Okay, as promised here's the next chapter!

Hmm, I admit that I kinda added a lot of details here. I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself :P

I felt it was a needed change. So, cookies and cupcakes to those who noticed them! :]

And by the way, I am STILL in the process of rewriting so, expect changes along the way. I know it's probably annoying for you readers, and I'm sorry. I should have done this before posting this story... I'm two years late! T.T (sigh) But please, bear with me. I won't leave this story alone, not like this. :D

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto


Chapter 1

Kakashi Hatake

It all began that day.

I just thought it was going to be usual, normal, ordinary.

I was at school, feeling bored and restless (I believe I felt the same way as all students should have).

I wanted to prove that I didn't need to be here, that I deserved to be out, preparing for missions, protecting and serving the people of Konoha.

I got more than I bargained for.

It's been two weeks since I started here at the Ninja academy. Truth is, I haven't learned anything new. All the lessons were just for beginners, all I ever needed to know had already been taught to me by my father, Sakumo Hatake. The notion of my stay here is making me sick, it's like watching reruns. I already know what's going to happen, but something is compelling (in this case, forcing) me to endure it all over again.

Ah, I wish Konoha had Advanced Shinobi-friendly rules, like say, automatic initiation perhaps? Yeah, that would be ideal.

But I know it isn't enough to know a few simple hat tricks to become as great as Konoha's White Fang. I need a lot more training, I'm wasting time by just sitting here and listening to the teacher talk about things I already know. I wouldn't be complaining so much if I had started with more advanced lessons. However, all I ever got here were basic notes, perfect scores, praises and compliments from the teachers and disdain and hot stares from my classmates.

I could feel their eyes on my back as I raised my hand to answer the teacher's relatively easy question he had just asked.

Well, easy for me at least.

"Yes Kakashi?" the teacher called.

"Sensei, basically you only have to focus your chakra energy to whatever part of your body you are going to use. It adds to the power and speed of the attack, making chakra control essential in Taijutsu." I sat down again.

"Very good Kakashi. Now listen all of you as I explain this further." He went back to the board and began writing and talking at the same time. Grudgingly my classmates turned to listen.

Their behavior isn't really their fault, with me being the youngest here at five years old. I think that they can't stand the fact that a person half their age is better than them, however, I can't totally understand the way they treat me. If I found my match then I wouldn't feel that way, I'd actually be glad that I found someone who could stand up against me as an equal, or even better, because it would give me a chance to be humbled. And it would also give me an opportunity to step forward and improve myself.

Never be proud, for a true ninja must never let pride stain his life. It would lead to envy, jealousy, betrayal... A Ninja must always work with heart that knows true loyalty, for as a Ninja, it is our duty to serve others, not ourselves. We must not ask for anything in return, certain sacrifices have to be made, for it is our duty, our Kisei, after all.

Kisei... that was the lesson my father gave as he bestowed upon me this mask I wear. At that time, mind you it was about months ago, I think I translated all of that into: serve people but keep anonymous. And it hasn't changed, and maybe, it never will.

I tried my best to be, at the very least, sociable. However, they are also doing their best to ignore me.

Ah well.

I'll remember my Kisei. I clutched my mask as the word rang clear in my mind, as the teacher continued to drone on about physical attacks, as my classmates lazily took in important details.


After school, I hurried home. The sun was already setting, the sky turning into a beautiful shade of red.

I found my father resting near the porch, his silver hair waved as a breeze blew past. His tired eyes and somber smile made it obvious: he just got back from a mission.

"Kakashi." Father said in his deep voice. "Welcome home."

"Father." I bowed politely, "To you as well." I approached him, and as I did, my calm and cool facade dissolved as my earlier restlessness took over. In the end, I nearly ended up begging on my knees, but I settled for a dignified pleading session instead. "Can we please begin training Father?"

He stood up and walked towards me. His eyes crinkled at the sides as he smiled, "Why the rush? We both just got back. Let's just rest a while Kashi." He ruffled my hair as he called me affectionately.

I answered in a slightly irritated voice. "But I already wasted so much time in school! I haven't learned anything substantial and, and, and..." as I continued, I actually heard myself, "...those kids hate me." My voice died down after realizing the fact that I sounded like a brat! "I'm sorry, I was inconsiderate. I realized you are probably tired." I apologize immediately afterward, regretting the fact that I had just taken that tone with my father.

"It's alright Kakashi, you're probably spent as well. " He looked over to the setting sun just as it disappeared into the horizon. "And I know that it must be aggravating to have to go through this, but trust me, it's for your good. Now, did I hear you right or did you just say that your classmates hate- what the...?" His eyes were suddenly drawn away by a sight behind me.

I turned around, hoping to see what caught his attention, focusing my eyes wherever his were focused on. I didn't see anything at first but, something inside me stirred. It was a strange feeling, but my heart throbbed and my skin felt hot. I looked at my hands and up again. I blinked, and this time, there it was, the strange glow just past the trees.

"What is that?" I exclaimed. I felt my fathers eyes on me then, assessing me.

"You see it too?" He asked.

I didn't know the hidden implications in that question, but I answered, quite bewildered, "Of course! Who would miss that!" My statement was supported when suddenly, the glow intensified. Then, it disappeared. Bewildered, I turned to face my father. "What's happening?"

Then a little monkey jumped and landed in front of father. I recognized it immediately, one of the Third's summons.

"Well whatever it is Kakashi, we're about to find out." He bent down and looked at it eye to eye. Its huge brown eyes blinked then it scurried away. His job was done, and he was going to return to his master.

Father began, his voice grave, "It's a message from the Third. There's a situation over by the northwest forest, a fire."

The northwest forest? I felt like I've been there before, but that doesn't matter now. Is it an enemy attack? A skirmish? An accident? Questions of this situation's origins began to shoot from my mind. However, the most confusing one was the only thing that managed to escape my lips. "Why there? There can't possibly be anything worth attacking in that part of the village boundaries!"

Father said nothing to answer my question, even if he did know, he made to move to share it with me. "Kakashi, I want you to come with me. I feel that we'd be needing everyone who can help."

Realizing that further questions will be ignored, I simply nodded without any qualm, "Yes, Sakumo-sama." I called him by his battle field name [if an enemy knew about our relations, I will surely become an asset to them], acknowledging the start of the mission. At that, we both disappeared into the forest.

It didn't occur to me that it was my first mission.

"The rally point is over by the clearing. We should meet the others there." Father said as we sailed through the trees. The journey, albeit short given the speed of our movements, was filled with a sense of confusion. I didn't know what to expect, there were too many loose ends to be taken into account. I was five years old, I may lack experience compared to the others, but I wasn't stupid. I knew something's not right. And every step we took made the feeling worse.

At the clearing, a huge group was already present. I didn't recognize anyone, it was too dark to see their faces.

"Alright we can't waste anymore time waiting for others." A young voice, that admirably rang clear with authority said. "This mission is strictly to search for any survivors. We can't do anything about that kind of fire. So we focus on getting as many survivors as we can. We'll split up into pairs to cover more area. We only have limited time to do this. Find whoever you can within half an hour, beyond that no more." Talk about vague. We can hardly digest what we just heard given the surprisingly little amount of detail in that order.

"Wait a minute," another voice asked. "Search and rescue? I don't think any people were affected. No one lives here in this part of the forest, I should know. I am the one patrolling this area. What are we dealing with exactly?"

"As I said, this is a search for survivors. I won't tolerate any questions about this. As long as you find someone bring them immediately to Konoha." The young man said from the shadows, his features blurred by the darkness but the unmistakable electric blonde hair gave away his position.

Something was wrong. Why search for survivors when there would be likely no people, alive or dead, there? It all seemed strange to me. It all the more became confusing when the man added, "And also, do not touch anything that had burned in the fire."

That did it.

"Why?" I asked keeping my voice calm. "My pardon but we have a right to know what could happen just so we are ready." I almost regretted saying that when all of them turned to me.

"Sakumo-san", an elderly voice asked, I could feel their narrowed eyes, suspicious and judgmental. "You brought a child with you?"

I stiffened and looked up at my father, because I too was curious as to why he brought me here. His face was calm when he said, "Yes, I did. Do not worry about him. I wouldn't have brought him here if I thought he couldn't handle it. I assure you, he is as capable as you to carry out this mission." At that, he turned to look at the commander of the party, "Maybe even more so, than any of us here."

That I had to admit was very encouraging. I looked up at him with gratitude, I felt honored to have been considered "capable" by my father. The others fell silent, unsure of what they had just heard.

"Very well then, I trust your judgment Sakumo-sama." The blonde man said, turning to me. "To answer you're question, don't touch anything that the fire burned unless you want to die."

We all fell silent.

"We aren't dealing with ordinary fire here. That was made clear when one of our men examined a block of burn wood. Look at him now." He pointed to a little bag hanging from a tree branch. He turned... into nothing but ashes? For once in this very short life of mine, I felt afraid. It lasted for a second but I realized, this was my first mission. I can't mess up.

"Anymore questions?" Silence. "Good, now let's move."

We all worked quietly. Making sure that our eyes didn't deceive us, to make a mistake would mean less chance of finding survivors, if there were any to find.

As my father and I moved closer to the site of the fire, I felt the cool night air warm up. We were careful not to touch anything that seemed burned. I could have sworn I saw flames licking at the blackened roots, but as soon as I processed the sight, it disappeared again.

The night became brighter. I hadn't notice that the moon already rose.

For the first quarter of an hour, we were just searching, we couldn't find anything or anyone. Our time was almost up.

When we reached the forest limit, we were instructed to go no further. In a desperate move, we split up to cover more ground. I backtracked hoping that we missed something. That there is hope of finding survivors.

What the night had in store for me, I wasn't totally prepared for anything like it.

It started with a huge number of fireflies gathered in front of a far off gnarly Willow tree. I found nothing strange about that, so I continued along my way.

Until they all swarmed at me, blocking my exit.

I had no time for this. I began swatting them down, trying to pave my way through a glowing mess.

That was when I saw it, the odd one out of the group, it had stayed behind, keeping itself near the Willow tree. Instead of the faint yellow green ethereal glow fireflies usually had, this particular one had a glow you can only compare to the sun. It gave me a warm loving feeling that, I never understood. However, it was protecting something, I knew that much.

It hit me then (I don't know how it did, but I was sure glad they managed to give me that idea), they were showing me a way.

Silently, I followed as they lighted my path. Although I felt a little ridiculous about the whole thing, I knew that this wouldn't be in vain. They finally stopped in front of the Willow tree, and as soon as their duty was finished, they disappeared. The bright warm glow was suddenly replaced by the dim, cool light of the Moon and the stars.

I stopped in my tracks. That was the first time I ever saw her, the moonlight making it bright enough to see.

She was about my age. Her little form was curled up into a ball, sleeping. Her brown hair matted on her pale forehead. Her face and her clothes were dirty and had a little soot. Her arm covering part of her face. Her lashes had a wet sheen- had she been crying? – and they rested on her flushed cheeks. She was having a fitful sleep, like nightmares were dominating her dreams.

Though I'll never admit it to her, she was the most beautiful thing that I saw...ever since. Almost automatically, I developed a sense of protectiveness for her. At the moment, she looked vulnerable and broken, like an awful tragedy had visited her just minutes before.

An urgent thought ran through my head.

I found someone. I need to help. Quickly.

Immediately I broke to a run, all the while calling out to my father, "Sakumo-sama, I found someone!"

I was about to pick her up when my father, I didn't even hear him coming, stopped me. "Don't."

He pointed to the soot on her clothes. I looked at the little black patches said, "It's alright, she's safe now."

Shrugging his vest off, he covered the little girl with it. "Still, I'm not taking any chances. This girl could have suffered severe trauma, if we aren't careful in handling her, she may still be in danger."

The girl groaned and opened her eyes a little bit but closed them again, giving Father a glimpse of it . He murmured under his breath, "This girl..." and it broke into a sigh of relief. "Good. She's alive."

Turning to me, he said. "Come, our time is up. You found the only survivor in this incident." He then ruffled my hair, "Good work Kakashi." A smile and a nod later, we both hurried to the village.


It's been three days since she came here. She still hasn't woken up yet. The nurses already know me by now, but I guess with the mask and the color of my hair, it wouldn't be really hard to remember who I am.

Today, they told me that she probably wouldn't regain consciousness just yet. They keep reminding me not to get my hopes up since when we brought her here, she wasn't in the very best condition. But somehow, I knew that she'll wake up.

That's why I'm here.

These past three days I came only to check up on her, bu today, I came to wait for her to open her eyes.

During these visits, although she was just there, sleeping, her eyes closed, I grew somewhat attached to her. She felt like a sister, no actually, she felt like something more than that. I don't know, but whatever it is, it's a bond hidden beneath a mangled mess of unknown feelings that I can't put my finger on. It's like I met her before, and she became a part of my life without me knowing it. Which is silly. And impossible. And unbelievable. But, right now, it's the truth that I put my faith in.

For a five year old, I sure could over think things.

Unconsciously, I smiled to myself at that thought.

Just then a little bird tapped on the window.

I knew it.

Animals would give me signs.

First fireflies, now birds. If I ever told anyone about this they'd finally have a reason to pick on me.

I sighed and opened the window.

The bird just stood there staring incredulously at me. As if it couldn't believe that it could just get into the room without putting up a fuss...

I think it was in my imagination but, the bird looked kinda disappointed.

I shook the thought off my head, there are more urgent matters to be addressed. Namely, waking up the unconscious girl who happen to have valuable information regarding the mysterious event three nights ago... and better do it soon, some people are getting worried about her health and well being.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Go and do your thing!" I felt ridiculous, impatiently asking a small yellow bird to perform a miracle and bring a girl, who is very likely in a coma right now, back into the conscious world.

Incredibly, the bird, in its own way, chirped and smiled, eyes crinkling at the sides, just like when father smiles.

Have faith.

The bird flew past me and rested on the bedside table. Looking at the girl, its eyes seemed to change. It had a loving aura about it, effectively reminding me about the fireflies. Whatever their relation to this girl was, it was strong enough to protect her and bring her into safety.

Then the yellow little creature sang.

It wasn't like any bird song I ever knew. The bird didn't just tweet randomly, it really sang, beautifully even. It was a wordless song, however it was filled with emotions that I could grasp. A picture of my own father flashed in my mind as I listened intently.

The melody was so familiar, I found myself humming along. It was a hidden lullaby that I never knew existed, but somehow I knew about it, in my heart.

As the song ended, the bird turned to me, and... bowed. With a final flap of its wings, it disappeared into thin air.

The girl began to move, she rolled on her side and then opened her eyes. Her eyes, that's one thing I'll never forget. Her eyes golden and innocent looked at me, at first with confusion, then panic.

I sensed her distress, and immediately began to placate her, "I knew you'd wake up." I told her, my voice cool and calm as I had hoped to be.

However inside, something in me burst. My heart throbbed, my spirit sang, my inside turned into... mush.

This was going to be the start of something incredible, and in my confusion, I didn't even know.


Okay guys, so that's the second chapter. I switched the point of view to make it a lot more interesting! Reviews please and keep waiting for the next chapter! :D

And remember, I'm still trying my best to rewrite this! :P