. She stood up and put her everyday clothes on, said bye to the door staff and walked into the cool night air. The breeze whipped up her hair and she pulled the collar of her coat in tight.

This was where she belonged now.

"You know if you leave you'll be a deserter. You can never come back, just think about it before you leave. Just a few days to think it over?" She was standing at the gate with a small bag over her shoulder. Kiba had sensed something was wrong so him and Akamaru followed and found her about to leave. She was staring at the floor, her entire body begging her to go back but her heart knew she needed to leave, needed to be away from him. Still staring at the floor she spoke softly "I need to do this." Looking up she met his eyes and he understood.

The sunlight was now blazing through the open curtains, the view of the city bringing a lazy smile to her lips. She liked to keep them open so that was the first thing she saw every morning to remind her why she'd left, especially as normally she'd dreamt about home the night before. She rubbed her eyes and stretched lazily before sitting up and bringing her knees to her chest, the crimson silk nightie feeling cool in the morning air as the cover slipped away. She'd been gone a year now and even she'd found it strange how different she was. The purple track suit was gone, now she was in skintight jeans and Capri tops. She wore heels not flats and - perhaps the strangest difference - the voice was no longer high and faint, she spoke with a clear, definite tone but just enough pitch to retain an innocent image.

Ha, innocence. She didn't let herself think about that day much anymore. All those years of wishing, watching from afar and finally he said he loved her. Those words still made her stomach flutter and closing her eyes she could picture his face, his sincere eyes, his crazy yellow hair. The moment he kissed her she felt her knees buckle and he caught her, and they stayed like that for what felt like a second and an eternity at once. Then later that night when she finally went back to his room, that was the moment it all changed. Shaking her head again she pulled herself out of bed and walked to the tall window, swinging them wide open to let the smells of the city flood in and flush the past from her mind. And she just stood there for a while letting the breeze whip around her, watching the thousands of people below through her Byakugan.

...

After tracking for days he'd finally come to the edge of ninja lands. This was a far as you can go if you still want to have a chance of going back, or even still being a ninja. Beyond this point were the cities and when there you are just a normal person. If anyone sees you use any ninja skills you're likely to get taken in by the authorities and never seen again.

"Ok guys you know what this means, I need to keep a low profile from here. Pakkun, you mind staying with me? The rest of you thank you." With a nod of their heads and a puff of smoke the others were gone and only him and Pukkun were left, looking into the distance.

"You ready for this Kakashi?" The gruff voice broke his thoughts. He looked down at him and nodded. "I can blend in, although I'll need to take this headband off, and the vest... " the thought of taking off his headband filled him with dread, like he was renouncing his village. 'I'm not a deserter, I'm doing this for the village.' This mantra kept going round in his head as he took off everything that could link him to the Leaf and buried it safely ready for his return. "Ok I think that's it now. Let's go." And with that Kakashi crossed the border from everything he'd known to the abyss. In search of someone he wasn't even sure existed anymore.