Now here you go again, you say
You want your freedom
Well who am I to keep you down
It's only right that you should
Play the way you feel it
But listen carefully to the sound
Of your loneliness

-Dreams; by Fleetwood Mac


Kakashi liked to remember. He liked to remember the time he first met Kanna, all those years ago. He was younger back then, more. . .standoffish. Too many tragedies in his childhood and adolescence caused Kakashi to become cold and uncaring. He felt he didn't deserve others in his life, since he'd already lost so much. And then there was Kanna, the Kumogakure woman. She had to be a year older than himself, yet he found himself drawn to her for some reason. Their moments of intimacy soon became one of Kakashi's biggest regrets. He should've known better than to create a connection — and a possible romantic one, to make matters worse — with a civilian, especially one from a different nation. It was so out of character for him to do something like that. But he had to acknowledge that he'd created a problem, and he didn't know how to properly address it in that moment. Leaving Kumogakure was probably the best solution. It did bring Kakashi some relief, but only for a few months. Then Kanna returned.

The day Kakashi realized he had a child. . .his whole world transformed. It filled him with emotions he couldn't quite explain. He was worried — what if his enemies used Yuri as a means of revenge? What other schemes could she be used for? Kakashi's emotions were conflicting, filling him with doubt and uncertainty. He wanted to have a minute to truly comprehend what was going on.

When it became clear that Kakashi would take Yuri into his care, he did his best to push those conflicting emotions aside. He had to be a good father to his child, despite all the odds. Kakashi had to figure out ways to overcome the risks that came with being a shinobi and a father. He needed to figure it out quickly. Yuri's life was hanging in the balance.

Over time, Kakashi had developed a routine. He figured out how to balance his shinobi work and his duties as a father with little to no trouble. He had some help, thankfully, and it gave him techniques in how to properly parent as a single father. In more ways than one, it opened Kakashi's eyes. He hadn't realized how his world would change, how his life would be flipped in an instant when it came to caring for a child. Yuri soon became Kakashi's entire world. He'd do anything to please her, to give her a good shot at life. But he also had to keep in mind that Yuri was her own person. She'd develop her own desires, her own dreams. As badly as he wanted to be the father who spoiled her, Kakashi knew he'd have to be the father who understood boundaries, too. That was all he could really offer.

So Kakashi came to a conclusion. He'd spoil Yuri to an extent, but would do his best in instilling the independence and core values he believed she should have. He only had one opportunity, really, and he didn't want to screw it up.

Regardless of how uncertain Kakashi felt about being a father, regardless of how frightened he was about Yuri's safety, he had to keep in mind he only had one shot in making her a good, wholesome individual. If in any way he made a wrong move, it could impact his daughter for the rest of her life. And it seemed as though that "wrong move" had been taken long before Yuri could even talk.

It all started when Kakashi promised to never mention Kanna. Yuri's lack of knowledge of her mother was impacting her negatively, and he didn't even realize it.

~(˘▾˘~)

Yuri and Naruto, along with the rest of their teammates, were on their way for taijutsu training. The two had gone into conversations about plenty of topics while on their venture, but Yuri found herself starting to fade away. It wasn't a voluntary action; it just happened. Naruto didn't seem to notice too much, considering he loved to talk so much. But his voice was blurring in and out, some words standing out more than others. It was hard to make out what he was trying to say, or what subject he'd jumped into, and Yuri did her best to keep up the facade that she was paying attention, but it was getting a bit difficult.

This isn't how a friendship is supposed to start, is it? Yuri thought. It doesn't feel right, not giving Naruto the attention he needs.

The thought fluttered in her mind for a moment before vanishing. Yuri did feel a bit of guilt, knowing that not fully paying attention to Naruto could result in a number of things. Maybe he'd assume that friendliness that he'd been shown had been a front. Maybe he'd assume that there was something wrong with Yuri altogether. That could be true to an extent; maybe there was something wrong with her. The daughter of the infamous Kakashi Hatake, the granddaughter of the dishonored Sakumo Hatake — was there something in their family none of them knew about? Or was Yuri's mind running on make believe?

Chewing on the inside of her cheek, Yuri tried to shake herself free from her thoughts. It was almost ridiculous, how easily she was letting herself get distracted. It was very unlike her.

"Hey, are you alright?" Naruto's question snapped Yuri out of her thoughts. He was looking at her with narrowed eyes, looking almost suspicious and curious at the same time.

"Uh. . .yeah, I'm fine," Yuri murmured.

"Are you sure?"*

"Yeah. Sorry."

"You looked like you were thinking really hard about something."

Shaking her head, Yuri tried for a smile. "It was nothing, really," she said. "I was just spacing out."

With a shrug, Naruto let out a huff.

When they finally reached the training area, all the students fell quiet. Iruka was standing in the center of one of the spots, looking to see if all his students had arrived. With a satisfied glint in his eyes, the session began.


(A/N):

Okay, to start things off, I'm in no way happy with how this chapter turned out. I thought I knew where I was going with it, but then the more I wrote, the more I realized I had no idea what I was doing. I think I dove back into this story too fast, given I haven't updated it in a while. All I'm really saying is that I'm rusty, and hopefully I can get myself back into a comfortable place with this. So I'm going to leave the rest to you guys. Give constructive criticism. Tell me what I did well in, tell me where I can improve. This chapter wasn't exactly amazing, and hopefully you guys can help me find out where I went wrong with it.

Also, I own nothing in this franchise. All I own are my OCs, my subplots, and the clothes in my room. If you've got ideas for OCs or subplots, be sure to PM me or leave a review. I'll add them in as soon as possible.

So, I know this might be a bit weird for a story revolving around Naruto, but how many of you have seen the 'Bumblebee' trailer(s)? While I'm not the biggest fan of Transformers, I thought the trailer(s) looked promising. I know there are some people out there who're happy with how the designs look similar to the show's G1 get-up, but I've never seen the shows so. . .

I don't know. I was just curious.

If you want to leave a random fact in the review section, go ahead. Or, if you want to, leave a review about any good movies or movie trailers you've seen lately. I know Marvel released its first trailer for Captain Marvel, and I think it looks really good! I've wanted to see how they'd portray her for a while now. From the looks of it, though, a lot of people aren't happy with how Brie Larson plays Carol Danvers, but whatever. Everyone's got their own opinion.

I'd better wrap this author's note up.

Au revoir, my friends,

Farrah Czajkowski