Disclaimer: Never owned, never will. Sad, isn't it?

Moi Musings: Yes, the first chapter of the Reason Revamped. :) Rejoice! Well, enjoy yourselves and don't-forget-to-review.


Ninjas are not supposed to cry.

But I suspect she had been.

It took me forever to find her. But I did, in the end.

Not like it made any point.

She was sitting on one of the roofs, but I can't remember which one.

It could have been her house. Or mine. Or Anko's. Or Genma's. Or…

I strolled over.

"Hey."

Lame greeting. She glanced up.

"Hey."

The sun was setting. Slowly, but surely. It flashed in her eyes. Her blank eyes.

Colour slides in the light.

I settled down next to her, ignoring the way she stiffened, then relaxed again.

It took me awhile to phrase the question.

"So. You're leaving."

It wasn't really a question. She stiffened again. Her eyes flashed once more.

"Who told you that?"

We both knew the answer.

"Hokage-sama."

"Kakashi, this may be sudden, but you'll need to find a new member for your ANBU team."

"But Hokage-sama, we already have the full four-man…"

"I know. The thing is, one of your teammates…"

We couldn't hate him. We never could. It was our duty, our duty to our village, our country, ourselves.

I never believed the last part.

But it was an agreement. Something agreed upon without our consent.

A peace offering.

Offering makes her sound like a sacrifice.

But it was an offering, an offering to establish peace between our two countries. Our two villages.

Fire and Lightning. Leaf and Cloud.

Something that barely happened. Something sudden and unexpected.

Something that gave me a strange feeling that I didn't know I had.

"Kakashi."

"Hmm?"

She was gazing fixedly at the sunset. Biting her lip. Clutching her knees.

"I'll miss you."

Darkness swept stealthily across us as the sun slowly died, last flames extinguished. As the shadows fell, I finally realized what the feeling was.

It was loneliness.

"I'll miss you too."

The fading silence was so hollow it hurt.


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