Hello everyone! I have done many stories in the past, but this is the first time I am actually publishing to a website. This story in particular utilizes my two favorite characters: Kakashi and Yamato. They both are interested, romantically, in the same girl, whose name is Reni.

I know a lot about the show, but if it seems as if the information is incorrect, it is purposeful (for examples, I am calling all of ANBU the Foundation, the Hokage is just Kage, etc.). I wanted to incorporate some of my own creativity into the story.

I do not own Naruto or Naruto Shippuden or anything. I am just a fan. :). Please Enjoy!

It is amazing how you can learn to hate someone who once was everything to you. How that person can be a cancer in your system when they were your reason for waking up every morning. When I first saw Kakashi as a kid, I was instantly drawn to him. I knew I wanted to see him succeed in everything he did. He looked so pained, so tortured by his memories brewing inside his head. I wanted to be his source of comfort. It was the first feeling I ever felt in my life.

I was part of the covert operation in my village called the Foundation. Most of us were electively chosen by our parents to enroll as soldiers on the days of our births, and to train.

Unlike the majority, I was found in an unauthorized laboratory. A rogue scientist was apparently attempting to inject the cells of the founder of our village into my system to create a clone of some sorts. I was told I was the only survivor. Like everyone else, I never knew my parents.

This covert operation spit out willing, unhindered, strong people. Our master, Danzō, assumed that a soldier uninhibited by emotion works better in the field. In reality, we learned that he just wanted our complete submission so we would not be frightened of killing mercilessly.

Danzō believed he worked for the betterment of the village, but he only fought for self-gain, as he was bitter since they did not make him the Kage, or the leader of the village. He was ruthless and unapproachable to all of his soldiers.

We were addressed numerically until we graduate to an intermediate level. Danzō did not believe in giving unskilled soldiers names. We had to earn them. For instance, I was known as Jūku until I graduated to intermediate level.

I remember how I longed for parents and family during my younger years as Jūku. We read about them in our classes, to gain worldly knowledge, and I felt I did not belong in the Foundation. I wanted to come home to a hot meal and a hug. I craved it. Instead, I arose at 0500, was bathed by 0515, and was fed by 0530 when classes and training began. We would do this without pausing until 1100 when we ate lunch. The activity would ceaselessly continue until 2100. So, we did not even have the time or energy to make friends until our intermediate level.

It sounds like a complicated, grueling system for young children, but we only knew selectively of what happened in the village and outside world. We did not question our lifestyles. In our primary level, we were trained to never feel emotions. "Emotions are death in battle" is the phrase that we learned above all else. Sealing techniques, medication and suppression were utilized in expelling our young emotions. I never even felt hunger.

Although emotion suppression was strictly lectured, it was not rare for our soldiers to experience spurts of emotion. They were punished and tortured if caught. My bunk mate, Nijū, was never seen again when she left our sleeping quarters to meet with a boy. I was planning on becoming friends with her once we were intermediate level, too. I chastised myself for feeling sadness, though.

My induction ceremony for becoming an intermediate level was the day I first saw Kakashi. He was the only soldier who had memories of life in the village, as he was not given up at birth. He was training to be a Jōnin, an elite soldier, for the village forces. Once tragedy struck him, the Kage recommended him for the Foundation so he would have distracting responsibilities and emotional suppression. I sat next to him, and I smiled for the first time at his always-masked face. It was a strange sensation, but it felt right. He was not talkative, like me, but unlike me, it was from his horrible, gripping memories.

When they called my numeric name, I felt "excitement" for the first time. I was going to receive my permanent name, and I was proud to have Kakashi watch me. I walked up to the raised platform, and bowed to Lord Danzō. He gave me the name "Reni", and I was met with stiff applause. I walked back down to my seat.

"Nice to meet you, Reni," I remember Kakashi saying.

Surprised, I smiled once more.

"Thank you, Kakashi." He looked inquisitive, and I knew he was wondering how I knew his name. I told him that everyone was talking about his arrival.

Surprise, happiness, excitement.

I would have been kicked out of the Foundation for sure if anyone could sense my emotions. I vowed to keep myself in check while around Kakashi.

In addition to receiving all of our names, we were split up into groups. There were only 30 of us who graduated to the intermediate level, and we were split up according to our chakra natures.

Since we only learned basic combat skills in primary training, many of us had not discovered our chakra and skill natures yet. To do that, everyone was given a piece of paper. They were instructed to hold it gently between two fingers, and to focus energy to it. If it crinkled, your nature was lightning. If it burned, it was fire. If it was cut in half, then it was wind, if it became damp, it was water, and if it became brown, then it was earth.

Within seconds, people were discovering their natures. Kakashi was lightning. I stopped to congratulate him, and I was informed that he already knew that he had two natures: water and lightning, but that lightning was stronger. We were told that that was a rare phenomenon.

I smiled again, and he smiled back. I melted on the inside, making it even harder to focus.

As people discovered their natures, the room began to empty. Kakashi remained next to me, though he was clearly ready to leave. I tried so hard to focus my energy, but the paper continued to do nothing. I was feeling frustration. Another emotion. My heart raced as time ticked by, and my fingers were numbing. I heard Kakashi mumbling something, and I calmed myself to listen. He could sense I was blocking my chakra flow by pushing too hard. He told me to straighten my back and relax. I did, and I felt my energy flow better. The paper began to tremble. Nothing happened, still.

Kakashi apologized, and said he would see me later. His lightning Sensei was calling him to join the group. I was the last in the room.

I felt embarrassment and anger and then shame for feeling so many emotions in one hour. I relented and opened my eyes to take a break. I wondered why it was not working. I threw the paper on the ground and stood up.

My eyes met the sinister black eyes of Lord Danzō. I stiffened and bowed in respect. He picked the paper up, and I apologized. I feared for my life for the first time, and I know he saw the fear in my eyes as I tried to wrestle with suppression.

I bravely asked why it wasn't working, and he told me it was because of the experimentation. My chakra natures were mixed up, and I had to think about using my chakra in a different way.

He said he had only seen one other soldier with the same problem, and he was rescued from the same laboratory I was found in a year before me. He was also injected with the Founder's cells. I was shocked to hear I was not the only survivor. While I decided on how to digest that information, he instructed me to picture energy blooming into a small tree from a seed. Then, I had to force the branches to reach to the paper between my fingers.

I did just that, as best as I could, and within seconds, my paper was soaked and brown with soil. That was not one of the options, and I began to worry, which was another emotion.

Lord Danzō said that was what he was expecting, and I had two chakra natures of equal strengths: water and earth. The combination meant I was an extinct wood user, a product of the experimentation done on me.

Our founder was the one and only wood user, and the most powerful soldier in history. I was excited in a way, but also scared. That meant I would not be able to harness my powers to the best of my abilities. There would not be an instructor skilled in wood style. I would have to choose water or earth.

Danzō, seeming to understand what I was thinking, said he needed my abilities above all the others, and that he would train me himself, as he was very close with our founder in his youth.

I left stunned. I did not want to tell anyone about what I learned, not that they asked. I never thought my abilities were special. I was always average.

That night, my mind strayed to new adventures, such as my name, my new abilities, and Kakashi. My stomach fluttered. I wondered if I would see him in between my private training sessions.

Over the next few days, I noticed everyone talked about Kakashi at dinner, because he was the only one of us who had already been on missions, and he was beyond his years in skill level. I noticed him change as the weeks went on.

Our colorful children's clothing phased out and was replaced with intermediate level uniforms of gray and black. We also received our masks we were to wear during upcoming missions to maintain our secret identities. They were oval shaped with ears to represent an animal. Mine was a cat. Kakashi's was a red fox.

One dinner, I noticed Kakashi sitting in a corner, wide-eyed. Even with his face covered from the nose down, I could see he was having some type of seizure. With everyone losing more and more of their emotions, his condition was unnoticed. My body, acting independently of my shocked mind, rushed to his side and touched his shoulder. Blood-shot eyes met my concerned ones, and, after confirming his ability to walk, I grabbed his hand and led him outdoors for fresh air.

That fateful night was the beginning of our relationship together. He told me about everything horrible that had happened to him, and the reasons why he was ordered to join the Foundation. With the passing of his teacher, father, and teammates, it was not hard to see why he would be ordered to join an organization that specializes in emotion suppression. Unfortunately, since he did not grow up with the suppression, it was hurting him more, overwhelming him whenever the emotions broke through.

Over the next year, we met every night. I was a type of therapy for his mind. Whenever we spoke, he felt better, and he did not have nightmares.

We agreed to pretend to suppress our emotions in front of our elders, and then we would meet at night and be ourselves. He was even able to forgive himself for the passing of his loved ones. We were so close that I even told him about my wood style, but I never showed him.

Even with my private training sessions, I could tell that Kaksashi was miles ahead of me as a soldier, but I was never jealous, because we completed each other.

When we both became advanced level soldiers, and my training proved successful, we were constantly on missions. Danzō told me never use my wood style, even in an emergency. I had to stick to water or earth style. It drew too much attention to me, especially since I became proficient at it.

Through all this, we never stopped meeting each other when we could, and he never thought me inferior for having a strange chakra nature.

When we turned 18, we are allowed to leave the Foundation compound and explore the village when we have time to. One night, Kakashi and I escorted each other into the village for what was my first time.

We walked into one of the noodle shops, and ordered the first thing on the menu, keeping my emotions in check, despite my bubbling excitement. I did not want to give the Foundation a bad name.

The food arrived the moment I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned and saw Kakashi's constantly covered face.

I asked what was wrong, and he averted his eyes. When I was done eating, he paid my bill, and took my hand.

We went to the forest at the edge of the village, and as soon as we got there, he pulled me into his arms. It was the first time he embraced me, and the sensation felt wonderfully soothing and foreign at the same time. I was instantly addicted to this "affection". I did not know how I could live without the touch of another for the rest of my existence after that moment. I was aware of every plane of his body, and how he molded perfectly into my shorter frame.

He held me for an immeasurable amount of time, not used to this situation by any means. Crickets chirping, it was serene and very dark, save for the lightning bugs that surrounded us, occasionally setting off a warm glow to their surrounding. Even so, I could barely see anything, but I felt his arm move. He touched his face, and before I knew it, I felt the warmth of his cheek pressed against mine. My eyes widened in response.

Was he revealing his face to me? Did he trust me that much?

He rubbed his rough cheek against my softer one slowly, bringing to life the fluttering creatures in my stomach.

He whispered into my ear that I smelled sweet, and he moved his lips along my face, making a path towards my mouth.

I held my breath, and he moved one of his hands to cup my other cheek, where he began to stroke with his warm fingers. When his mouth was at the corner of mine, I still could not see his face, and I let out a breath of frustration. I felt him smile. He knew exactly what I was frustrated about, and he was not going to expel my curiosity anytime soon.

He began to stroke my face again, and I closed my eyes, lost in the sensation he was stirring in me.

At last, I felt his lips, hot, and very lightly touch mine.

He asked if it was all right with me, and I pressed my lips back to his in response. A sharp intake of breath was his response, as we lost ourselves in what seemed like only a simple contact up until this point.

I do not know how many times he teased me that I was not ever going to see his face that night, but when I did finally pull him to arms length, a helpful firefly moved next to his head and illuminated him.

Not just him, but a face marked by a prominent scar that extended from his forehead, through his eye, and down to his left cheek. I had never seen anything so perfect up until that point.

His eyes shined with something I know mine reflected.

That was when I first knew I felt the emotion, "love".