I do not own Naruto, or its characters; although if you count dreams, then Hatake Kakashi is mine. I have written this fanfiction - for fun - for my daughter; and I do not follow the Naruto story arc faithfully. Thus, there are slight changes (like there's still the original Team 7 with Sasuke - instead of him being a madman bent on revenge and developing his own evil laughter), the Third Hokage still being alive etc - but essentially, I try to remain true to the characters unique personalities. It's a romance & buddy-buddy with a dash of humour (hopefully).

Enjoy. Please. Hopefully you don't die from boredom when reading this...

A lone man was sitting nonchantly upon a tree branch, seemingly oblivious to his surroundings as he read a small, pink book of dubious content. His carelessly spiked silver hair ruffled in the wind that blew, hardly disturbing his concentration as the Konoha forehead protector kept it away from his eye – which happened to be the only thing that wasn't covered by the mask that dominated his face. He sported the typical green sleeveless vest over his black long sleeve shirt whilst his hands donned the fingerless black glove.

"Kakashi-sensei! Kakashi-sensei!"

The man's eyebrow raised up a little and he cocked his head slightly towards the sound of the voice as he asked, without lifting his head, "What is it, Sakura?"

Sakura had been running, and now she screeched to a stop, as she looked up at his favourite spot for reading his … er … books. She answered, "The Third Hokage calls for you."

At that, he did stop reading, made a little sigh as he marked the page he was on. Jumping down nimbly from the tree branch, he carefully placed the book he had been reading into his pocket and walked off, thanking Sakura for the message.

Sakura, however, didn't stop there and walked beside her sensei. She was just about to ask him something when a bundle of orange came bursting through the bushes, the spiky yellow hair flaying about as he spinned out of control. While Kakashi nimbly stepped aside from the yellow torpedo, Sakura wasn't as lucky for she had been too preoccupied in thinking of how to ask Kakashi something.

"NARUTOOOOOOO!" screamed Sakura into Naruto's ear as they crashed into the tree nearby.

Naruto grinned cheekily as he shook his head to clear it from the screeching that was piercing the air. "Do you think we're going to get a mission?"

Sakura kicked Naruto off her, and he went flying backwards into another tree. In actual reality, Naruto could have avoided the kick altogether but he knew Sakura got a … kick … doing it. Pun intended. So he willingly let himself be her own personal stress releaser; though one would think that at the amount of curses and screaming she was doing, she'd have been less stressed out by now.

Sakura quickly turned towards her sensei to ask the question, only to find him gone. She looked everywhere frantically, but realized that it was too late. Her fury renewed, she started chasing after Naruto all the way back to town.

Meanwhile, in an undisclosed location … three men in long, flowing robes and wearing extremely weird masks were in a circle, surrounding a well that was glowing. One wore a mask akin to a swirling tree trunk, one work a mask that resembled a skull (in fact, it made him look like he didn't have any outer layer, and the other looked like he had a living plant for a head. They were mumbling some weird noises, their fingers moving rapidly into quick succession as the glow in the well got brighter, and brighter. The glow became a swirl, and it got faster and faster like a tornado until finally, a girl emerged from within its center. Her long, dark and wavy hair twirled about her oval face, and eventually fell to its side, revealing a face – whilst not a great beauty – was certainly worth a second look as it framed breathtakingly sweet features. Her eyes were closed, her breathing was shallow and she was dressed in strange clothes which were unseen before in the realm. The three men dropped down in exhaustion, and their faces would have shown this if it wasn't covered up like that.

"It is done," breathed the tree-swirling face man.

"But is it enough?" questioned the plant head man.

"It has to be," replied the skull man, "we don't have enough chakra to attempt that ever again. At least, not in this lifetime." He moved closer to the unconscious figure, which was still floating in mid-air. He brushed her hair further away, studying her features closely and then his eyes roamed her lithe figure. She was wearing some sort of white, weird like material as a top which covered her like any other shirt but it was her pants that got him intrigued. He poked at it, and felt its texture. Like the soft bark of a tree. He shook his head, wondering about the dimension this girl had come from. However, if the prophecy was correct, she would be the lever that would make their side stronger in the struggle they were in.

The tree-swirling face man snapped his fingers, and immediately, some groveling minions appeared. The first one handed him a knife and another handed him a bowl. Lifting up her shirt, he first dipped the blade into the waters of the bowl before beginning his work of carving an intricate design upon her stomach. His concentration keen as the knife blade swiftly went on its work. He cut deep enough to draw blood yet it was shallow enough not to cause any damage into the internal organs. The blood which flowed was adeptly caught by the minions, careful not to let any go to waste onto the dirt floor. Once his work was done, he stepped back and the other two studied the design. Nodding in satisfaction, the minions then took the girl away into the room that had been prepared for her.

Back at the Hidden Leaf Village …

The Third Hokage was at the top of the building, surveying the city that has been his home and responsibility for longer than he cared to remember. He should start choosing the next Hokage, considering his age and all. Yet, he could hardly find the heart to do so, since the Fourth Hokage had died too soon. He started to sigh, but stopped in time when he realized Kakashi had appeared beside him. Silent as always, Kakashi waited for him to speak.

"We have received word that there's been some strange forces gathering in the North" began the Third Hokage, "I want you to assemble a team and investigate it."

Kakashi nodded, and turned to leave but stopped when the Third Hokage continued, "It may not appear to be as what is expected."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, tilting his head in enquiry, "What do you mean by that?"

The Third Hokage looked up at the sky before replying, "It is just a feeling, an unease that has been invading my thoughts and dreams of late. I fear something ominous in the horizon; something forbidden having been done. So choose carefully the team that is to follow you."

Kakashi was silent, absorbing the gentle warning that he was given as he nodded and walked away to prepare. There wasn't a doubt that it would be Team 7. With the powerful attack combination of Sasuke and Naruto, he was sure that they would be able to handle any attack that came their way, and Sakura would be an invaluable asset as a strong and powerful healer. The only problem with this team is the often rash actions of Naruto, but even Kakashi had to admit that Naruto had matured considerably since their encounter with Pain. Something about the conversation he had with Pain that changed him; though Naruto still found pleasure in antagonizing Sakura every once in a while. Kakashi smiled a bit at this, his eyes crinkling when he thought about it. Life is too precious to be too serious. It was fun and laughter that made it easier to handle the pain.

A ghost of a memory flitted unbidden into his mind. This seemed to happen more often nowadays, ever since he died before being resurrected by Pain. He, himself, had come to reach an inner peace ever since he managed to talk with his father in the Afterlife. He managed to convey his goodbyes, and all that he had bottled up within him since his father's death. On the flip side, along with the peace he found with his father, he seemed to be experiencing more heartache as Obito and Rin's faces would flash through his mind. He had always harboured great sadness and guilt at Obito's sacrifice and the only way he knew how to ease his heart was to constantly train in using his Sharingan eye. He would also spend hours at Obito's memorial stone, telling him all his fears and thoughts, as the only mean of calming himself before a day began – or when he was extremely stressed out. No one knew the enormous burden Kakashi shouldered because of the laidback attitude he often portrayed; but that laid-back attitude was only achieved through sheer hard work – that, and the constant stream of little pink books that he read. Kakashi laughed a bit at that, and also admitted that it was Team 7's antics that also helped him get through the day.

He shook his head, clearing his mind of the fogginess that often came whenever Obito and Rin's faces came into it. Without a second thought, his feet took him to Obito's memorial stone once again and he sat down, starting to unravel his feelings once again.

It was nighttime by the time Kakashi returned to town, his hands in his pocket as he whistled a happy tune. 5 … 4 … 3 … 2 …

DUM DUM DUM DUM DUM DUM DUM DUM !

Kakashi waited until the last minute before making as if he was jumping to his left when he suddenly made a right jump. The other three missed Kakashi completely, while Sasuke cursed himself inwardly for not anticipating that. They turned, only to see Kakashi sitting on the rooftop, facing them but reading that little pink book of his. He hardly flinched when they landed beside him, with Naruto almost in his face as he asked excitedly, "What was it for? Is it a mission? A mission? Isn't it, Kakashi –sensei? I'm right, right?"

Sakura rolled her eyes as she pulled Naruto off Kakashi's face whilst Sasuke simply stood there, immobile as he studied his sensei's face. With deliberate slowness, Kakashi flipped another page aside, marked it, placed it into his pocket before finally facing his students. "We leave at dawn. Be ready."

Naruto whooped with joy, his whole body in anticipation. Things had been very slow since the confrontation with Pain and he was eager to let loose. It wasn't that he was eager for bloodshed, or fighting … but he needed to do something. He had been spending the days training, and honing his skills but he as the days passed, he began to feel restless. He wanted to help people, he wanted to meet people, he wanted to show people that fighting wasn't the way to attain peace. It was an oxymoron, perhaps, that one had to fight to get them to stop to fight. To him, however, he simply wanted to fight to protect, and not for revenge. This was the message he wanted to spread. With this, he ran off happily, oblivious to his surroundings, as he prepared for travel. After a minute though, he ran back.

"Where are we going? How much should I pack?" he asked, scratching his head.

Sakura and Sasuke sighed. At least, this time, he realized that before he reached home.

Well, yeah. That's the first chapter down. Enjoy? Yes? No? Eh? No readers? It's okay - I know my #1 fan is either reading it, or going to read it, or has read it. Of course, if there ARE more readers and reviewers, I'll be more than astonished. :)