Well, it's been awhile since I've updated. You know how it goes, life has a habit of getting in the way of writing. Oh well, the point is that I've updated. As usual, I don't own Naruto or XXXholic. So please read, review, and enjoy.


World 2: My reason for training

Team seven sat in the dapple-lit gale, watching their sensei train a total stranger. Hana and Kakashi had been doing the basic exercises for hours and now Hana was at tree climbing. This annoyed them because it had taken them months to get to the tree climbing stage while this girl was on it the first day. The sun began its decent, casting rays of dark amber light though the trees.

"Man, what is Kakashi think he's doin'? Training some stranger like this girl!" Naruto huffed, his arms crossed over his chest. They had been sitting and watching Kakashi train Hana all day. It drove him insane to have to sit and watch, but Sakura had forced him to stay. "I know she paid for dinner and everything, but I think this is going a bit far."

"You made her treat you to dinner?" Sakura exclaimed.

"Yeah, well she volunteered! But man, she is loaded!"

"Just who does this girl think she is? Thinking that she can waltz in here and talk sensei into training her. Now I really don't trust her," Sakura growled, glaring at Hana.

"Is Kakashi even allowed to train another person? I mean, we're his students so he should be teaching us!"

"Well, you know how irresponsible he is. He shows up late every time we go on a mission and leaves when we need him the most," Sakura complained, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

"Come on, Sasuke? What do you think?" Naruto asked him, trying to rally more support from his team. "Doesn't this just annoy you?"

Sasuke was sitting a ways from them, his arms crossed against his chest and his eyes closed. He opened his eyes for a moment as Hana had finished scaling the tree, lying in the top branch exhausted.

"I don't know. Kakashi seems to have no trouble with it so why should we?" he muttered. "It's not like she's going to become his student or anything. I think it's stupid that we had to sit here all day for this."

"Man! Look at her; she even finished the tree climbing exercise on the first go! That's unfair! That's cheating!" Naruto cried out in frustration. "There's no way that she can be better than me when she isn't even a ninja!"

"How is she cheating?" Sakura sighed, giving him a blank look.

"Trust me, it is!"

"Alright, I think that's enough for today," Kakashi told Hana as he shut his Make out Paradise, glancing up as a brown hawk flew overhead. "Rest up and we'll continue tomorrow."

"Ok…" Hana breathed and climbed down from the tree, her muscles crying out in pain. This had been the first time that she had worked so hard and it left her utterly exhausted.

"Finally, I thought it would never end," Natori sighed from the base of the tree. "Now I'm hungry. Hey, Hana, can we get some dumplings?"

"I don't know any places to eat, let alone a place that sells dumplings," Hana called as she tried to find a way down, but she was too tired to move.

"Well then find one!" Natori shouted at her, making her grow irritated.

"Why you!" Hana hissed, straining her neck to glare at him. "You ungrateful ball of fur! If you want it so badly go find it yourself-?" Suddenly, she lost her balance and tumbled out of the tree, landing heavily on her back. The blow knocked the wind from her, almost the same as it had been when she arrived in the world. This…feels strangely familiar…! Man…it hurts!

Hana lay on her back, unable to move as she gasped for air. Natori turned his head when he had heard her fall, but did nothing. He let out a yawn and surveyed her with boredom. Team seven had seen the whole thing happen and watched with shock.

"This is what happens when you get mad," Natori huffed, unfazed by Hana's tumble from the tree.

"She…just fell from a tree…" Naruto muttered.

"That look like it hurt…" Sasuke added.

"Do you think she's dead?" Sakura asked.

"I didn't think Kakashi would agree to train someone who'd be killed by falling from a tree," Sasuke pointed out. "Unless this person really is that weak."

"She didn't look that strong." Sakura gave Hana a distasteful look.

I can…hear you guys…Hana thought crying inwardly as she slowly picked herself up off the ground. Her body hurt, especially her back as she sat on the ground, brushing herself off. That really hurt; even I'm surprised that I'm not severally injured. Don't tell me that I'm building up an immunity to this kind of thing? Hana rubbed her sore neck and looked over at the surprised team seven. I guess they don't trust me; that's understandable. Should I try and talk to them to lessen the tension? I thought the tension between Naruto and I was gone…but I'm not quite sure. Well…I guess I won't know until I try…

"Hana! I'm hungry!" Natori complained as she got to her feet, swaying unsteadily.

"I know, I know!" Hana sighed and scooped him up. She turned and walked carefully over to team seven, as if she was afraid that she was going to startle them.

"You're not gonna try and become friends with them, are you?" Natori whispered to her. "Remember what Yuko said; we're only observers. We're not supposed to meddle in the affairs of other worlds. It's bad enough that you caved and told Kakashi about our mission."

"I know that, but we're not meddling, just getting info. I don't have to tell these three," Hana whispered back as she put on a friendly smile. "Hey, Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke."

"What do you want?" Sakura snapped, crossing her arms across her chest. Everything about her gave off an unfriendly aura that wanted Hana to back off. Hana could feel the cold animosity; it was like confronting a savage dog.

Man, she's pissy. You'd think that someone stole her boyfriend or something. How could I forget? She still has the hots for Sasuke and must be feeling possessive. This must be why she doesn't seem to get along with other girls. And as usual she is unaware of Naruto's feelings for her or the fact that Sasuke ignores her. Typical; nothing has changed. Now, how do I let her know that I come in peace and mean her no harm? Hana thought as she racked her brain for something to say that would get them to trust her.

Back home, she had had a few friends that she talked to, but after her family died, they grew distant, as if they were avoiding her. In the end, the only people she talked to were Zack and a few people from her work, so her people skills were lacking.

"Well, I just wanted to know if you know of any good places to eat around here," Hana said, keeping a calm tone despite Sakura's rudeness. "I only know of Ichiraku Ramen, but my cat seems to want dumplings."

"You'd listen to your cat and go get dumplings. How stupid are you?" Sakura snapped, still glaring. "Why don' you go ask your new sensei, Kakashi?"

Is this what this is about? They're mad because they think I'm stealing Kakashi? I need to tell that this is all a misunderstanding. Hana stood there gazing at the three with her attempt of a friendly face. "You have it all wrong. I begged Kakashi to help me."

"Help you with what?" Naruto asked suspiciously.

"To find a certain someone," Hana muttered. The three suddenly looked at her face and grew pale at the face she was making. They had never seen such a dark brooding look before on someone's face; even Sasuke's look he had when he told them all about how he had a person he had to kill looked like a smiling face.

"Wh-What someone?" Naruto stammered.

"What did they do?" Sakura squeaked. Even Sasuke got chills from Hana's look.

"Hey, I think you're scaring them," Natori told her and she snapped back to her regular self.

"Ah, sorry, it's nothing. So how about it? Do you guys know any good places to eat? I'll treat you all," Hana said, smiling.

The three ninja turned to each other, giving each other questioning looks. "Should we go with her?" Sakura asked.

"I don't see why not; she's treating us to lunch," Naruto's face grew longing at the mention of food. "Maybe she'll take up to Ichiraku again."

"Being treated to lunch doesn't sound like a bad idea. Kakashi hardly ever treats us to lunch…" Sakura mused. "What do you think, Sasuke?"

"It really doesn't matter to me," he sighed.

"Way to put in an opinion, Sasuke," Naruto mumbled.

"Alright then." Sakura stood to her feet, the other two following suit, and turned back to Lafayel. "Alright! We gladly accept your offer!"


"So what was it that you were talkin' about earlier?" Sakura asked as they all sat eating inside the ramen shop. The lights from inside the stand crept out into the dark night outside.

Hana sat on the end of the raised bar with Naruto on her left. The ever possessive Sakura had put a distance between Hana and Sasuke, making sure that they were never near each other. It annoyed Hana the way Sakura acted, but she just ignored it, knowing that no matter how annoying she was in this world or the world of the anime, there was nothing Hana could do to change the pink haired ninja's personality.

"What do you mean?" Hana said as she watched them eat. Beside her, Natori wolfed down his third bowl of ramen, broth collecting on his whiskers.

"You know…what was it that you were telling us earlier?" Sakura repeated, hesitantly for fear of Hana snapping.

"Ah, that…" Hana muttered, setting down the bowl in her hands on the counter. The members of team seven flinched and watched Hana fearfully as a tense silence settled over the ramen stand.

"N-Never mind!" Sakura stammered. "Y-You don't have to say anything."

"Y-Yeah! If it's something that personal, you don't have to tell us!" Naruto added in a squeaky voice.

"No, since you guys asked I might as well tell you. It'd be good to tell someone," Hana said, turning to them with a brilliant smile that scared them more than her glare of death. "Well, let's see…I should off by saying why I'm here. I'm here because I'm searching for something as part of the job I was assigned to do."

"What's this job of yours?" Naruto asked.

"I'm looking for things that…are causing abnormalities in places that shouldn't be experiencing things like that."

"Abnormalities?" they questioned.

"Yeah…like things that are causing problems when they shouldn't be causing problems. It's really complicated to explain," Hana explained.

"I don't understand any of it…" Naruto muttered as he shoved more noodles into his mouth.

No surprise there; I could tell just by looking at your face that it went right over your head, Hana thought. "I didn't expect you to. In any case, that is my job. It's what I must do in exchange for having a wish of mine granted."

"A wish granted? What is that supposed to mean?"

"Well, in exchange for something, I made a deal to do this job so that I could get away from a place…"

"Can you really do something like that?" Sakura questioned. "Why would you want to leave?"

"I'm running away from someone…and I'm looking for someone…or something…" Hana went on, her gaze faltering a bit.

"Looking for someone? Like who?" Sasuke asked, including himself in the conversation

"Who would you be running from?" Sakura inquired.

"So many questions…I'm running from a person who wishes to use me for their own gain. I'm searching…for the person who killed my family," Hana replied solemnly as she took a sip of tea. The tense silence turned heavy and cold, almost stifling.

"You're family…was killed…?" Sakura whispered as if she couldn't believe it. Hana saw Sasuke's eyes fall as Naruto and Sakura glanced over at him.

"Yes, everyone. They were killed; it'll be over a year since it happened," Hana went on, trying to not think too much on it. Though it had been a year since her family had passed away, Hana had forced herself to think little on it so that she could keep going. There had been a time for mourning and there would be another time for it, but not now.

"I-I'm sorry…for prying…" Sakura apologized, guilt crossing her face.

"Don't feel bad; it's nothing that you did. I have accepted the fact that they are dead. I've already shed my tears; all I can do is move forward with my life," Hana told them calmly, much to their surprise.

"Does that mean…you're having Kakashi train you…so that you can find the person who killed your family…and…" Naruto began to say.

"Exact revenge?" Hana finished. "Who knows? It was certainly a thought though…But I have no need to do something like that. Taking revenge for my dead family wouldn't do anything. It won't bring them back to life and it won't ease the pain. Vengeance for my own person gain would only make my family sad and I would be the one to pay for taking a life. Besides, the thing that killed my family wasn't human."

"Wasn't human…?" Sakura's forehead furrowed as she tried to make sense of what Hana was saying. "What do you mean?"

"Even I don't really know how to explain it. When I tried to tell people what I saw that day, everyone thought I was crazy. But I can tell you that the thing that killed my family looked like a human, but was defiantly not human."

"You mean…like a ghost?" Naruto stammered, his voice trembling in fear slightly.

"A ghost?" Hana repeated, thinking on it a bit. "I don't think it was like that. Let's just leave it at it wasn't human." She paused, taking a sip of tea. "Even if I did want to seek revenge by finding the thing that killed my family, it could be anywhere. I'll just be wasting my time looking for it because there are others like it; according to my employer."

"More? You mean there're more of these murdering ghost-type things?" Naruto muttered fearfully. "I don't want there to be more…"

"Oh be quiet!" Sakura hissed.

"Ghost-type things…That sounds like a fitting name since I don't know what they're called. According to my employer these things have to do with what my mission is. They will try and get in my way and stop me from getting the thing that I need to find."

"So that's why you wanted to get stronger?"

"Pretty much. I won't be able to defend myself if I don't know how to fight. Personally though, I have no interest in fighting; I just want to complete my assignment," Hana informed them.

"So you're just going to placidly go looking for your family's killer?" Sasuke questioned coldly, glaring at her. "That seems like the cowardly thing to do."

"Sasuke!" Sakura protested, but a glare from Sasuke silenced her.

"Are you just going to give up and let your family's killer go free?" His words made Hana stopped, the cup poised over the counter. It was like she had been frozen.

"What would be the point of trying to look for their killer?" Hana shot back.

"Are going to let a crime go without seeking justice?" he continued, his black eyes narrowed at her.

"Even if I did try and press for justice, what good would it do? Would it bring them back to life? Make me happier? Make the world a better place? No, it wouldn't do any of that," Hana said, turning her eyes on him. They were full of seriousness, cold and unyielding. "The thing that killed them could be anywhere in the world, or already dead. I would never know even if I went looking for it, if what I found was the exact one since there are more of them."

"Even if it wouldn't do anything…you're just gonna sit around and accept everything as it is? You're not even going to find out why your family was killed?" Sasuke asked angrily, matching her glare.

"True, I do want to find out the reason, but I'm not going to exhaust myself trying to figure it out. The fact is my family is dead. They were killed by something that wasn't human. That thing has to do with why I'm going around looking for things causing abnormalities. There are multiples of them. For what reason they are here, I don't know and I don't know if I'll ever know. When the time comes, I'll be able to find all the answers, but all I need to focus on is moving forward."

"That just sounds like you're running away," Sasuke said.

"I might be, but at least I'm not wallowing in the past," she replied and his face twitched. "Revenge is meaningless, I'm sure you've heard that and will continue to hear it. In the end it leaves people hollow and lacking, even if they think that they've achieved something. If you follow the path of revenge you'll end up doing things that you'll regret and ruin yourself and others around you. It's a useless path to follow." Hana turned back to her food as Sasuke's face twisted with anger. "Don't drag me down the same path that you intend to follow."

With that, Sasuke slammed his hand down on the counter, making the bowls move slightly and his teammates jump, before he stormed out of the stall. Naruto and Sakura watched him leave with open, shocked mouths. Hana disregarded him, knowing that she had made him mad.

"Geez, what was that all about?" Naruto huffed as he went back to eating. "Sasuke's acting moodier than usual."

"Shut it, Naruto!" Sakura shouted before turning to Hana. "You said something to Sasuke, didn't you?"

"You were sitting here with me and heard everything I was saying, didn't you?" Hana muttered.

"You shouldn't have said things like that. You don't know what Sasuke's gone though."

Actually I do; I know a whole lot more than you do. He and I are alike because our families were killed; his by his brother and mine by something that doesn't belong here. "I understand a bit of what it's like to lose your whole family." That made Sakura shut her mouth, unable to say anything. "As far as I can see, I've done nothing wrong besides stating my opinion. If he didn't like what he heard, that's too bad for him."

"Hana, I'm full," Natori moaned as he lay on his back, his stuffed belly protruding slightly in the air.

"Well that's surprising. You, full?" Hana's eyes took in the bowls of empty ramen bowls stacked high in front of him.

"Let's head back; I'm tired…" he muttered before he suddenly fell asleep.

"Good grief, what a troublesome cat," she sighed, fishing out the Universal Credit Card.

"I'm not…a cat…" Natori muttered in his sleep.

"Well it looks like this is where I'll be leaving," Hana said and stood out, putting the money down on the counter.

"Thank you for coming!" Mr. Ichiraku took the money and busied himself back in the kitchen.

"I hope you all had enough."

"Thanks for the food!" Naruto told her, grinning broadly.

"I guess I'm pretty full too. If I eat anymore I'll gain weight again," Sakura sighed. Hana scooped up the sleeping cat and made her way to leave. "So what do you plan to do after this?"

"Plan to do?" Hana muttered, looking up at the sky questioningly. "Well, I have to go around looking for this certain thing and hope I don't run into any trouble."

"So how are you going to find…this thing?" Sakura raised an eyebrow as they followed Hana down the street.

"Well, Fat Louie will help me," Hana responded, lifting up the comatose cat a bit.

"How? He looks unreliable," Sakura commented dryly.

"He is, but when we get near the thing we're looking for, he's supposed to let me know."

"So what do you do once you find this thing?"

"I have no idea; this is my first time doing thing." Hana smiled as she turned a corner.

"Huh? No way!" Sakura cried loudly, stopping suddenly.

"What's wrong? You're talking pretty loudly," Hana muttered innocently.

"How are you supposed to do a job if you don't know much about it?" Sakura protested.

"Everyone has to start somewhere, right?" Hana pointed out.

"You got that right! When we first started out, we had nothing but stupid jobs!" Naruto added loudly, messing around with his headband.

I remember those episodes where your life was simple and before everything went out of control. It was definitely before shippuden and everything else, Lafayel thought. "Really? That sounds interesting."

"There's something that's been bothering me thought," Sakura went on saying, "the way you were talking to Sasuke, it seemed like you already knew about what had happened with his family yet you have never been to this village. How is that?"

Hana stopped suddenly, knowing that she had slipped up. "His eyes…" she said, trying to think of something to say that would cover up her mistake.

"His eyes?" Sakura and Naruto inquired.

"His eyes looked the same as mine; the eyes of someone who had lost people they cared about." Hana's voice seemed hollow and low as she stared into the darkness of the alley she was stopped in front of.

"You could tell just by looking at his eyes? Whoa! That's amazing!" Naruto exclaimed.

"I'm not buying it…Too me it seemed like you knew a lot about him…" Sakura said, not entirely believing Hana's statement. It hadn't been a completely lie; just enough of one to throw people like Naruto off.

Figures that Sakura wouldn't buy it. What do I do now? Is there something like this situation written in the book You gave me? I'll have to look when I get back to the room. Hana's eyes shifted over to Sakura and Naruto quickly. "Well, you don't have to believe me, but it's the truth. People who have lost loved ones have a certain look in their eyes that those with similar circumstances can see."

"Really? Is it like a super power or something?" Naruto asked.

"Super power"? You really are an idiot. "Not really," Hana muttered and continued walking down the alley. "Listen, I need to get some rest; I'm beat. I'll talk to you guys later…"

"You'd better apologize to Sasuke!" Sakura informed her.

"Why does she have to apologize? I mean, Sasuke can handle things on his own. He's not a sissy, is he?" Naruto huffed, crossing his arms across his chest. "He'll get over something like that."

"You take that back, Naruto!" Sakura snapped, turning on the blonde, spikey-haired ninja. He jumped back as Sakura switched into her super scary mode. "Now, as for you," she turned back to Hana, "I except you to apologize to him tomorrow anyway!"

Hana didn't respond as she stood facing the alley, the darkness shadowing her face. She seemed frozen in place, her body trembling slightly. Naruto and Sakura approached her cautiously, perplexed by her silence.

"Hana, what's wrong?" Naruto asked, staring at her face curiously. Hana wasn't listening; her eyes were staring off at something past him in the darkness.

"What're you staring at?" Sakura's eyes followed Hana's gaze and then she froze too, fear spreading across her face. "Wh-What is that…?"