Hey all! Sorry for the longish wait - I've been dealing with personal and health-related issues this past month that completely sapped my energy for all things. Things are looking up now though, and here we are again!

I'll admit, I'm stretching the timeline a little bit for after the Hokage's funeral. But then, I figure it takes SOME time for news to travel through the secret-loving ninja world, and then for certain parties travel on foot from Point A to Point B. So there.

Thank you as always for the favs, follows, and especially the reviews! I truly appreciate the extra time and effort leaving a review takes, and am always excited to see them :)


Chapter 8: Recovery

Last time, in To Unravel the Night…

Black spots ate at the edges of her vision. Between the strain and the heat, she couldn't breathe. Her body and mind screamed at her to let go, but she kept pushing. She was almost through!

The scent of a forest, of damp earth and fresh leaves, drifted into her nose. Then there was pine…Kaiya saw the sky arch past her eyes…

and then there was nothing.


The world around her was silent, black. It hadn't been this dark that night, and it hadn't been so quiet…yet she was sure that it wasthat night again, as certain as she was of her own name.

She was running. She could feel the muscles of her small legs pumping as fast as they could, trying to keep up with - who was holding her hand? It was warm, its grip strong, and it pulled her along with focused desperation. She felt safe with that hand. As long as she was holding that hand, everything would be all right…

and then she wasn't holding it anymore. Her eyes widened. Something came tumbling down around her, crushing her, blinding and suffocating - she screamed, but no sound came out -

The world was white. Were her eyes open? They couldn't be…her brow pinched as she tried to lift her eyelids; it took so much effort…

"Hey, hey, she's wakin' up!"

"Kaiya?"

Kaiya's eyes cracked open, only to reflexively shut again as the brightness of the outside world burned her retinas. Once they adjusted, she tried again. At first, the world swam before her eyes in a blur of whites and greys, but within seconds two figures came into focus. "Hikaru? Gorou?"

"Yeah, we're here," Gorou said, shifting his chair closer.

Her head drifted to the side, making the room tilt dizzyingly. "Where…?"

"You're in the hospital," Hikaru told her softly.

"You've been out of it for almost a week," Gorou added. "You had us worried there, Kaiya-chan!"

A week? Kaiya struggled to sit up, only to have searing pain shoot through her arms. "Agh!"

"Careful," Hikaru said, easing her back down. "You have severe chakra burns. The medics…did what they could…"

He trailed off, and Kaiya gingerly lifted her arms, though it felt more like lifting a pair of anvils. The limbs were covered from elbow to fingertips in bandages and medical seal tags; an IV was attached to one arm, slowly dripping clear fluids into her veins. Some part of her mind said that she should be in a lot more pain, if what Hikaru said was true, yet all she felt was a dull, vaguely floating sensation. She tried moving her fingers, flexing her hand, anything - but her fingers wouldn't respond. She hissed as she felt a tightness in her skin, a deep burn that faded when she stopped trying to move.

"They included painkillers in the IV solution," Hikaru told her. "You may feel a bit disoriented for a while."

"Disoriented" was an understatement. The world kept going in and out of focus; even her teammates voices were oddly muffled, then clear, then muffled again. "What happened…?"

"What do you remember?"

It seemed such a mighty task, making her mind recall the events that put her here, but Kaiya concentrated as best she could. "The village…was under attack…"

"We won," Gorou nodded. "I think Suna and Oto'll think twice before trying something like that again!"

Hikaru hushed him with a gesture. "What else?"

"The barrier…" Abruptly, she nearly shot up again, only to have the sting of the burns put a stop to that motion. "What happened? The Hokage-"

"Easy, there…" It was Gorou who coaxed her back down, but Kaiya could see by the tightness around his eyes that he was holding something back.

"Naruto? Sasuke?"

"Naruto-kun and Sasuke-kun are all right," Hikaru told her. "They've both checked in on you often-"

As relieved as she was to hear it, Kaiya felt impatience eat away at her drug-induced haze. "Hikaru. The Hokage. The barrier. What happened?"

Hikaru sighed and looked down. "Your jutsu…it worked. You tore a hole in the barrier big enough to let all three Anbu in at once."

For a moment, Kaiya wasn't sure she heard him right. Then, as the realization sank in, a strange sort of elation rose in her chest - possibly aided by the painkillers in her system. "It worked…it really worked…" She looked again at her teammates, expecting to see them sharing in her triumph, but instead saw only grief. "What is it?"

The two exchanged another weighted glance before Hikaru continued. "Once Anbu got in, the other three Oto nin let go of the barrier completely and tried to engage them, to keep them from getting to the Hokage. Then all of them -including the one Gorou was fighting - suddenly backed off. I…I couldn't see everything, but it looked like someone else joined them. After that, they took Orochimaru and left. Anbu couldn't stop them."

Any joy Kaiya had felt a moment ago evaporated. There was something they weren't telling her, and in her experience, that was never a good thing. "And…the Hokage?"

Their expressions gave her the answer before Gorou finally said it aloud. "They were too late…he's dead."


Nara Shikaku was not an ambitious man. In his youth, he'd been downright lazy - a trait that he'd apparently passed on to his son, Shikamaru. He never aspired to be Hokage, never even planned to be the leader of the Jonin Council or the representative of Konoha's clans - but here he was, carrying both positions. The former Jonin rep had been killed during Orochimaru's invasion; as for the clan rep position, Shikaku had somehow landed that honor a good decade and a half ago. Back when Konoha was one clan stronger…

He sighed heavily. Normally, all of the clan heads would be present for a meeting such as this, but with the village in the state it was in, that was hardly practical. So here he was, carrying the responsibility of two division heads, waiting on two old farts to start this damn meeting already.

What a drag.

The door opened, and the Elders finally joined the meeting, their aging bodies moving slowly, belying the strength and skill still present from years of being honed for battle.

Then a third person came in behind them - a person Shikaku hadn't seen in over five years.

His cane clicking on the wood-tiled floor announced his presence before he was seen; he seemed to carry shadows with him into the room, making it feel distinctly colder. One arm hung in a permanent sling, one half of his face hidden by bandages, clothed in simple, almost ascetic robes of white and black…this was the man known as the "Darkness of the Shinobi."

Shimura Danzo.

No one had seen or heard of Danzo since his impromptu retirement after the Uchiha massacre; rumors had it that he had relocated to an old Shimura family estate deep in the mountains to live out the rest of his life in solitude.

Why was he back now?

Koharu sat and addressed the small group around the table. "In this time of crisis, until we have chosen a new Hokage, we will need as much assistance as we can get. To that end, Danzo has graciously offered to come out of retirement. He worked closely with Sandaime-sama for many decades; it is with confidence that we welcome him back now."

"Thank you," Danzo said, a humble note in his voice that seemed distinctly out of place to Shikaku. "I shall do all I can to help bring Konoha back to glory."

Any thoughts of "what a drag" evaporated from Shikaku's mind as swiftly as water droplets landing in an inferno. Danzo was back. The man could never be pinned down for the dark deeds that only the barest of rumors suggested, but Shikaku never doubted his capacity for them.

His presence at this meeting set off alarms in Shikaku's mind - not just about the man himself or what he might be aiming for, but for something else. Something bigger, looming and ominous.

He'd do his duty and represent the Jonin and clans - if only to make sure that this man didn't get his talons into power too deeply.


Kaiya stared at her bandaged hands. Chakra burns caused by her contact with the Four Violet Flames barrier - it was either a miracle, the medics said, or a testament to her skill that she hadn't been incinerated entirely. In the days since she'd woken up, they'd become comparable to normal, second-degree burns thanks to a powerful salve and medical care. However, unlike a normal burn, it wasn't just her tissue and nerves that were affected. Until they healed entirely, her tenketsu points in her arms were shot; ninjutsu would be nearly impossible and she would need extensive rehabilitation to be functional again.

The bandages, interwoven with medical seal tags, kept her chakra from escaping en masse through her injured arms. Without the IV dripping painkillers steadily into her system, these tags were all that kept the ever-present sting at bay. The first couple of times the nurses had changed the bandages had been excruciating; as soon as the tags were off, her nerves went into fiery overdrive. It was as though she could feel every cell in her arms dying or attempting to rebuild all at once. It went deep, encasing her bones in searing, nauseating pain; the chakra loss through the scorched tenketsu points nearly made her pass out.

Over the past few days, that pain had lessened, and she could bear the bandage changes without white spots invading her vision. Every day, she tried to move her fingers a little more, get them to do more than twitch. It felt like her skin was tearing and stretching with every attempt, even as slowly as she went. She could now managed to hold a cup of water, but a pen was out of the question, let alone a kunai. The medics assured her that chakra burns do heal, even bad ones, though she might carry scars for the rest of her life.

That is, her skin and other tissue would heal. Her chakra pathways were a different story. For those, the medics warned her, full recovery might never happen. She might never be an active-duty ninja again.

And it had all been for nothing.

The Hokage was dead. She had been…too slow. No - it wasn't that she'd been slow; she'd been distracted, putting her personal questions above the safety of their leader. How could she be so stupid? How could she have let Kabuto get under her skin? But she knew how…and although shame ate at her with every breath she took, she knew why she listened to his words, why he managed to worm his way into her mind and hold her in place with only his voice. The promise of answers, of information about her past - it had been too tempting to refuse. She still wanted to know: what was it that the village was lying to her about? What was she missing?!

But what if it had all been an elaborate lie? Why should she believe anything that came from the mouth of an enemy? She had truly been a fool, outmaneuvered and outsmarted by a spy who simply spun lies to keep her busy. Had there been a chance to kill him and she was too blinded by curiosity to see it? It was this question that plagued her the most, repeating in her mind over and over until rest could only be found with the sedatives the medics provided her.

The Hokage was dead, along with a full third of their active forces. Orochimaru had escaped and was presumably still alive…still a threat. She had done nothing…and now she was crippled for however long it would take for these damn burns to heal.

If they ever healed.

A tear dampened the white cloth on her arm, followed by another. She hadn't felt so useless in years. She hadn't been able to save her teacher; she had severely misjudged someone she gave her heart to; and now…she had failed her leader, one of the first people to show faith in her abilities.

There was a light, perfunctory knock at the door, signaling that a nurse was about to enter. Kaiya swiftly dried her eyes and carefully propped herself up in bed, grateful for whatever company had arrived. Anything was better than dwelling on her own weakness and inadequacy.

The nurse - an older woman called Ume-san - gave her a brisk greeting from over her clipboard. "How are we today, Fuumaki-san? Haven't been trying hand signs again, have you?"

"No," she lied. "So - when can I go home?"

Ume-san shook her head. "Uh-uh. Not until you've had your first chakra therapy session, young lady - which, as it so happens, will finally happen today! You have our best therapist, too, lucky girl. He's excellent with chakra and tenketsu injuries - he's a Hyuga, so I guess you could say he's got an 'eye' for it!"

As Ume laughed at her own joke, Kaiya's gaze darted toward the door, where a newcomer had arrived. Her eyes widened when she recognized the young man.

"Hyuga…Takashi?"

It was. Standing in the doorway of her hospital room was none other than her first opponent in the Chunin Exam finals from over five years ago.

"You're a nobody. A freeloader who got by on the merits of others…"

"Heh…maybe I'll even put you out of your misery. Not kill you - just leave you unable to use chakra properly ever again."

"It's about time you learned your place in the world…though it looks like you're starting to learn it, on your knees like that!"

No. No way in hell was he her therapist. This had to be a joke!

"Oh, you two know each other?" Ume nodded approvingly. "Good, good! I'll leave you to it, then!" She patted Takashi on the shoulder on her way out.

Kaiya and Takashi stared at each other for another second before Takashi stepped into the room. He didn't seem as shocked as she was, though by his frown and the just-noticeable tension in his shoulders, he didn't look thrilled to be there, either.

Did he resent her for beating him all those years ago? Was he here just to see her like this, beaten not by a person but by a chakra wall? What must he think now? These were the questions on her mind, but instead she asked, "So…you do chakra healing now?"

"Mm." He stopped a few paces away from her bed and she tensed involuntarily. His eyes caught her sudden stiffness and wary expression; he rolled them and huffed a sigh, crossing his arms. "If you believe I'm so petty as to hold a grudge, I do not. I am here in a professional capacity, and I will do my job."

Kaiya sat up and carefully swung her legs over the side of the bed. This was a very different person from the Takashi she'd fought five years ago; there was still some snideness to him, but she was sure that back then, he'd have flat-out refused to even be in the same room as her. "You've changed."

His pale eyes caught hers sharply. "What do you mean?"

"I mean…" Kaiya shifted uncomfortably. "Back then…the things you said to me…"

"If a few insults are what you remember-"

"They are," she interrupted flatly, looking him directly in the eye. "You basically said that my place in the world was as a whore. It's not exactly something you forget easily."

"As I recall, you enjoyed rubbing in my face the fact that I am a mere branch member of my clan."

"I only said that because I knew it'd rile you up," she argued hotly. "You're the one who couldn't control your temper!"

"I could simply leave right now," Takashi stated in a matter-of-fact tone, half-turning toward the door. "But good luck finding a better chakra expert in our village."

Kaiya closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm herself down. "No. Wait. I'm sorry. I was just surprised, that's all."

"Surprised that a mere branch member would be your therapist?" he muttered.

"Why the hell would that matter?" Kaiya shot back. "Look, if you don't want to work with me-"

"I said nothing of the sort."

Exasperation, exhaustion, frustration all gathered in her voice as she blurted out, "Then what's your problem?!"

Takashi arched a brow, his own voice annoyingly calm when he replied, "Now who's the one with the temper? It seems you are the one with the problem."

Kaiya had to take a few more breaths. Her problem? Her problem? "My problem is that I may never get to use ninjutsu again! So - are you happy? It's what you wanted to do to me back then, isn't it? I'll bet this is just too sweet for you right now - seeing me crippled like this-"

Her voice began to break, forcing her to cut herself off.

"I asked to take on this assignment."

The statement startled her; at first, Kaiya wasn't sure she even heard him right. In her surprise, she turned back to Takashi.

"Not to mock you," he continued, a slight scoff in his voice. "Not to gloat. Believe it or not, I…" He paused, then sighed. "I admire what you've done."

Kaiya blinked several times. "What?"

"You're an important asset to Konoha," Takashi said, too swiftly for her to truly believe that this was all that he meant. "What you did with that barrier during the invasion…it was idiotic, coming in such close contact with such virulent chakra, but it was more than anyone else could have attempted. As such, I will do what I can to help you get back to full health."

Kaiya stared at him in shock once again. This really was a different person from the one she'd fought. He was calmer, better able to separate his feelings from his actions…still a bit of an asshole, but a much more mature one. And…he actually wanted to help her? "Can I? …be as I was?"

The veins around his eyes popped as he activated his Byakugan. "Let's find out."


On one of the higher rooftops of the village, the figure of a large man crouched near a railing. In his hand was a telescope, pointing down into the village. When he sensed someone behind him, he shifted the scope's trajectory and let out a low whoop.

"Awww man…they just don't make 'em like that anywhere else! Can't beat those Konoha girls, I'm telling ya!"

"Still up to your usual hobbies, I see," greeted Kakashi from behind him, arms folded, expression bored.

"I don't see you complaining about the results of my research," the man retorted. "Every experience is important for crafting the scenes of my books. I need to soak up as much as I can!"

He didn't have to turn around to know that Kakashi was shaking his head in mild exasperation. "It's been a long time, Jiraiya-sama. How many years since you were last in the village?"

Jiraiya collapsed his telescope and stood up. "I don't keep track."

"You know the Elders will be looking for you any minute."

Jiraiya shrugged. "Too bad for them - I'm not going to be their next Hokage."

"You also know who will try to step in if you don't," Kakashi added in a low voice.

Jiraiya glanced back at him, brow raised. He had a good idea of who Kakashi meant, and though he didn't have an abundance of experience with the old man who'd been Sandaime's shady right hand, he knew enough not to doubt the hunger for power that Sarutobi-sensei had seemed blind to. "That old dog is back?"

"I have it straight from Nara Shikaku," Kakashi affirmed. "Danzo is back on the Council. I think you'd agree that he's not the ideal choice for leading this village."

"Yeah, I'm not the guy's biggest fan either," Jiraiya conceded. "Jeez…he'd just turn this whole invasion business into a reason to double-down on military rule. And forget international relations - we'd wind up as closed a village as Amegakure by year's end. Well, at the very least, I can offer them an alternative."

"Why not stay in the village a while?" Kakashi prodded. "Perhaps it's none of my business, but there are certain people here who'd benefit from you being around, even if it's not as Hokage."

Jiraiya paused. "I'll be taking over Naruto's training - that much I can guarantee - but not here. He'll come with me to find our fifth Hokage; I'm sure I can teach him a thing or two along the way."

"And after that?"

Leaning on the railing, Jiraiya looked out over the village. Much of it was in repair; scaffolding and sawdust blocked most of the view of the normally peaceful streets and shops. "Orochimaru really did a number on this place, didn't he…you know, after he left, I kept tabs on him as best I could. Wasn't easy - that guy's as slippery as the snakes he summons. Always was. Anyway, I did manage to hear that he'd joined a group for a while before leaving about four years ago. This group…once I heard about them, I couldn't not keep an eye on them, too."

Kakashi listened quietly, waiting for Jiraiya to get to the point.

"This group…it's a gathering of nine or so S-class criminals. I haven't gotten all of their identities down yet, but guess who's one of them? Our very own Uchiha Itachi." Jiraiya's brow creased, his voice lowering with a hint of dread. "For the most part, they've been doing mercenary work at a competitive rate to the village system; people hire them when they don't want their own names attached to a deed but also don't want to spend a small fortune. It wasn't much at first, just a gig here and there…but recently, they've shown signs of having other goals."

"You think they've been using those jobs to gather money for something else?"

"Exactly. The question is…for what?" Pushing away from the railing, he turned to face Kakashi. "A group like that doesn't just pop up out of nowhere, especially one made of so many Missing Nin. Something brought them together and is keeping them in line - a bigger goal, a greater purpose…and based on what I've been hearing, they've been looking for something very specific."

Kakashi's visible eye narrowed. "Naruto?"

"More specifically, the Kyuubi," Jiraiya confirmed. "At least, that's my current theory. Even if it isn't so, Naruto's gonna have people after him - after what he carries - all his life. He's got to be prepared, and I'm the best one for the job. That's why I came back - not to put on the Hokage's hat, but to train him."

He turned back around, pulling out his telescope as he did. Kakashi eyed his broad back for a moment before speaking again. "And her?"

"What about 'her?'"

"You know who I mean."

"What am I supposed to do?"

If Kakashi had an answer to that, he didn't offer it. Instead, a soft 'poof' told him that the young man had disappeared. Jiraiya unfurled the telescope once more and aimed it downward; when he looked into the eyepiece and focused the lens, he saw the fluttering curtain of a hospital room and a head of bright hair beyond.


Kaiya closed her eyes and breathed as Takashi's surprisingly soothing voice led her through the exercise. It was similar to basic chakra awareness training she'd gone through at the Academy, though back then, she'd never felt her own energy before. Now it was a familiar feeling, but she found it took more time to connect to it than usual. She fought frustration and tried to think of this as a "back to basics" exercise, something that would eventually lead to being at full health again.

"Focus first on your breath, on the flow of it as you inhale and it travels through your body, then is brought out in exhale. In…out. In…out. Good. Now…imagine your chakra as that breath, only it breathes not through your lungs, but through every part of your body. Tiny holes that open and close, allowing the energy to 'breathe'…find it…feel it…"

Little by little, she became aware of that energy coursing through her system. It wasn't as strong a current as she used to, but it was steady.

She didn't need to tell Takashi that she'd found it - his eyes did that for him. "Good. Now…follow that flow of energy through your body, from your solar plexis out to your limbs-"

Kaiya hissed when she tried to follow her chakra into her arms. It was like a thousand burning needles had been jammed into her muscles and nerves, sending hot electric waves of pain shooting up into her chest.

"Pull back now."

"No," she breathed, trying to keep her focus steady. "I can still-"

She kept pushing, kept trying to force her chakra back into the blocked passageways of her arms-

Two firm jabs at the junctures of her shoulders and chest cut it off entirely and jolted her out of her trance. "What the-?!"

Takashi folded his arms and gave her an admonishing glare. "You would have torn your tenketsu points by pushing so hard. This isn't something you can force through sheer will."

He stood, making her scramble to get back up. No way was he leaving her in this state! Her arms would not support her though, making her flop back down onto her back; he'd cut off not only her chakra's access to them, but her movement as well! "Hey! Wait-"

"I will release your arms in a moment," he said. Instead of going to the door as she feared and leaving her in this state, he simply filled a cup with water. "However, I intend to keep your chakra cut off from them. I know better than most why you were called the 'Relentless Red Flash' in the arena; you don't give up. Your stamina has worked for you in the past, but what you need right now is patience. Keep practicing your internal chakra sensing until our next session. By then, I expect you to have full awareness, or we will not move on to the next stage."

He released her arms, and as the feeling came back to them, she noticed there was less pain - probably because of the cut-off chakra. She gingerly took the cup of water from him when offered. "Thank you," she muttered before taking a sip, suddenly parched.

"This will be a long process," Takashi told her. "I intend to help you rebuild your chakra passages in your arms - right now, they are blocked, which is actually for the best. Your arms' tenketsu points are wide open; any chakra that comes through will escape faster than your body can naturally replenish. You will have to learn to manually regulate your own chakra so that you don't deplete yourself simply by moving."

"That's why you want me to have full awareness - so I know where exactly my chakra is going," she surmised, her eyes drooping. She was suddenly exhausted, despite having done what seemed like very little.

Takashi took the drained cup back. "Rest for now. As I said, you expended more chakra in this exercise than you would expect; you must recover before we try again."

Kaiya nodded and sank back into the pillow. She was asleep before Takashi made it out the door, but one thought stayed with her:

She could do this. She would do this. After all…she wasn't the Relentless Red Flash for nothing.


"Hey, ya think she's awake yet?"

"Naruto, be quiet! We're in a hospital, not an arena!"

"Fine, fine - hey, let me hold that-"

"No way. You nearly tripped coming up the stairs!"

"Awww, c'mon! It's not like I'm gonna fall over in a flat hallway!"

As she drifted awake, Kaiya felt a small, amused smile turn up the corners of her mouth. She knew those voices, and as though they carried with them a bit of sunlight, they warmed her almost immediately. By the time they reached the room, she was even feeling a bit playful, closing her eyes again and feigning sleep.

A soft knock, them quiet steps. "Oh…I guess we should come back later…"

"Aw man…" Naruto's voice drew closer; Kaiya fought to keep her face blank. "I thought Kakashi-sensei said she was awake already!"

Kakashi? When had he been here? Kaiya shoved the question aside as she heard Naruto take another step toward her. She counted to three, then opened her eyes wide. "Boo."

"GAH!" Naruto jumped back, nearly toppling over Sakura and another figure in the process. He recovered quickly, grinning widely and pointing at her accusingly. "Ha, I knew you were awake, Kaiya-nee-chan! I knew it!"

Suddenly, he launched forward and engulfed her in a hug. Kaiya flinched, but didn't push him away. Instead, she gingerly brought her arms around him, a small smile gracing her lips. "Hey…what's all this about?"

"It's just…we didn't think you'd make it, ya know?" he answered, his voice muffled by having his face buried in her stomach. "I mean…I knew you'd be fine, of course, you always are! But still…"

Warmth blossomed in Kaiya's midsection, making her smile grow wider and brighter. "I'm glad you're all okay, too. So tell me what happened!"

"Well first," Sakura said, coming forward with with a large bouquet of flowers. "Here - they're from all of us, a 'get well soon' gift!"

Naruto dislodged himself and Kaiya carefully took hold of the bouquet, admiring how…diverse the selection was. Yellow and white daffodils poked their heads out among giant orange tiger lilies; here and there, a stem of blue flowers that she faintly remembered as "salvia" stuck out in contrast. It was an odd combination, certainly not one any ikebana class would teach, yet somehow it worked.

"We each picked out something we thought you'd like," Sakura said, a small, pale blush coloring her cheeks. "I chose the daffodils - they're the first to bloom after winter, so they symbolize rebirth!"

That was when Kaiya finally noticed that there was a third person in their group; Sasuke had been so silent that she hadn't noticed him hanging back near the door, hands shoved in his pockets. She smiled and gingerly picked out a tiger lily, by far the largest and most ostentatious flower of the bouquet. "Let me guess - Naruto?"

Naruto nodded proudly. "Uh-huh! Uh-huh! Picked it out myself!"

Kaiya giggled and ran her bandaged fingers lightly over a long stem of blue salvia. "And this one…Sasuke?"

Sasuke averted his eyes, a small pout taking hold of his mouth. "I just picked something to make these two shut up."

Amused, Kaiya briefly considered poking holes in his claim by pointing out how his body language betrayed him, but decided against it. He - indeed, all three of them - had thought to bring her flowers. She wasn't about to embarrass him for that. "Well, thank you - all of you. They're beautiful!"

Sakura took the bouquet back and set to work arranging the flowers in a vase. "We tried to get Kakashi-sensei to pick something too, but he's been really hard to find. He shows up for missions - late, as usual - and disappears as soon as they're done."

"The village is down a lot of personnel," Kaiya pointed out. "He's probably busy with his own missions, too."

She tried not to think about the fact that she had yet to see him herself. Was he angry with her for failing in her mission? That was the only explanation she could think of, though she hated the very idea of it.

"Yeah, right," Naruto groaned, resting his head back against his hands. "He was here for like, most of the week!" Kaiya and his teammates looked at him in surprise. "What? I was here too, ya know! I saw him - he spent hours just sittin' in here reading that weird porno of his!"

Kaiya felt her cheeks grow warm. Kakashi…he had been here? Then…why hadn't she seen him yet?

All three Genin were eying her in varying degrees of subtlety. "What?"

Sakura glanced at her teammates and bit her lip. "Well…we were all sort of wondering-"

"What's goin' on between you and Kakashi-sensei, Kaiya-nee-chan?" Naruto blurted out with the subtlety of a wrecking ball.

Kaiya's face went from warm to scorching hot. "Eh?!"

Sakura smacked the blond upside the head. "Naruto, that's not how you ask about something like that!"

"Whaaat? They've been spending all that time together, and then Kakashi-sensei practically sleeps by her bedside while she's out of it? C'mon, even I'm not that dense!"

Certain that she now must be the color of a tomato, Kaiya brought her hands up defensively, "Nothing's going on! We're…friends, that's all!"

Though she wasn't sure "friends" was even the correct term. Were they? Sure, they'd spent some time together, training, chatting…they did have a couple of things in common…and what about those weird looks he still gave her on occasion?

"Hee hee…" Naruto's face split into a fox-like grin. "Kaiya-nee-chan, you're blushing!"

She threw her pillow at him. "Shut up!"

"So you're all right?" Sasuke asked abruptly.

"Hm?" Kaiya gave them a bright smile and attempted a thumbs-up, but her hand wouldn't close completely. She quickly hid it in her lap. "Yeah! I'm a little beat up, but I'll be up and about in no time!"

Sasuke looked less than convinced, but it was good enough for Naruto. "Awesome! Hey, when you're outta here, I gotta show you that new jutsu I learned for the final match! I didn't get to use it 'til we went after Gaara, but you should see the size of the toad I summoned then! His name's Gamabunta and I'm totally the boss of him-"

As she listened to Naruto ramble on, Kaiya noticed that behind him, Sasuke was looking away, his brow tense and his mouth turned down. From here, she could see that his hands had formed fists within his pockets.

"Naruto," she said, turning to the blond. "Could you do me a favor? If I give you the key to my apartment, could you bring some books by for me?"

Naruto nodded eagerly. "Mm-hm! Mm-hm! You can count on me!"

"Anything will do," she added, knowing he'd have a hard time keeping track of titles. "I'm bored to pieces here!"

"You got it!"

As he left, Kaiya caught Sakura's eye. She knew the pinkette would be reluctant to leave while Sasuke was here, but she silently begged her to take the hint. Thankfully, she did. "My mom needs me to help her with a few things this afternoon. Feel better, Kaiya!"

"Thanks!" After she left, Sasuke turned to leave as well, but Kaiya stopped him. "Sasuke. Wait a sec."

He stopped, but didn't turn around right away. "What?"

Kaiya shifted herself higher in the bed so that she was sitting fully up. "How are you doing?"

"You mean with the Juin?" he asked bluntly.

"Not just with that," Kaiya insisted, biting back a sigh. Of course he'd assume that was all she cared about. "What happened with Gaara?"

"Why don't you ask Naruto?" Sasuke shot over his shoulder, a hint of venom in his voice. "I'm sure he'll be happy to fill you in."

"I'm more interested in why you looked like you'd swallowed a lemon while he was talking about it," Kaiya replied, keeping her voice level and calm. "So spill. What happened?"

Sasuke didn't answer right away, and part of her feared he'd just leave and continue to bottle everything up. Then, finally, he spoke. "I couldn't do anything. But Naruto…he was…"

Kaiya waited for him to continue, but he seemed to have a hard time finding the words. "You know…you keep calling him 'loser' and 'idiot,' but he really isn't either. He's a hard worker. You don't always see it, and it can take a long time for it to pay off…but it sounds like it finally is. And you know why he works so hard?"

Sasuke was silent, but she could tell by his bowed head and stiff posture that he was listening.

"Because of you." Kaiya couldn't help a small smile when Sasuke turned to her with wide eyes and an open mouth. "It's true. Ever since he first met you, he's been obsessed with matching up to you. Oh, he'll never admit it, but he was jealous…and he admired all you could do. You know how hard it was to get him to do his homework? Yet the moment I'd mention you, he'd snap to it, even if he made a ton of mistakes! I guess you could say you're sort of a role model for him."

Was it her imagination, or was there a slight flush to his neck? Sasuke looked hurriedly to the side, shoulders coming up defensively. "That idiot…"

"Cut him some slack, okay?" Kaiya then held up her hand. "Actually, don't. Keep challenging him. You'll both be better off for it - just…try to keep it friendly, 'kay?"

He didn't say anything, but did give her the tiniest of nods. She almost didn't see it. She doubted he would open up about the fight, not right now - but at least he seemed a little more relaxed. Baby steps… "Hey. C'mere."

Sasuke hesitated, but at her insistent beckoning, he hesitantly came toward her. Assuming she wanted to check on the seal around the Juin, he tilted his head as he drew closer - but instead, Kaiya reached out and wrapped her arms around him, making him go stiff.

"I'm glad you're okay, Sasuke," she muttered, holding him as tightly as she could with her injuries. He didn't return the hug - she didn't expect him to - but he marginally relaxed by the time she let go. "And I promise you - I will find a way to get rid of that thing. You're not alone in this."

Again, the tiniest of nods was all the response she got. Kaiya didn't stop him from turning around and walking away this time. She'd said her piece - he needed time to contemplate and reflect. That's just how he was.

Before he left, Sasuke paused at the door and half-turned toward her. "I'm glad you're okay, too."


As Sasuke trudged down the hospital steps, he thought about what Kaiya said. Could she be serious? True, he'd known for years that Naruto was fixated on him for some reason. He was brash, annoying as hell, always loudly proclaiming himself to be some great ninja when he could barely perform a basic Bunshin jutsu.

But that wasn't the Naruto of today, was it? No, he answered himself almost immediately: this Naruto had learned to walk up trees in the same amount of time as him, had snapped him out of his fear-induced haze when they first met Orochimaru, had managed to bring down Gaara when he became that monster…and then there was that strange, otherworldly chakra he sometimes put off. Sasuke had never been able to catch it with his Sharingan - yet, anyway - but he wondered if it had anything to do with the blond's recent progress.

Curiosity began eating away at him. He had to know what made Naruto suddenly so strong! And…the kid wasn't a complete loser, if he were being honest. He had his moments. From their most difficult and dangerous missions, Sasuke had to admit that Naruto did have his back. They even made a decent team when needed.

As though summoned by his musings, Naruto himself appeared down the walkway in front of the hospital, arms laden with books. So eager to do anything for the one he nicknamed his "big sis"…he couldn't begrudge the blond his relationship with Kaiya. He knew all too well what it was like to have no one; that loneliness wasn't something he'd wish on his worst enemy.

Naruto nearly walked right into him, blinded by the pile of books he struggled to carry. "Watch it, dobe."

"Eh?!" Naruto peeked out from behind the pile. "Teme - what're you still doing here, huh?"

Sasuke gave a beleaguered sigh. "Give me some of those. You'll knock over a gurney like that."

Naruto eyed him suspiciously, looking caught between refusal and agreement. Sasuke took the choice away from him after a beat by simply taking half the stack. Naruto blanched, but followed him back into the hospital with only a low grumble.

As they climbed the stairs, after some hesitation, Sasuke finally said something more. "Hey, loser…after this…let's go train together."

Naruto stopped in mid-step and nearly fell backwards. He blinked a few times, then adjusted his hold on the books and continued up the stairs. "Wait - seriously?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "We're teammates, aren't we? Last I checked, that means working together."

"Oh…okay…" He took a moment to gather his thoughts, no doubt trying to understand this sudden interest in teamwork, then spoke with the knuckle-headed confidence he was known for. "Right! Well, get ready, 'cause I'm gonna whoop your butt, ya know!"

Sasuke's muscles tingled with energy; he grinned, his mind already alight with tactics and strategies. We'll see.

He failed to notice that for the past few minutes since Naruto showed up, he hadn't once thought about vengeance, or clans, or a traitorous older brother.


A smooth breeze carried the sent of brine and seaweed - a familiar, nostalgic scent to his nose. Clouds moved swiftly overhead, signaling the arrival of a storm not far offshore. It was a hauntingly beautiful scene, but seemed lost to his silent partner. At their feet lay lifeless bodies - another perfectly executed mission in which he barely got to stretch his muscles.

"Guess we should get going - we have that new mission thanks to you. I bet you're eager to get started!"

He watched as the man's eyes slid to meet his own. There was no malice, no annoyance or indignation in that gaze; the mask was perfect, smooth and impenetrable. When he answered, it was simple, to the point, and delivered in a low, velvety voice.

"Not really."


Maybe he's not eager for the next part (or at least says so), but I know we are!

So! Kaiya's injured pretty badly, and of all people, her old Chunin Exam opponent is her therapist! Danzo is sidling back into the political scene, and Jiraiya has officially entered the fic. But why is Kakashi avoiding her? Meanwhile, is it possible that Naruto and Sasuke might actually get along even a little? Gasp!

But of course, things won't remain peaceful for long ;)

NEXT TIME: An anniversary stirs up painful memories…and Konoha gets an unexpected visitor.

Stay tuned!

Oh - and quick reminder: I am on Tumblr and DeviantArt! Same username, KitsMits - and I love answering questions and discussing writing and characters and headcanons and such ;)