Chapter 1: The Inseparable Memory

It had been nearly two hours. Just two hours of them talking. Although to say the least, they relied mostly on their eyes and body language to communicate. Kakashi hated the feeling. He was torn between two decisions, and having doubts about both. He couldn't just let her go and be killed. Even if she wasn't killed, it just didn't feel right to him. Kakashi always had a special place in Hanare's heart ever since their encounter many years ago. She didn't know it, but she was stalling him. Buying time, whatever it would take just to make their time last.

With Kakashi further behind her, Hanare was now walking towards the edge of the cliff. There were few cracks on the ground, but without noticing where she had walked, her sandal got caught in a crack. Hanare slipped, she quickly got a grip of the edge but wasn't able to hold on before Kakashi could reach her. As soon as he realised that he wasn't fast enough to get to Hanare in time, he quickly jumped after her. He was quite relieved when spotting the lake straight below. Before he knew it, he hit the water and was nearly at the bottom. With Hanare in no sight of him.

' Was she already at the top? ' he asked himself.

Kakashi quickly swam to the top of the lake, and there she was. Hanare had already gone out of the water, now she was just sitting there watching him. All he could do was smile. He managed to get out and join her, but as soon as he sat down she suddenly questioned him.

"Why did you do that?" Kakashi said nothing, but just stared at the lake.

"Why did you jump in after me?" She asked, facing him.

"I-I don't know." He hesitated. "I saw you jump, the next thing I knew, I jumped." He turned his head to look at her. "My body just moved."

They continued to sit in silence. Kakashi just replaying in his mind, on what had just happened. He knew the real reason he jumped in after her. Of course "his body just moved" was an excuse, but he wasn't convinced yet. Hanare was a bit confused. Curious on why Kakashi had jumped in after her, but somewhat happy he did. She got up and started circling the lake, with only trees sorrounding them she wondered where they were.

"So what now?" Hanare asked.

Kakashi smirked at her. "We walk." There were so many questions that she wanted answers to, but instead just followed. She couldn't really tell where they were walking, besides there was no trail to follow. It almost seemed as if they were going in circles.

"So where are we heading exactly?"

"Well, I'd like to head back to Konoha. Although, it may take awhile so we'll walk around, maybe ask for directions. We'll see what we can do. In the meantime, we walk." Kakashi seemed so certain about what to do. She was sure that Kakashi didn't know where they were either, but she felt safe with him. She trusted him, and would always stay by his side, just like he did for her. The time passed quickly and they were still sorrounded by trees. They both sat down in silence. Kakashi thought about the Leaf Village and what Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke could be up to. Hanare looked up at the clouds, as a memory of when she was younger raced throughout her mind.

She visualized it clearly. Almost as if it was not even a day ago. She was walking around the open landscape. All she saw were rocks, and grass. The sun was out, but she still felt a bit of wind approach her. Hanare was lost, she had no idea where her village was, or where to find her family. Kakashi was then on a mission. He was traveling by the sound of her sobs, then found her sitting near a rock.

"Uh, hey." He made his way towards her. "You ok?"

"Erm, no. I can't find my village..." She whispered, with the tears still rolling from her eyes.

"Oh, so you're lost?" He asked. Hanare looked up at him and nodded.

"Well, then here, get on." He had her get on his back, and walked around for a bit. She wasn't that heavy, so Kakashi pulled through. She stopped crying, but he knew she was still upset. "You know, if you ever feel lonely you can always look up at the clouds." He pointed up at the clouds. Hanare looked up at the sky and smiled. "Heh, as long as you have hope, the clouds will always answer your call." He added on.

"Ahem." Kakashi heard a strange man cough, but not a natural cough. It was the kind of cough you used for attention. Kakashi turned around, and his instinct was right. There was an older looking man standing further behind them, glaring at Kakashi.

"Is that your...?" Kakashi was a bit nervous when he questioned it.

"Grandfather." Hanare answered before he even finished.

"Oh." He let her down gently, as she followed her grandfather Kakashi waved at her and was on his way.

A tear rolled down Hanare's cheek. She was feeling so nostalgic. It was so long ago, but she still remembered every single detail of what happened. It was a very special day that she always kept close to her heart. That was the day she had met the man who cured her loneliness, and here she was, with him, right now.

She looked straight at Kakashi and remembered the time when they were walking around The Leaf Village.

In all of her years, after they first met. She never thought that there would ever be a time that she'd run into him again. In all truth, she loved seeing him. He looked the same, but you could tell that he completely grew up. He still had his mask, and his headband covering his left eye like he did when they were kids. His hair was even styled the same as well, only a bit longer now. She giggled at the time where she had been walking with Kakashi while Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke fell from a tree and collapsed on them. As a result, making Kakashi accidently kiss Hanare and reveal his Sharingan as his headband shifted up. She was still lost in her memories and continued to reminisce until Kakashi's voice interrupted her.

"I guess we'll crash here for now." He said lazily. "We have nothing but the clothes on our back, but we need to rest somehow. Tomorrow, we'll be on our way again and probably find something to eat." Kakashi soon fell asleep, but Hanare was still up. She just couldn't fall asleep. As she laid down she noticed that she was fairly close to Kakashi, how could she be so close yet feel so far? Hanare finally managed to fall asleep but still with so many unanswered questions penetrating her mind.