a note from the desk of ethereal damsel

Greetings, readers:3 This is the new arc to my fic Catalyst (it takes place approximately two years later). You may want to read Catalyst first, as this chapter contains tons of spoilers regarding it. But as some of you might not care or aren't reading this at all, all I can say is, "Enjoy!"

It may take a while for me to update. This is because until now, I've only been watching the Naruto anime. As the anime is now in FillerLand, I need to read the new arc of the manga because it follows the basic storyline of my fics. Just FYI...

Though I am young and cannot tell

Either what Love or Death is well,

Yet I have heard they both bear darts

And both do aim at human hearts.

-Ben Jonson

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. The only characters I own are Kanzaki Kaya and her relations, Kirei and assorted children and adults from the Village Hidden in the Clouds, and Aoyama Kiyoshi.


Motes of dust swirled in the shafts of sunlight piercing the leafy canopy of the forests of Konoha. Day was just breaking on the distant horizon and lighting up the grassy knolls and meads of Fire Country. The birds commenced to sing and the flowers shyly unfurled their petals.

A stag bounded out of the bushes at the peak of a rocky crag. It was entirely bronze in hue, except for the white boots on each leg that shone like purest quartz, and had a great rack of antlers. Astride its back there was a girl with long chestnut–colored hair in a loose plait down her back, secured by a Konoha hitai-ate. As she surveyed the peaceful land before her, her steely-blue eyes shone with pure joy.

The stag seemed to share her happiness, for it pawed restlessly at the ground, eager to leap into the fields of this grassy country. The girl leaned closer to the stag and whispered into one of its velvety ears. Its solemn brown eyes brightened, and it leapt from the crag and into the meadow far below, the girl clinging tightly to its neck.

High above the stag and his companion, there flew a great bird. It too carried a girl, this one with gingery hair pulled back in a ponytail and pale yellow eyes. She was nestled among its jade-colored feathers, scrutinizing the vast green landscape. With a knowing smile, she flew the bird downward onto a smooth knoll.

The stag loped up to the knoll, and both girls dismounted from their animal companions.

"Well, here we are," said the girl with the gingery hair.

"Yes…" said the other, looking across the plains with a pensive expression on her face. "We're home."


Hatake Kakashi stood idly on the wooden planks of the village bridge, flipping nonchalantly through the pages of yet another of his naughty little novels. For once, he was the one awaiting someone's arrival. Two someones, in fact.

His students of many years, Kanzaki Kaya and Kirei, were due back from another year-long bout of training and missions. Nearly two years had passed since they had found Kirei, abandoned by the Akatsuki. She had become a Konoha ninja and supplied the village with invaluable information about the inner workings of the Akatsuki.

The very day Kirei had arrived in Konoha, Uchiha Sasuke had left it. Kakashi had known, even then, that Kaya had loved Sasuke. She had loved him ever since the day he had, in his way, consoled her when she was mourning her parents' deaths. And Kakashi was not certain that her love was unrequited. Sasuke had treated Kaya differently than the other members of Team 7. One day, when Kaya was kidnapped by a pair of missing-nin, he had not even waited for permission from his Sensei, Kakashi himself, to go after her. And after he left, Kaya had told Kakashi about an ominous conversation the two of them had had in which Sasuke had made her promise not to follow him if he were to "fall into darkness".

After his departure, Kaya had never been quite the same. Though she had always been quiet and a little timid, now she was more taciturn than ever, almost aloof. And she had stopped spouting poetry the few times she did speak. She silently went about her duties as a Chuunin, and trained diligently. She was still as gentle as she had ever been, but she seemed to have successfully purged herself of her habit of wearing her heart on her sleeve.

Suddenly, Kakashi heard the familiar patter of hoofs on the dusty forest path.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Kaya cried as she approached her old teacher. "We're home!" Kirei swooped down on her bird and gracefully alighted on the bridge.

"Yo," said Kirei, grinning cheekily. The two girls dismounted and their summons vanished in a puff of smoke.

"You two have grown since the last time I saw you," he replied matter-of-factly.

"Kakashi-sensei, it's so good to see you," said Kaya breathlessly. She was smiling, something Kakashi hadn't seen her do in a long time.

"It's good to see you too." All of a sudden, there was a rustle among some bushes off the side of the road.

"You two always stray too far ahead," a voice said grumpily. "No regard for authority whatsoever…" A relatively short woman of approximately the same age as Kakashi emerged from the thicket. She had wild purple hair and dark, mischievous eyes.

"Long time, no see, Kakashi!" she said.

"Hello, Anko," said Kakashi before turning to Kirei and Kaya. "Naruto has returned from his travels with Jiraiya. I imagine you'll want to see him?"

"Yes, of course," Kaya replied. "It's been so long."

"Why don't you just invite the whole of Team 7, Kakashi?" suggested Anko.

"Alright. Perhaps we can go to Ichira—"

"No, we can eat at my house!" Anko interjected. "Dango for everyone, on the house!"

"Very well, Anko." Kakashi realized that there was nothing for it. Anko's mind was made up.

"Off to apartment 12B!" proclaimed Anko.