Chapter 1: Where are we?...

"Where are we?" A tall blond man named Waka questioned to himself. He was a tall, thin man with long, blond hair...most of that hair was obscured by a large hat that looked like the head of a hawk; with long wings streaming out. All of this gave him a rather outlandish appearance to other people. Waka surveyed his surroundings and sighed to himself.
The area was very wooded and green, with rolling hills and lots of wildlife. A soft whine suddenly stirred him from his musings.

"What is it, Amaterasu?.." Waka questioned the white wolf who was standing by his side. As wolves go, Amaterasu was most unusual...She was whiter than snow, with blood-red markings on her face and body, and a flame lit mirror floated above her back. Waka and Amaterasu had a strange bond that enabled them to understand one another. But Amaterasu was no mere wolf...

"Hey! Pretty boy! Any ideas as to where we are?" a high pitched yell came from atop the wolf's head.

"It appears to be the road to some kind of village...Hopefully we will find the answers there, my little bouncing friend.." Waka responded to the little green thing sitting on Amaterasu's head. His name was Issun,a traveling artist who had decided to accompany Amaterasu on her kept walking till they reached a massive gate...it seemed rather imposing, but they went in anyway...and found out that the village was huge as well...

" This place is even bigger than Sei-an..." Waka mumbled to himself. Just then a boy in a orange and black jumpsuit ran by and knocked Waka on his butt,much to Issun's amusement. At that moment a silver haired man offered his hand to Waka...
" Sorry about that..." the man mumbled embarrasedly " Is there anything I can do to help you?"
"Yes" Waka responded.. " Who are you...? And where are we?.." The man considered for a moment before responding " My name is Kakashi Hatake...Welcome to Konoha..."

"Konoha?" Waka questioned the man, who to Waka looked for all the world to be very old, due to his white hair.

"Well Gramps...what kind of village is this?" Issun questioned. Kakashi turned to look for the voice, but all he saw was a small bouncing bug.

"GREAT...now they have ninja FLEAS..." he turned to look at Waka " I feel so bad for your wolf companion..."

Waka was about to respond but before he could...

"WHO'RE YOU CALLIN A FLEA? I'LL SLICE AND DICE YOU! Wait...Ninja? What's that...?" Issun said.

Waka then took in the man's weapondry and the way he carried himself "I think he is a Warrior of some kind..." he said.

Kakashi smiled as he responded
"You assume correctly...I am indeed a warrior. I am also a teacher...The kid who knocked you over, good sir, was one of my students...Naruto Uzumaki. You'll have to forgive his ignorance..."

"Fishcake Whirlpool?" Questioned Issun, " What kind of name is THAT?"
Waka was trying to stifle a laugh at the name
Kakashi looked at the sky suddenly, then regarded the others with a slightly worried look

"Come with me...we shall talk elsewhere...Something does not feel right..."

Waka and the others looked at him with a confused expression, then shrugged and followed him...

little did they know that their journey was just beginning ...

Kakashi took them close to the center of the village, which upon closer examination, looked like it had been hit by an earthquake. Rubble and debris was everywhere...and many people were wounded. Some walked on crutches and others limped around. There was fear in the eyes of the villagers...and distrust.

" W-what happened here?" Issun exclaimed as they passed. Waka observed silently, thinking the same but not voicing it.

"Our village was attacked very recently...this is just the aftermath...now we are left to pick up the pieces of our lives and rebuild..." Kakashi explained to them.

Waka finally voiced a question that had been on his mind for a while.
"So...who is responsible for this village? Who is your leader? He should be taking better care of the village..."
Kakashi's head snapped around like he had been struck on the face
" Excuse me? I AM the leader! I am doing all I can for my people and you would do well to remember that!"
Waka was silent for a while, then asked
" Why did you lead us here...?"

Kakashi looked at him for a moment then answered

" There is trouble brewing...I can sense it...it's too quiet. No birds are singing...the air feels almost chilling...and it's summer...something is wrong...VERY wrong..."

"I don't feel anything out of the ordinary..." Issun said skeptically. Waka on the other hand, did feel a disturbance in the air. Ammy whined as a gust of wind blew some leaves from an old Oak tree nearby.

Kakashi looked at the group of travelers and sighed
" I bet you think that this village is a nice and quiet town that just had a rough time recently...well no. We are a town of Ninjas...and our village is the Balance of Power of the Great 5 Nations...and as the Balance of Power...others attack us often...but this...what I am sensing is an Old threat...something vaguely familiar..." He regarded them for a moment before adding " If you are going to be staying here for any length of time you are going to need a place to stay...and seeing as how most of the houses are destroyed...you can stay at my place if you want..."

Waka was about to turn down his offer, knowing that they were not SUPPOSED to be here...that they were supposed to be in Kamiki; but a glare from Amaterasu made him grudgingly agree.

"Thank you for your hopitality...lead the way.." Said Waka absently

Kakashi nodded at them and turned to walk down an old forest trail...

Waka and the others noticed as they walked that though the village was large and populated, there were areas...LARGE areas that were wooded and green...and it seemed that the people built their homes around the woods rather than through it. Eventually they came to a house nestled in the woods, far from the rest of the village.

"Is this yours?" Issun questioned. Kakashi looked at them calmly and answered

"Yes...though I have not set foot in this house in quite some time..."
Waka was now confused
"This is your home...yet you do not live here...? Why?..."
Silence was the only answer that Waka and the others received. Kakashi opened the front door and let the others inside, and the house was spacious and roomy...but it had a almost dead feeling...a lonely feeling.

"So...er...nice place you got here..." Issun said in an attempt to break the silence that permeated the house. Waka sensed an immense sorrow and regretful feeling in the air in the home.

Kakashi glanced at Issun with an unreadable expression before turning for the door again
"Make yourselves at home...just...just don't go to the upstairs bedroom..."

"And why NOT?" Questioned Issun impertinently.
"THAT is not something I want to discuss with you..." Kakashi said firmly, then said quietly, almost sadly " Nor to anyone else..."

Waka looked at him, thinking about the possible reasons why this human did not want to step foot in his own home...and why did he not want them in one specific room only? What did he have to hide?...