Hello everyone! I hope you enjoy this story. The idea for this came to me one day and bugged the crap out of me until I finally wrote it and, after much editing, I feel it is ready. So please, read, review, and enjoy!

Chapter 1

As dawn's first light began to shine down on the village, Kakashi awoke from a deep, nightmare filled slumber. His thoughts were filled with Zabuza and Haku, the brave and tragic shinobi his team had fought during their mission in the Land of Waves. He shook his head as he rubbed his chin, feeling stubble through his mask; it was only the first day back from that mission and already, he was becoming troubled by it. However, he knew that time healed all troubles and that a distraction, such as training his team for the chunin exams would be a good one. He also knew that this nightmare only added to the laundry list of dreams that plagued him regularly.

'If I am even going to enter them in the chunin exams…it'll depend on how they handle the next few weeks,' the Copy Ninja thought to himself before sitting up in the bed and observing his room.

It was very simple, a quality that he liked: tan walls with dark green carpet. Even the furniture added to this simple quality. A desk to his left near a large window that opened directly to the sunrise that was surprisingly messy with folders and an unfinished mission report; a dresser stood near it, facing his bed from the opposite side of the room and a small table in the corner along that same wall. He stared at the contents of that table for several moments before shaking his head and rising, tossing the black sheets of his bed off of his warm body.

He promptly began his morning routine by showering then shaving, before dressing in his normal attire of dark pants, a dark shirt, his flak jacket, his headband over his eye, ninja sandals, wraps, and the typical mask; attire befitting any sane jonin, he thought, thinking of Gai. He returned to his room to straighten the sheets on his bed but, he paused in front of the small table in the corner of the room. He sighed as he stared at the pictures on it behind the incense sticks. He reserved the table as an in-home shrine to those he'd lost in his life, and it amazed him every time how many pictures he had:

His mother. His father. Obito. Minato. Rin. His five ANBU partners.

This last thought made him pause as he picked up a picture that was closest to the front. A young girl, who he remembered was sixteen at the time the picture was taken, was dressed in the standard ANBU attire with a tiger mask strapped to her hip. She was smiling brightly with short cut, pale purple hair and forest green eyes as she stood next to Kakashi, who remained straight faced while he held his dog mask in his hand.

'She was the longest partner I ever had…for three years…before…' He sighed and felt terrible that her picture still hung on the "Missing ANBU" wall; he presumed she was dead, and that made him feel worse:

'I was a colder person back then for only being 19…Kami, I don't even remember her name…did it start with an "A"?'

He returned the picture back to its original spot before checking the time. Realizing he was late for team training, he left his bed in its disheveled state and quickly left his apartment, skipping breakfast in the process.

The young ANBU man wearing a hawk mask smiled to himself. Although he disliked the idea that his first assignment as a newly appointed ANBU member was just border patrol, he didn't mind it so much. It was an easy mission and he didn't expect anything to happen. He did find it curious that the Hokage was so tense about the upcoming exams and was strengthening the perimeter of the village. He noticed that, based on the position of the sun, it was breakfast time and decided to take a small break.

He sat on a tree branch near the road to the East Gate of the Village, about fifty yards up before pulling an apple out of his pouch. He slipped off his mask and began to eat quietly while observing his surroundings. The day was quite beautiful: warm, sunny, and a light breeze would blow through occasionally. Upon finishing the apple he tossed it aside the core and stood up, slipping his mask back on. Just before he continued his patrol, he stopped and stared at a figure that just topped the hill no more than forty yards from him.

Dropping into a crouch again behind a very leafy branch, he observed the approaching person. What first caught his eye was the ANBU uniform the person was wearing, although, he noticed, that style was circulated out recently in favor of a more streamlined, lighter design. This alerted him to the fact that this person was either a lost member or an imposter who would attempt to infiltrate their ranks. However, as the person in question drew closer, he saw that the uniform was in tatters, scars visible below every gash and some near fresh wounds beneath others. This attributed to her limping and unsteady gait. The young man also noticed the cracked tiger mask that hung about her waist. This fact, drew his attention to her face. Although smudged with dirt, he saw soft features and noticed green eyes that, he assumed, would have been bright and joyful under other circumstances. He then noticed waist length, lavender colored hair that, like her face, was dirty.

Finally, it dawned on him where he had seen this young woman before and, upon deeming her friend, not foe, leapt down in front of her to begin standard procedure.

"Halt! State your name and your business here!" The young man said with a firm grip on the katana that hung at his waist.

The woman remained silent, for only a single thought ran through her mind at that moment, 'Get to the Leaf….Get to Sarutobi-sama…'

She attempted to walk around the man before her but, with a firm hand on her shoulder, he stopped her. Gazing into her eyes, the young man decided this was a matter for the Hokage.

"I believe I know who you are, however, I am forced to take you to see Sarutobi-sama. I can help you there," he stated and, when she didn't respond, he supported her and leapt towards the Hokage's office as fast as he could.

'If I am correct, this woman has had her picture on the "Missing ANBU" wall for nearly four years…' The man mentally commented as he picked up the pace, noticing her chakra take a slight dip.

Although it appeared to the outside observer that Kakashi was engrossed in his favorite orange book, his thoughts really circulated around his last ANBU partner. He thought it was very odd for him to be so distracted by his memories of her, when he had finally stopped thinking about her about a year ago. He looked up at his team and assessed their situation before standing up and approaching them, giving each instruction on how to better their attacks on the wooden logs in front of them.

"Sakura, tighten your fists. It'll deliver a stronger blow and keep you from breaking your fingers and Naruto, a wider stance. Without a firm footing, you'll be knocked flat on your ass. And Sasuke….keep up the good work."

As he surveyed his students, he began reminiscing about the past.

"Remember, a wide stance with a firm footing will help you become better at taijutsu," a young Kakashi told his purple-haired partner.

"I know, I know, but you're the taijutsu specialist anyway. I'm the long-range fighter. Why do I need to know this stuff?"

The captain sighed, "Because, if you're ever in a situation where you have to fight up close, long range techniques will be useless. Now, attack me again!"

"Get ready, Kakashi!"

"You're going down, Ay-"

"Hey! Sensei!"

Kakashi snapped out of his reverie and looked at his students before sighing as he pulled out some bandages from his pack and tossed them to Sakura. Somehow, Naruto managed to injure himself, then again, it was Naruto and a splinter-filled log. The leader of Team 7 sighed and stated:

"And with that, that's enough for today, guys. You're free to go."

An elated Naruto ran off to Ichiraku Ramen after being bandaged while Sakura headed off to rest. Sasuke continued training and Kakashi just shrugged, leaving his student to do what he wished. The gray-haired man disappeared in a poof, reappearing in front of the memorial stone, believing that maybe spending time there would relieve the thoughts going through his mind. However, only shortly after arriving, he sensed a chakra source approaching and turned his head in that direction; he was surprised to see Inoichi land a few feet from him.

"Kakashi. I'm sorry to interrupt you, however, Sarutobi-sama requests your presence."

The masked man quirked his eyebrow at Inoichi, "About?"

Inoichi replied, "I'm not sure. I wasn't fully informed of the details myself. However, it must be something serious if both of our presences are required, don't you think?"

The silver-haired man nodded in agreement before heading off to the Hokage's office with the blonde.

Sarutobi sighed as his calm words did nothing to bring the young woman out of her comatose-like state. It wasn't even nine a.m. and he already had a headache from the trouble all of this had caused. However, having a former ANBU member back was a relief instead of having her either dead or having people still trying to extract information from her.

"Ibiki, are you sure there's nothing you can do for her?" Sarutobi questioned as he rose from a kneeling position in front of the young woman.

The scarred man standing a few feet behind the Hokage shook his head, "I'm sure Hokage-sama. Sending for Inoichi is the proper course to take. My specialty lies in extraction, which is not what is needed. He can repair the damage to her mind and see what was done to her in full."

Sarutobi nodded, "And do you believe that I should have sent for Kakashi as well?"

"Who knows. It could be a relief to see his teammate alive or a shock," Ibiki replied with a shrug.

The Hokage agreed before kneeling back down in front of the young girl, returning to his own attempts to draw her out of her state.

A small knock at the door interrupted his attempts before he stood and granted permission for the person to enter. He sighed with relief when Inoichi entered along with Kakashi. Ibiki and Sarutobi greeted the two before the former dismissed himself. Kakashi's eye widened as he started at the girl seated in front of Sarutobi and Inoichi. He completely zoned out from their conversation as a single thought crossed his mind:

'Ayumi…'