Ah, the Disclaimer!: I don't own Naruto sigh or anything that has to do with the particular magna and anime.

Kakashi: Of course you don't. But you wish you did, huh? Wink

Blinks, blushes then glares Shut up. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter One:
" I would risk a billion to save one."

Snow drifted down lazily upon the ninja village of Konoha-kagure. It was everywhere; on top of buildings, the monument of past Hokages, the trees and people and even.

Even on top of the Hokage who sat inside.

The Hokage sighed and got up slowly, his bones creaking. The chair was too damn comfortable, but he had to get up and shut the damn window.

He walked slowly, sort of relishing the cold biting at his face. He then stood at the window and stopped.

"Hokage." The tall man coughed, stepping lightly out of the window in front of him. The Hokage turned back to his chair.

"Shut the window, please, Kakashi."

The Hokage heard the almost-silent click as the window slid into place.

"Really, Kakashi. You must work on that habit of yours."

"Which one?" Kakashi grinned under his mask.

"The being late one."

"Old habits die hard, sir." Kakashi sat at the opposite chair across from the Hokage at the desk, and looked around.

The room was huge and bland. Not one real decoration. The window that he arrived in was also huge. It took up one whole wall. From it you could see all of Konoha-kagure village. The desk that the Hokage sat at was never cluttered. Papers disappeared at random.

The Hokage himself was old.

The man had seen a lot and it showed on his face. Every wrinkle was like a memory, every crease a thought of something said or something done. He had a goatee, had always had a goatee, even when he was young. The eyes were dark and cold, scaring Kakashi even when he was a child. But the Hokage was kind and just, nothing like what he looked like. Today the Hokage wore the black traditional robes and the wide-rimmed hat with the symbol for fire on the front.

"So, did you complete the mission I assigned you?"

Kakashi's one showing eye looked annoyed.

"Do you mean the B-class mission? The one we got only because Naruto complained his head off?"

The Hokage remained silent. Instead, he studied Kakashi. The taller man, in his youth, was one of the greatest ninja. He still was. He wore the uniform of Konoha village; a dark blue shirt under a green brown vest, a pair of dark blue pants rolled up just under the knee, gloves with metal protectors, a leaf headband, and open toe, open heel sandals. White strips of cloth cover his calves from where his pants were rolled up to where his sandal started.

Kakashi was still young, only twenty-six. So what you could see of his face was young too. His left eye was covered by his headband, which tilted to the side. He also wore a mask that covered everything below the bridge of his nose. His left eye was a Sharingan eye, a mirror wheel. Using that, he could copy any move. Any jitsu. His right eye was dark, menacing, but warm and friendly. He was a contradiction all in himself.

He stood about six foot, and towered over the Hokage whenever he stood up. So therefore, the Hokage liked to sit down whenever the teacher was called or came to speak to him.

Kakashi sighed.

"Yes, Hokage."

"The demon was dead?"

It was Kakashi's turn to become silent.

"Oh, no." The Hokage steepled his fingers in front of his face.

"We.had to run away. It had awakened before we got there. You know a bunch of Chuunins can't handle that. Much less one Jounin."

"*One* Jounin can handle it."

"She's not ready for it. She won't do it. You know that. If we want to defeat this thing, you've got to do something else. Call out the Three, get a bunch of other Jounins, or call on the Uchiwa clan. Just don't make her do it." Kakashi pleaded.

"The three eyed cat demon, it's been prophesied, will kill all in the village if one cannot stand against it. Will not stand against it." The Hokage turned to the window. "Part of that Prophecy is that it will snow for ten days and nights, covering the village in cold. Then the demon will come and terrorize until he has killed the one who will not stand against it and all that the one person loves."

Kakashi's gaze turned cold, menacing. The Hokage suddenly longed to be outside. At least it would be warmer than what the man behind him was radiating.

"As you can see, it has already begun to snow."

"Hokage, the only reason she can do it is because that spirit resides in her. That spirit is evil, Lord. If she lets it control her, we might not survive anyway. Would you risk the entire village? For one demon?" Kakashi's voice was as cold as his gaze.

"I think you should ask yourself that question, Kakashi."

"I would risk a billion to save one."

The Hokage's eyes widened, and he turned to Kakashi.

"But I would not risk our village to kill one demon." Kakashi stood up. "Neither would she."

"She would if she knew how to control the spirit." The Hokage said. "Teach her how. You taught Naruto. Teach her."

Kakashi turned toward the window and the Hokage.

"Yes, she would. She would want her sister to be safe, the people she cared about protected."

Kakashi walked to the window and opened it. The window did not protest, only slid away from him.

"But I will not let her. I promised her. I promised to keep her safe."

And then he was gone, the window left open. The Hokage sighed and got up to shut it. He knew how the poor man felt. He had raised the girl when she was made an orphan by the demon fox. The girl had been through a lot. She had seen her mother die as her sister was born. She had watched her cousins' fall, her friends burn. She had been the second youngest to graduate from the Academy, the second youngest to pass the Chuunins exams. She had always been second to one.

And that one person wasn't going to let her risk everything for one measly promise.

Even as the Hokage thought of that, he slammed the window shut. The damn cold, the damn window and one damn Jounin. What else could go wrong?