Author's Note: I suppose immense apologies are in order. I'm sorry! I worked on this for a long time, planning out what would happen and after working with it so much I just lost interest. Thanks to Remember-Me-soon, whose kind review prompted me to finish this chapter, at the very least to let you guys know that it hasn't been given up on. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed since my last update (I try to get back to everyone!) and to those who are still willing to read it despite the gap in update times.

Flower Girl

Embarrassment Galore

"Would it make me seem like an old man if I told you a story about when I was twenty-something?" Hana was unable to suppress a smile; she loved when one of his stories started like this.

"Yes. But I'd still like to hear it." She grinned at the mock-glare that Hachiro sent her. It didn't last long, and once again he was slouching over the Shoji board with a smile on his face, tan hand poised over the board and he inspected the pieces.

"I used to be a ninja-"

"No way. You never mentioned that before," Hana said in awe, a little louder than she meant to. Hachiro motioned to the board – it had been Hana's turn for a little while now – and she hastily moved one of her smaller pieces to a safer place.

"It was another life," Hachiro shrugged, making a move of his own on the board. "I fell in love with a teammate of mine. She wasn't part of the original team, but..." Hachiro made a motion with his hand, indicating that it didn't really matter.

"What was her name?" Hana asked, inspecting the pieces before her.

"Yuei Muiji. The problem was that I wasn't the only one head over heels for her. I ended up in a challenge with a Jounin over her."

"What rank were you?" Hana finally made a decision and moved a piece, shifting in her chair so she could rest her elbow on the table.

"Chuunin."

Hana let out a short laugh that was most definitely not a snort. "So you had your butt handed to you?" Hana asked with a playful smile.

"In a matter of speaking, yes. But it didn't really matter." Hana raised an eyebrow, waiting for the old man to continue talking. He moved a piece of his on the board and grabbed one of her own pieces and threw it onto the growing pile by his elbow, then settled into silence as he watched the board.

"Why didn't it matter?" Hana prompted. Granny once told her that she acted like a child hearing an adventurous tale for the first time when Hachiro told her stories about his past, but she tried not to let that bother her and leaned forward a bit.

Hachiro's eyes didn't leave the table between them, but his smile widened. "The guy turned out to be a jerk, so after that one date she was done with him. Mind you, back then I was quite the looker and swooped in."

"So you got the girl?" Hana asked, unable to hide her own smile.

"Yep."

"Why do I feel like this story wouldn't have come up if it weren't for the circumstances?" Hana asked, watching Hachiro sit back in his chair and send her a knowing look. The circumstances, of course, being the challenge between Gai and Kakashi.

"There's something I think you could gain from this, tale of mine," Hachiro said, waving his hand flippantly in the air as he thought of the right term.

"And that is...?" Hana prompted.

"I lost the battle, but ended up marrying Yuei. 'Won the war', as your grandmother would say, since she's so fond of adages."

"This is getting really cheesy, Hachiro," Hana said, attempting to pull of a scolding tone.

"But hopefully useful," Hachiro said, moving a piece of his across the board and sitting back with a triumphant smile. "You lose."

xxx

Hana felt her hand swing up to smack her forehead. If things kept going at this rate, she would have a permanent red mark on her face.

Is this really happening…again? Aren't these two supposed to be fully-grown adults? Hana found herself, once more, standing in front of Maight Gai and Kakashi Hatake; her hand on her forehead and a few people cheering on the competition behind her. Hana turned to glare at her grandmother, who was cheering for the 'silver-haired fellow'; and Lee, who was cheering on his sensei with too much enthusiasm. There was a few people that Hana had seen around the village, but none other she knew by name.

"I have decided on another challenge, my arch rival!" Gai yelled, his voice as loud as ever. Kakashi looked up to the sky and stuffed a hand into his pocket, staring with a very uninterested expression towards Gai.

"Well, what is it?"

"After a long day of thinking, I do not believe we have ever had a wrestling match!" Hana felt whatever color was in her face drain away. Wrestling?

Kakashi shrugged, and the corner of Gai's eye twitched before he glanced around the crowd. Hana felt the need to run back to the flower shop and hide behind the counter when his eyes finally landed on her. As always, a suave smile lit up his face as he flashed his teeth in a grin.

"Have no fear, my precious flower. There will be no ties with this challenge, and nothing to stop me crushing my arch rival and winning a date with you!" A finger was pointed in Hana's direction.

"Um…that's great." Hana felt her face grow red again. Why does he always have to talk to me like that? It's so embarrassing!

"So, what are the rules for this…wrestling match?" Kakashi asked, his lazy expression never faltering as his eyes found Gai once again.

"There are to be no weapons used, or using your hands as a weapon. You can only use your strength to grab and force the other into a pin. Winner goes on a date with my flower." Why can't he ever call me by my name? I do have a name!

Kakashi nodded once and unstrapped the pouch of weapons on his thigh, dropping it to the ground by his feet with a surprisingly loud thud. Gai did the same, though he had quite a bit less weapons than Kakashi. Reaching under their sleeves and in their jackets, Hana gulped when the final knife was dropped to the ground. The piles of weapons at their feet was enough to make anyone, ninja or not, a little nervous.

They can hide all of those just in their clothing? The two Jounin's took a step away from the piles of shuriken and kunai at their feet, Gai crouching down as if he was readying himself to pounce.

"Hana, want to count us down?" Kakashi asked, turning his visible eye to Hana. It curved upward, the only indication that he was smiling.

"Um, sure, I guess." Hana waited a second as Kakashi took on the same pose as Gai. Will I be able to see who wins this time?

"Three….Two…One!"

There was a flash of blue and green as Gai leaped towards Kakashi. Even without the dust to cover up their movements, it was nearly impossible to keep up. One second Kakashi would be pinned to the ground, and the next he would have Gai in a headlock.

The small crowd behind her continued to cheer, and Hana rolled her eyes at her grandmother punching the air with a delicate fist.

"Go, you…silver-haired fellow!" she cried out, laughing along with everyone else when the wrestling paused long enough to see Kakashi sitting on Gai's back, the jumpsuit-wearing man's hands held behind his back.

Kakashi won! There was an odd sense of relief as the Kakashi-section of the crowd let out a few more cheers. A small voice laughed at her from the back of her mind. You just want another date with Kakashi.

I do not! Hana thought, her face going red as she focused on the match again. Somehow, Gai had gotten free of Kakashi's hold. A cool breeze swept through the patch of grass they were all standing on, and Hana instinctively wrapped her arms around her stomach; hugging herself as she watched the two 'fully grown adults' wrestle each other to the ground.

"Gai-sensei won!" Lee yelled, punching his fist into the air. Hana watched in amazement as the two finally stopped moving; Gai sitting atop Kakashi's back, holding his arms behind him in a way that looked impossible to get out of. She felt herself deflate a little as Kakashi gave the grip on his arms an experimental tug before letting his head fall a bit.

"Aha!" Gai exclaimed, letting go of Kakashi and jumping off his back before helping him to his feet. "That was a great effort, my arch rival, but I believe I have won this one."

Kakashi mumbled something while he rubbed his shoulder, glancing towards Hana with a shrug and an apologetic smile.

Please tell me I'm still asleep…this has to be a dream! No! A nightmare! Hana felt her face glow red again as Gai turned from Kakashi and scanned the crowd of people either gaining or losing money from the outcome of the challenge. His eyes finally found Hana again, standing awkwardly in front of the group with her arms around her stomach, looking as if she wanted to be anywhere but there.

"Well, my dear flower, would tomorrow be a good day for a date? I heard promising things about the weather."

XXXX

"Stop laughing at me." Hana tried to keep some of the childish whining out of her voice, but it was impossible when her grandmother was laughing hysterically at her, clutching the counter with a wrinkly hand to keep her balance. "This isn't funny...it's horrible!"

"You're the one who agreed to this whole 'challenge' thing, dear," Grandma Lee delicately dabbed at her eyes, still giggling and bursting into random fits of laughter every few seconds. "And yes, it is funny," she added.

Hana let her head fall back, groaning when there was a loud knock on the door.

"I'll get it!" Grandma Lee brushed past Hana, rushing for the front door. Hana picked at the sleeve of her shirt.

He's here now...there's no way to get out of this. She wanted to groan again when Grandma Lee loudly invited him inside.

"My little flower!" Gai exclaimed, stepping over the threshold with the same dramatic air as always. She smiled weakly at him, readying herself for what was sure to be a few hours of pure embarrassment.

If he's as embarrassing to be around while he's just a customer... Hana suppressed the urge to shudder when she thought about how he would act at dinner. She had insisted on lunch, seeing as that was more of a 'friendly meal', but Gai had decided on a 'romantic' dinner and held onto that like a dog to its bone. Though his version of 'deciding' was to pout and all-but through a tantrum until Hana was forced to let him have his way.

"Are you ready to go?" Gai managed to look both polite for Grandma Lee, and still have that suave smile plastered on his face as he winked at Hana.

"You two have a good time," Grandma Lee pushed them out onto the street, locking the door behind them with a loud and final click. Hana glared at the closed door before Gai grabbed her hand and pulled her down the street.

"Gai-sensei!" They had barely made it a few feet away from the store when Lee, Gai's student, came bouncing down the street; skidding to a halt with his hand raised in a solute.

"Hello, Lee," Gai stopped, holding Hana's hand tightly in his when she tried to tug it free from his grasp. Sighing in defeat, she settled for trying to hide behind him. "I can't stay and chat-" he pulled Hana out from behind him just as she was completely hidden from view and holding their hands in the air "-I'm on a date!"

The triumph in his voice and the pure volume attracted the attention of the innocent villagers passing by; most merely glanced and walked away, but a few seemed to know them and stopped to talk.

"Alright, Gai!" A man with light brown hair down to his shoulders stood next to Lee, a long needle held between his teeth as he smiled at the two. "You finally got a date out of her?"

Gai nodded, holding their hands up in the air again. "That I did, Genma."

It was obvious that Genma was trying to pass off his laughter as some coughing, but no one except Hana seemed to notice. She tried inching behind Gai again when a few more people stopped. She felt the blood rush to her face when a shorter man craned his neck to see where Hana was hiding. Crowds were definitely not her thing, and especially when she was being paraded around like something won at a carnival booth.

"Really?" The word was cut off by a fit of coughing. Hana peaked out from around Gai's shoulder, smiling weakly at the purple-haired girl who was giving her a pitied look. "So am I." Hana inched out further, seeing that the man coughing was holding the girls hand, smiling as he seemed to pull himself together.

"You finally gave in?" Genma asked, smiling cheekily at the girl. She rolled her eyes and shrugged.

"One date can't hurt," she explained. A few people seemed to disappear by the time Hana peaked out from behind Gai's back again.

"Anyway!" Gai's sudden outburst made a few people jump. "I have a date to go on. I will let you all know how it goes," Gai dragged Hana back out from behind him and set off down the street.

She groaned, trying hard to ignore the stares of the villagers as Gai practically burst through a crowd of shoppers. This is going to be a long date.

xx

Hana shut the door behind her quietly, wondering if she would be able to sneak home and into bed unnoticed. She took a few steps forward, staying on her tiptoes as she tested the floors.

A little squeaky, but not too bad. Hana took another few steps towards the door behind the counter. It's not too far to my room. I bet Granny is already asleep.

Hana reached for the doorknob a heard a cough from behind the counter. She must have jumped a good few feet off the ground when Grandma Lee emerged from behind the counter; a wide grin on her face.

"You're a little past your curfew," she said in a singy-song voice; her fluffy eyebrows raised as she smiled mischievously at her granddaughter.

Hana rolled her eyes.

"I'm twenty-four, Granny, you can't really give me a curfew." She's really gone senile this time.

Grandma Lee shrugged and brushed some imaginary dust off the counter.

"I suppose I can over look it…just this once." Hana rolled her eyes again and went to grab the doorknob. The dreaded question came right as Hana opened the door. "How was your date?"

There was a knowing grin on Grandma Lee's face as she clasped her wrinkled hands in front of her, looking almost gleeful as Hana slowly turned back to face her.

Damn, if I make a run for it I'll never hear the end of it. Hana reluctantly let go of the doorknob.

"Embarrassing."

Grandma Lee raised an eyebrow, wordlessly prompting Hana for more details. Somehow, this felt more like an interrogation than a friendly chat with her grandmother. Hana sighed and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"He told everyone we saw that we were on a date. He actually interrupted other people's conversations to let them know we were on a date. It was so…embarrassing." Hana rubbed her forehead. She had lost track of how many times she had slapped it since leaving the house with Gai on their 'date', and it was still feeling rather sore.

Grandma Lee chuckled and shook her head. Hana raised her eyebrow.

"You think it's funny that it was embarrassing? You know how much I hate crowds, and Gai seemed to be attracted to them." The old bushy-browed lady shook her head; a grin still on her face when she looked up at her granddaughter.

"I'm surprised that you haven't noticed what all of this is doing to you."

Hana's eyes widened in surprise.

What this is doing to me? She suddenly felt a little suspicious of the conversation and where Granny Lee was directing it, and watched her grandmother's face carefully. "What does that mean?"

"Before you met that obnoxious loud-mouth and that silver-haired fellow, you wouldn't talk to anyone, let alone go out in public with someone and talk to them." There was an amused smile on her face that was frankly very annoying to Hana.

I haven't changed a bit!

Grandma Lee chuckled again.

"Well, you still wear those annoying bandages and are a little clumsy, but whether you've noticed it or not, you have changed."

Hana crossed her arms over her chest, wanting to deny this fact once again, but found that she couldn't.… Maybe she's right.

"Of course I'm right! I'm glad you had a good night, and next time I want you home by curfew." Grandma Lee pointed a threatening finger towards Hana before brushing past her and through the door, shutting it behind her and leaving Hana in the semi-dark flower shop.

Hana scowled at the closed door.

I do not have a curfew, you crazy old lady.

Hana cursed her grandmother's ability to all-but read her mind as she leaned against the counter, letting out a long breath that made the strands of hair in front of her face billow out before landing on her nose. She brushed it out of the way and followed her grandmother towards the back of the store, and to her bedroom.

"Stupid Granny. Stupid Gai. Stupid challenges." Hana muttered to herself, peeling the long-sleeved shirt off of her before rummaging through a pile of clean, folded clothes for another one. Hana quickly unwrapped the bandages from around her arms, setting the white straps of cloth on top of her desk before tossing herself down onto her bed.

After a long day of working in the shop and an exhausting date with Maight Gai, it didn't take long for Hana to suddenly lose all feeling of her body; black eating at the edges of her vision as she quickly fell asleep.

"So…how was it?" Hana felt whatever small smile she had on her face fall. She had heard that question many times, and most of the people she didn't even know! Kakashi leaned against the counter, his eye curved up as he smiled behind his mask.

Hana placed the bouquet of purple and dark blue flowers she was putting together on the counter, giving Kakashi a small glare that wasn't nearly as crippling as she wanted it to be.

Of course, he had to bring it up. Hana thought bitterly. Now, do I tell him the truth or tell him what I've been telling everyone else to make the conversation end as soon as possible?

"Embarrassing," she finally spit it out, picking up the flowers once again and keeping her eyes glued to the task at hand.

"Embarrassing?" Kakashi asked, an eyebrow raised as he watched Hana shuffle around behind the counter, putting together the small arrangement of flowers. "How so?"

Hana let out a small laugh, her dark blue eyes darting up to Kakashi before she went back to wrapping the arrangement of flowers in a light blue paper.

"He told everybody that we were on a date."

Kakashi shrugged a bit. "I wouldn't put it past him."

Hana glanced back up at Kakashi, gauging his response.

"He interrupted other peoples dates, just to tell them that we were on a date. I don't think he even knew half of them, but he just went right along and interrupted their conversations."

Kakashi laughed, stuffing his hands into his pockets as he glanced around the store. "Yeah, I guess I could see that too."

The back door swung open and Grandma Lee backed into the store, some papers clutched in one hand and a few bright orange flowers in the other. She slapped the papers down on the counter, and Hana picked them up with a groan.

"Just a few more orders to finish up," Grandma Lee said, smiling politely to Kakashi before turning to put the bright orange flowers away. Hana picked up the stack of papers and flipped through them.

The little old woman came back to stand behind the counter.

"Would I be able to steal your granddaughter for another date once she's finished with those?" Kakashi asked, motioning with a gloved hand towards the papers that were now spread out over the counter. Hana's head shot up as she looked between the two. Grandma Lee gave Hana a smug smile before turning back to Kakashi.

"Of course you may."

Hana raised her eyebrow when Kakashi turned back to her, his eye curved as he smiled behind his mask.

"Not even asking me anymore?" Hana asked, a small smile tugging at her lips as she went to grab a handful of bright yellow sunflowers.

As if you would say no! A small voice laughed at her.

Kakashi leaned against the counter again, hands jammed into his pockets. He shrugged, that smile never leaving his face as he watched her race around the store, grabbing a myriad of flowers and before too long, multiple bouquets laid on the counter.

"Done," Hana said, a hint of triumph in her voice and minimal blushing as he handed the papers back to her grandmother. "Bye, Granny."

Hana moved to leave the counter, but a wrinkled hand held the sleeve of her shirt in a death grip. After a couple of tugs on the fabric, Hana sighed and turned around.

"Change out of that grimy shirt, girl!"

Hana rolled her eyes, but went through the back door and followed the small hallway down towards her bedroom. She took off her shirt, wondering exactly how her grandmother could deem it 'grimy', but tossed it in the dirty-clothes hamper anyway. When she came back into the store, clad in a long-sleeved 'clean' shirt, she was thankful that Grandma Lee was busy helping a customer; and she was able to dodge out of the store before she had caught a glimpse of her.

"Why is she against you wearing those shirts?" Kakashi asked, motioning towards the plain black shirt Hana was wearing. She shrugged, mumbling an excuse that sounded lame even to her. She let Kakashi lead the way through the town, unsure where they were going, or where they even were.

"Have you been to Ichiraku's?" Kakashi asked as he stopped in front of a small ramen stand. Hana shook her head.

Kakashi's hands were shoved back in his pockets.

"In the mood for ramen?"

"Sure."

I'm not even really that hungry, Hana thought, ignoring that small voice in the back of her head that laughed at her as she followed Kakashi into the ramen stand.

"I suppose I should be getting you back home," Kakashi drawled, pushing the empty bowl of ramen away before handing the rather large chef behind the counter the money. Hana thanked the man who had given them their food before following Kakashi out of the stand, wondering exactly when it had acquired so many customers. It had been fairly empty on their way in, but sometime through their idly conversation, it had become more and more busy.

"Yeah, Granny has decided to give me an imaginary curfew," Hana laughed, watching as her breath turned to smoke in the chilly air.

"Aren't you a little old for curfews?" Kakashi asked, head cocked to the side as he led them back down the streets they had come.

Hana shrugged. "That's what I told-"

A door opened, and before Hana could figure out what was happening, three ninjas in green flak vests stumbled out onto the street, sniggering and stumbling. One of them stopped in front of the two, and surged forward, clutching onto Kakashi's shoulders like a lifeline.

Ugh! I can smell the alcohol from here! Hana took a step back, watching with a bit of amusement as the other two following him tried to turn around, only to fall into each other.

"Bit early for drinking, don't you think, Genma?" The man clutching Kakashi's shoulders tried to shrug, letting go of one shoulder long enough to pull a rather long looking needle out from his vest and stick it in his mouth. He grinned at Kakashi, swaying a little as his eyes tried to focus. After a moment, Hana recognized him from the street, though she hadn't gotten a good look at him since she was trying to hide behind Gai.

"I'm not drunk, he is!" Genma spun, dragging Kakashi forward with him in his haste to point out a sickly looking ninja who was currently clutching the door, afraid to let go in case he fell. Hana hadn't caught his name the day before, but it was the coughing ninja who dated the purple-haired girl.

"Hayate," Kakashi greeted, earning a small, nervous smile in reply as the man finally let go of the door and tested his legs with a few steps. He seemed to calm down a bit knowing that he was able to walk.

"Well, as great as this little run-in was, I have to be going," Kakashi said quickly, shrugging off Genma's death grip on his shoulder. Genma shrugged and turned, gripping onto Hayate's shoulder instead.

"You! Y-you have a good night!" Genma yelled over his shoulder, pointing a finger in Kakashi's direction as Hayate pulled him down the street along with the other two. Hana chuckled when Kakashi finally came back to stand beside her, staring at their retreating unstable figures.

"Will they be okay?" Hana asked when one of them stumbled into the wall of another store.

"Hayate will get them all home okay." An arm wound its' way over Hana's shoulders and guided her away from the mass of stumbling and giggling ninja, turning down a street that she faintly remembered seeing.

"Well, I think Gai has an interesting challenge planned for tomorrow, so I guess I should go get some shut-eye," Kakashi said, removing his arm from around Hana's shoulders with a small smile when they stopped in front of the path that lead through the small garden to her front door. She suppressed a shiver at the sudden rush of cold air around her, and felt her arms wrap around her stomach.

"What does he have planned this time?" Hana asked, wondering what could possibly come after that… interesting wrestling match.

"I think he mentioned Shogi," Kakashi shrugged. "But I'll see you tomorrow, bright and early for the match." Hana rolled her eyes.

Do I have to get up early? Her inner-voice whined; but Hana ignored it and nodded.

"Goodn-" Hana muttered with a smile as she reached for the handle and opened the door, shocked when the knob gave way before she even put the key in.

Wait… it's never unlocked. Hana felt her heart leap into her throat as she pulled her hand away from the doorknob, something warm and sticky on her hand.

"Something wrong?" Kakashi asked as Hana pulled her hand up to her face, inspecting the red liquid that stained her skin.

Blood! Hana pushed the door open, feeling her hand slip against the wood.

The shop was dark, but not pitch-black. Enough light filtered in from the light over the backdoor…enough so she didn't have to guess what was on the far wall. The deep red splash stood out against the pale-colored walls. Her eyes widened, and she nearly jumped out of her skin when Kakashi put a hand on her shoulder, pushing her behind him as he pulled a large kunai knife out from his vest.

Panic struck through Hana's chest, leaving an ache in it's path as she stood rooted in her spot, looking around the shop for any more signs of blood. It felt like her senses were on full alert and she nearly jumped out of her skin when something crunched when Kakashi moved forward. The flowers and vases on the nearest shelf had been knocked to the ground, glass and crushed flowers littering the floor.

"Stay here, I'm going to check the back and make sure no one's there," Kakashi said, his voice echoing through the small store, sending shivers up Hana's spine before she was able to nod. She heard the back door open and Kakashi disappeared.

Another sickening jolt passed through Hana, immobilizing her.

I need to breath, she thought to herself, chanting the words in her head as she fought through a lump in her throat for air.

When her head finally stopped spinning, another jolt went through her that seemed to paralyze her even more. Where's Granny?

Hana's feet were moving of their own accord now, dashing around the store to check under counters and in the corners.

Maybe she hid and is scared that whoever did this is still here.

Hana let out a breath of air when she finally saw the large tuft of gray hair under the front counter. Feeling seemed to return to her limbs and it felt like her heart started beating again.

"Grandma? It's okay, it's just me."

Hana felt another ache in her chest, and her feet started moving of their own accord again. She felt something warm against her knees as she ran forward and fell to the ground, ignoring the icy hand that gripped her stomach as she reached forward.

It's okay, she'll wake up when she realizes it's okay to come out.

"Grandma?" Hana felt the word shake as she gripped Grandma Lee's shoulder, purposefully ignoring the smears of blood across her dress and the dark stain on her stomach. She jumped back in shock as Grandma Lee's head fell backwards, mouth open and eyes shut.

"Hana?"

She jumped at her own name, and felt a hand on her shoulder as Kakashi tried to pull her away.

She's dead!

Hana's throat was closed off again as a sob stole her air.

She can't be.

Hana was pulled to her feet, faintly aware of something warm wrapping around her shoulders, forcing her to look at a green vest instead of….

Grandma! Who could possibly hurt her?

Something clicked in her mind as another sob finally broke through the lump in her throat, and she was able to breath long enough to choke out a word. "Yuukan."

Hana wiped the tears on her cheeks off with the back of her hand, setting the crippling panic aside as rage suddenly tore through her veins. The warmth around her disappeared, and through the haze of red she could see Kakashi holding her at arm's length, his mouth moving.

Why can't I hear him?

"Yuukan did this." Hana took a steadying breath and glanced around, unable to hear Kakashi's words that sounded like they were in a different language.

Hana felt her body moving by itself again, moving faster than she had ever remembered moving before. Her hand jutted out and pushed Kakashi back, breaking his grip on her shoulders so she was able to spin on her heels and she was out the door. Cold air pushed her hair out of her face; she didn't know the village very well, but her mind picked a direction, and her body ran.

Hana could feel the familiar chakra behind her; Kakashi was following close behind, yelling something that she couldn't hear. She was still shocked at the speed she was going. The short distance she had covered made her legs ache, but like picking up an old art, she pushed chakra into her feet, propelling her faster and faster down the street.

Kakashi felt a stream of curse words flow out of his mouth.

A civilian shouldn't be able to run this fast! Kakashi thought, watching the blur of Hana's legs take her down the street towards the front of the village. There was a surge of chakra that had been familiar – it was Hana's chakra – but he had never felt it in this sort of quantity. The large arch in the front of the village was coming into view fast, and Kakashi pushed his mind to think up a plan. He wasn't sure what was going through Hana's mind, but if she was able to move that fast then he needed to be ready for anything unexpected. She had mentioned a name before she ran, did that mean she was after him or getting away from him? There was a lot of unknown information that made Kakashi feel uneasy about rushing into a possible trap without backup. The gate-guards!

"Izumo! Kotetsu!" He yelled, stopping in front of the stand where the two ninja were seated. Izumo jolted forward, eyes wide as he watched the blur of red hair disappear through the gates.

"What the…," Kotetsu muttered, turning to look at Kakashi with wide eyes.

"Just follow me!" Kakashi yelled, disappearing after Hana and forming a plan when the chakra's of Kotetsu and Izumo began to follow.

"What the hell is going on?" Kotetsu asked; the weapons-master drawing a curved sword from its' sheath as he leaped from branch to branch. Izumo was staring at Kakashi with the same expression.

What is going on? Kakashi asked himself, quickly explaining the situation to the two as the movement ahead of him finally stopped. He wasn't sure how far he expected her to run, but he figured another few miles and they would surround her, effectively stopping her from wherever she was going without harming anyone who could be in the area. That plan now appeared to be out the window.

The three ninjas skidded to a halt in a small clearing. Hana stood with a kunai clutched in her hand in the middle of the clearing, scanning the bushes around her. Her shoulders were shaking, and Kakashi picked up the scent of blood and salt on her – tears.

"Hana, we need to go back. We can figure out who did this-"

"You can't hide from me, Yuukan!" Hana growled, her jaw clenched as she whipped around to look behind her, tear streaks down her cheeks indicating that his nose was right.

Kakashi opened his mouth to talk again, attempting to calm the irate Hana in front of him.

"And you can't fight me, Hana." Kakashi's mouth snapped shut as he drew another kunai, spinning to face the source of the voice and searching for a chakra signal that didn't appear to be there until Kakashi began searching intently for it. A man stepped out from behind a tree, a smug smile on his face as Hana shifted in front of Kakashi. Izumo and Kotetsu stood towards the edge of the clearing; weapons drawn and eyes wide.

Hana took in the mans' appearance. There was a smear of blood across his chest and a few splatters on his cheek. The reddish-brown hair that hung in front of his dark blue eyes was dripping with sweat, but by his smile he didn't appear to be put off by any of this.

I'll kill him for this!

His smile grew as the growl tore through Hana's teeth. That smirk struck irritation through her like it had so many times before.

"Long time, no see, little sister."