"Again!"

"Jiraiya-sama please I ca-"

"Don't tell me that La Kani, you can do anything as long as you work for it! Now do it again!"

Tears slipped down her cheeks slowly and she called onto the pain to bring out the power she searched for. Jiraiya kept his eyes on her, never looking away. She could feel his fierce gaze as though it were a razor digging into her skull. The pain dug further into her and she soaked it all in then sent her arms out to push everything from her. As everything left her she could feel her body fading as well, reality rejecting her current form.

"Tell me something La Kani. Tell me what you feel."

Her lips moved to answer him but nothing came from them. With the heel of her shoe she wrote into the dirt.

Empty

Silent

Jiraiya smirked. La Kani had started to fade from his vision until she was completely gone, as though the wind had taken her small form right out of reality. But he watched the ground and saw that her words had not stopped yet.

Free

La Kani woke with a start, jumping up in her bed while holding her hand to her throat. Her breathing was ragged and almost painful for her. A cold nose on her arm caught her attention and she looked down to her worried little dog. She gave him a shaky smile and pat his head. That dream was more like a memory though stopped short. The feelings were so intense she didn't know how she handled going through that much of it without waking. But she survived it, as she did that day as well.

"Are you alright... La Kani?"

The voice was familiar and warm, lifting her heart and taking all the pain she had experienced in her dream away. Her eyes lit up as they caught sight of a familiar silver-haired jonin standing at her door.

"Kakashi..."

La Kani reached for him and he was at her side in an instant, holding her hand tight to his chest. Her other hand found its way to his masked cheek, pulling him closer until their lips were separated by only the thin fabric but the mask was soon torn away by the wearer. With nothing to hold him back or keep them apart Kakashi was soon lost in the feel of her lips. After much force on the part of both of them, they parted slowly but kept the distance between them small. La Kani rested her forehead against the cold metal of his forehead protector and closed her eyes, a smile moving across her face.

"Welcome back."