Naruto woke suddenly to see Kakashi's masked face looming over him, one hand frozen in a wave, his only visible eye—like usual— deflated of excitement.

"Yo."

Naruto started and immediately lept to his feet. "W-What are you doing??!" he shouted in an exaggerated stance with eyes bulging and half of a fist raised. "You don't go sneaking up on people like that for no reason! What's the big deal??"

Kakashi, as expected, hardly reacted. He returned his hands to his pockets and calmly waited for Naruto to finish expressing his surprise.

It was early in the morning, the next day. The sun's beams were just peaking up over the horizon, turning all the dewdrops on the grass it touched into diamonds. Naruto had fallen asleep on the same river bank—he couldn't return to his room, for that would mean running into friends. And all of his friends would have questions about the mission. He sought out seclusion because he didn't want to be reminded of his reoccurring failure to reach Sasuke.

Naruto gradually relaxed, allowing his arms to hang by his sides and frowning up at his mentor with a semi-annoyed expression.

"If it was my decision, I'd have let you sleep. That was the first time in a while I've seen you at peace."

Naruto's eyes darkened. He realized, "Tsunade sent you."

Kakashi raised his one eyebrow slightly to show that Naruto was correct. The boy forced out a sigh and sat back down on the grass toward the river, pulling up his knees to rest his arms on. Kakashi remained standing, watching Naruto with masked interest.

"Naruto," he began, "I understand that it's been one thing on top of another for you recently. You've had enough of surprises, haven't you?"

The boy's troubled eyes melted into a thoughtful sadness. He stared at the crystal water and remembered last night, when it seemed to run with blood. "I'm fine, Kakashi Sensei."

There was a brief moment of silence while Kakashi observed Naruto with a knowing stare. He continued monotonously,"But this is good news, isn't it? She is your family. She cared about your mother, and she cares about you."

"Is that the only reason to care for someone?" said Naruto derisively, his expression darkening. "Their blood?"

Kahashi responded quietly, "It meant a great deal to Sasuke, didn't it?"

Naruto's eyes widened. He remembered Sasuke yelling at him in the Valley of the End, 'What would you know about me? Huh?! You've always been alone; you don't know what it's like!'

It became clear to him in that moment that Sasuke was right. He truly didn't know what it was like to have blood bonds. He didn't see any importance in them. Or, perhaps, he was just uncertain of what to expect from a relationship that was not formed by choice but by blood. What was the difference between Ero-Sannin, Iruka Sensei, and Karin? He felt closer to the first two than this blood relative. And yet, knowing that Karin had been close to his mother gave him a warm feeling…

"But she was in league with Sasuke," said Naruto blandly. "Isn't she Konoha's enemy, too?"

"She is not your enemy—of that we can be certain. But I'm told that a talented ninja investigated her mind. He found that Karin wasn't even aware of her own identity. When she joined Orochimaru, all her memories that linked her to her heritage were sealed. She could only remember miscellaneous pieces of her childhood."

Naruto turned to Kakashi, in shock. "How is that possible?"

"That doesn't matter. It's a top secret forbidden jutsu. The point is, you cannot blame her for what she did. She was lost; she was the victim of a cold-hearted man who took advantage of her feelings and used her for everything she was."

Naruto understood now, and felt a fresh, hot rage towards Orochimaru. At the same time he thought, 'Why would I feel rage about something happening to someone I don't even know?' He remembered Tsunade's words: 'Blood bonds are a strange thing.'

"Anyway," said Kakashi, turning away from the bank, "The blocks have been removed. She now has full access to her memories, and she is expected to awake soon. Tsunade wants you to be there when she does."

Naruto thought about this for a moment. "She doesn't even know who I am. She can't recognize me. Aren't we the same age?"

Kakashi chuckled a little. "She is five years superior to you."

"EH??!!" Naruto's eyes popped and his mouth hung open. "Five years?!"

"As it should be," smiled Kakashi with his one eye upturned, "She is your aunt, after all."

With those words, Naruto felt a foreboding feeling nestle into the pit of his stomach. He didn't like the sound of that. He didn't like the sound of that one bit.