Kakashi's body tensed around Chiisai. She frowned and glanced up at him, about to make a sarcastic remark, but his eye wasn't on her. Confused, her gaze followed his line of focus to the door as a "puff" sound filled air.

What had once been a guard standing three meters away was now a figure clad in black. A mask shielded his face, and its lack of designs or symbols had her questioning who it was. There were no swords attached to him, nor were there even pockets on him to store weapons. Whoever it was must be incredibly confident, if not incredibly foolish. Either way, the appearance of the mysterious man had her clutching onto Kakashi tighter.

Kakashi gently eased her back to the bed, all the while his eye trained on the intruder. The bed creaked under her small weight, and the noise set everything in motion.

The ninja calmly stepped forward, his whole demeanor the polar opposite of the people across him. Kakashi placed himself in between the man and Chiisai and lifted his headband up as a precaution. How the masked man managed to place himself as a guard without anyone noticing was a feat in itself. Hopefully the guard he posed as was just misinformed of his post and not dead.

The intruder came to a halt in front of Kakashi and in one swift motion released a flurry of hand signs. Kakashi caught the earth signs and in a split second readied himself to retaliate with lightning release. Earth's natural weakness was lightning, so why would the man use it against someone who was known for his chidori?

However, in a blink of an eye, the lightning extinguished from Kakashi's hand. Pain resonated within him, causing him to gasp from the invisible assault that struck him inside and out. He stared at the man, wondering why the intruder grew in height. No, Kakashi was falling, paralyzed by the slicing agony that burst throughout every organ, every cell in his body. It clouded his vision and muffled his hearing, muting his surroundings as another wave of torment rammed into him.

Through the haze of blurred colors, Kakashi realized that the man no longer stood in front of him. So he must be behind him…Where Chiisai was.

That thought broke the barrier pain built between him and reality. By sheer determination, Kakashi pressed his hand to the floor and forced himself to rise. Nausea overtook him, but the need to protect Chiisai was far too great. It drove him to his feet even when every piece of him begged to die. His sense of direction faltered as he desperately searched for the enemy. A smudge of black appeared once he turned. The smudge clashed with blue…the color of Chiisai's shirt. Slowly, willingly, Kakashi staggered toward his opponent, concentrating on each step that brought him closer to the two. He couldn't let the man take Chiisai. But the pain washed over him a third time, forcing his attention away from what his heart sought out.

And again Kakashi collapsed to the ground.

This time he didn't get up.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Chiisai screamed Kakashi's name as she saw him crumple. The man covered his gloved hand over her mouth, stifling her cries. What kind of jutsu would leave Kakashi immobile? His body trembled on the hardwood floor, physically showing the pain he was clearly in. If only she could get to him, do something-

The man sat down beside her on the bed, causing it to creak again. She drew away though he continued to have his hand over her mouth. She stared at the mask, but not even his eyes could be seen. Panic swept over her and she hurriedly forced it back down. Panic was a last resort. Though her chakra would protect her, it would inevitably feed off of anyone near her, including Kakashi. She must remain calm and think logically. Think like Kakashi.

The intruder removed his hand. She blinked as he pulled his mask down. Forehead, eyebrows slanted downward, and then amber eyes staring into hers. His dreams rushed into her mind, forcing up images of a lifetime spent in ROOT. Chiisai knew who he was, and with that realization brought an idea.

Chiisai let her eyes remain opened as he used the Mind Body Switch Technique. With that, he was in her mind, but that's what she wanted. Her chakra flared up before he could take control. It wrapped around his conscious form, yanking him away from her motor control center. The man screamed when the energy seared him, as if it burned away a piece of his soul. Her chakra differed from the last time he saw it. It was brighter, more vibrant, and Chiisai had no trouble controlling it. Now was the time to change tactics.

Before she could speak, Fu struggled to say, "Kakashi's dying. Can you hear him?"

Though she was inside her body, her senses were cut off. Fear gripping her, Chiisai concentrated her chakra and threw him out of her mind. Now back in reality, she could indeed hear Kakashi. She broke away from Fu and stumbled towards him, desperate to be at his side. However, after one step Danzo's man had her by the wrist. He yanked her to him in one smooth motion, forcing her to see his face. Chiisai squeezed her eyes shut though, refusing to let him back in.

Fu gripped her chin. "Look at me."

She refused to reply. The Yamanaka dropped his hand, though his presence still smothered her. A choking noise entered her ears. Kakashi's gurgled cries continued to slam into her like shurikens, tearing into her heart one after the other. Chiisai struggled against her attacker, though she knew it was pointless. She needed to get into his mind. But before she could, he said, "If you don't want him to suffer, I suggest you open your eyes."

Chiisai, without coming up with a better plan, yielded. Fu stared down at her without emotion, the true face of someone in ROOT. He opened his mouth and said, "If you use your powers against me, Kakashi will die. Do you understand?" Fu knew too well how easy it was for her to do such a thing, for she had done it several times before when he was sent to spy.

Tears brimmed Chiisai's eyes as she nodded. Kakashi's voice lessened at that moment, but she still felt his pain, as if it were piercing her own body. She took a deep breath, attempting to reign in the anguish bursting inside, at knowing Kakashi was in agony.

"Good." Fu's hands formed the proper signs before he ordered, "Now, look at me."

And she did.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Kakashi's struggled to open his eyes. Why did he feel like he had been through an intense battle? Last time he remembered, he had been with Chiisai…And unable to protect her.

The memory of the intruder's mysterious jutsu came to him then, sending chills down his spine. Kakashi knew over a thousand jutsus, but none of them came close to the one he experienced today. What kind of technique could inflict such torture on its victim? The only jutsu worse than that was Itachi's Nightmare Realm, but this man wasn't Itachi. Kakashi's Sharingan had caught the man's chakra signature, but it was one he had never seen before.

Kakashi blinked a few times to clear his vision. He assessed his surroundings, noting the familiar hospital ceiling. So, someone had rescued him. But what of Chiisai?

The question was soon answered. His attention drew to the warmth pressed to his side and a hand holding his. With some effort, Kakashi turned his head to the right. Tears cascaded down Chiisai's face and her eyes widened when she saw him.

Kakashi squeezed her hand and said, "You real?"

Chiisai threw her arms around him as relief overtook her. He wrapped an arm around her waist, pressing her against him as she cried into his shoulder. Kakashi whispered, "I can't believe you're crying over me, Small Tiger. I'm honored."

"You've been out for three hours," she sniffed. "I thought you weren't going to wake up."

"I say that about you all the time."

"That's not funny, Farm Boy."

He tried to smile at her comeback, but it faltered as his thoughts continued to roam. Chiisai pulled away when Kakashi forced himself into a sitting position. He cringed when a phantom of pain tore through him. Chiisai laid a hand on his shoulder to steady him. He glanced at her, finally noticing she was fully clothed. Even her limbs were wrapped. With a sigh, he breathed, "It looks like we've switched roles. You're usually the injured one."

Chiisai didn't correct him. What happened to him was far more deadly than a simple injury. "How do you feel?"

"I'm alive, so I can't complain. However, I'd feel much better if you explained what happened."

His first sentence had her swallowing a cringe. She already prepared herself to tell him the lies fabricated to protect him, though she hated it. "He used some sort of jutsu on you. It…Hurt you. I got into his mind to stop him but I couldn't concentrate. He broke my hold and escaped. The jutsu stopped, but you…You wouldn't wake up." His body had shaken for another minute as an after effect, and Chiisai hadn't been able to wake him up even with her abilities. "Then the real guard came and we were transported here."

He raised an eyebrow and replied, "Chiisai, I doubt you fell asleep in such a short time." Her powers would only work if she were asleep.

Kakashi's eye widened when she suddenly fell forward. He caught her, fear washing through him as she lay limp in his arms. He went to shake her, to say her name, but then something unexpected happened. Her familiar chakra swept across the back of his mind like a warm breeze, helping to soothe him. The sound of her voice echoed in his head and said, I told you I'm a lot stronger now, Farm Boy.

Her presence vanished from him as she returned to her body. Kakashi, though shocked as he was, helped her sit back up while she struggled into consciousness. What she just did seemed impossible to Kakashi. Having access to the dream world at will had never been done before and he had assumed it to be impossible. But Chiisai had the habit of making the impossible possible.

After a few moments, she muttered, "A part of my mind is a portal into the dream world, which is linked to everyone else. All I have to do is summon it up with my chakra and detach my consciousness from my body."

Kakashi wound a finger around a strand of her hair, debating whether to be impressed or concerned...Or both. This time, she was the one protecting him, and he was utterly useless. His heart sunk at the realization, knowing when it came down to it…He wouldn't be able to protect her, no matter how much he wanted to. But that wouldn't stop him from trying.

Kakashi shook himself out of his thoughts and asked, "How long have you been able to do this?"

"I've always been able to," Chiisai said. "I just didn't know until a few weeks ago." For Chiisai, it had taken an intense brainstorming session with Itachi to even decipher how her powers worked. It was easy to assume that her conscious got sucked into the dream world every time she fell asleep. But to harness that information into something more constructed had taken some time, and a lot of mistakes. "I don't like using it…but it has its advantages." If she had used it first thing on Fu, she might have been able to stop him.

Kakashi's voice brought her back to the present. "Whoever was after you will return. And the jutsu he used…I've never seen anything like it. Did you recognize him?"

"No," she lied, "he broke my hold too quick."

Her expression worried him. The jonin brushed her hair back and in a softer tone, asked, "Did he hurt you?"

"No," she said. However, Fu's threat continued to linger in her mind. Itachi was right, Danzo was after her as soon as she returned, and unfortunately she hadn't been prepared for his schemes. Now it would cost her.

Kakashi pressed his masked lips to her forehead and said, "Your weakness isn't just your physical state but me as well. Danzo and anyone else will use us as a weakness against each other." Kakashi interlaced his fingers with hers, making sure she paid attention. "But whenever the ninja uses that jutsu on me again, I don't want you to give in to his demands. You are far more important than I am. I can handle pain."

Chiisai whispered, "…I'm not a ninja, Kakashi. I don't have that type of strength. When I saw you writhing on the ground…I now understand what you must feel like during my seizures."

There was a moment of silence. He didn't deny what she was feeling. Watching her go through those convulsions, to hear those strangled noises as her body shook, it hurt like hell watching helplessly each time it happened. If only their lives weren't so complicated…

Kakashi slapped his free hand on his thigh, startling the librarian. "I'm hungry. You want something to eat?"

She frowned at his bright eye but replied, "Yeah, actually. But Lady Tsunade will be back in a bit." Chiisai stopped as she watched Kakashi stand. "What are you doing?"

Kakashi tested his strength, and once finding it acceptable, shrugged on his vest that previously lay on the chair. It was becoming easier to move now, and the more movement deadened the ache. Now it only felt like a hangover. "We're going to Ichiraku's."

Raising an eyebrow, she replied, "I don't understand."

He slipped his feet into his shoes and replied, "What's to understand? I'm taking my girlfriend out to eat. We haven't even celebrated your arrival."

She crawled toward the edge of the bed as she watched Kakashi. "You don't have your wallet," she said. "I don't have my wallet. Plus, there are people after us. And then there's the multiple guards posted outside."

He placed a hand on his chin and muttered, "I'll have to carry you out the window then. Or should I carry you the whole way?" He glanced back at her for an answer. It was safe to say that their attacker wouldn't be coming back today, and Danzo had already made his threat last night. For the rest of the day, no one would be after them (he hoped).

Chiisai raked a hand through her hair. Farm Boy was up to something, or maybe he was just trying to take her mind off of everything. That filled her with even more guilt. His eye watched her with curiosity, knowing full well she wouldn't refuse. Finally, she huffed, "You don't make sense."

Kakashi shrugged, "Do I ever make sense?"

"Yes," she emphasized, "yes you do. You're supposed to be the sensible one of the two of us! I'm the irrational one!"

"Well," he mused, "it looks like we really are switching roles for the day, Small Tiger." He extended his hand to her, helping her up. Reluctantly, Chiisai slipped on her borrowed sandals. The special wrappings on her legs helped to stabilize her balance. However, Kakashi already had her in his arms, displaying how physically recovered he was.

With one hand, Kakashi slid open the window. Sunlight shined on them as Chiisai asked, "But how are we going to pay?"

His foot stepped on the window seal, stretching his calf and readying himself for the jump. Looking down at her, he smiled, "Let me worry about that, Small Tiger."

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Lady Tsunade and Shizune marched through the hospital. The Hokage muttered, "I didn't think she would cause this much chaos in such a short time. What have you found on the technique used against Kakashi?"

Shizune sifted through the documents in her hands as they turned down a hall. "We've eliminated the seal theory, since Kakashi has none on his body," she stated. Her eyes searched the paper before she added, "It's likely to be a hiden technique, though it's still a jutsu unheard of. Apparently none of the jutsus listed in our texts come close to this one, not even the forbidden ones."

"Has the village barrier code been changed?"

"Hai," she nodded.

"Good. I want a list of everyone who's arrived in the village in the last twenty-four hours. We'll need Kakashi's report as well." Her footsteps pounded the ground as her frustration rose. Would Danzo have gone this far in broad daylight? No, he was more tactful. Or was the intruder the man who stole Chiisai from the recovery team? "Damn, I don't have time for this. How can such a small woman cause such a big problem?"

The guards stepped aside to let them pass. Shizune opened the door for the Hokage, but Lady Tsunade came to a halt at the doorway and released a groan.

The sheets were pulled back, the clothes gone, and the window was wide open.

Kakashi and Chiisai had escaped.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Chiisai gaped down at Kakashi's empty bowl, though she shouldn't be surprised. "I still don't understand how you eat so fast."

"It's a divine gift," he replied. "How's your meal?"

"The best I've had in a while." She swirled her chopsticks around the noodles as the smell of ramen filled the air. It felt nice to be back now, and she found herself to be comfortable out in public, as long as she was with Kakashi. Finally, something normal was happening. Chiisai added, "Granny Cat's cooking is about as bland as yours, you know."

"Funny."

After swallowing, she mumbled, "Did everyone think I was dead? Everyone just stared at me like I was a ghost."

"Probably. Be glad for the quiet we have," he sighed. "It won't last long."

Eating another mouthful of deliciousness, Chiisai said, "Thank you…By the way."

Kakashi smiled and patted her on the head like a dog. She grimaced, causing him to smile even more. "You're welcome." His eye softened as he watched her. Her shoulders were still tense, but the rest of her managed to relax. Chiisai took another bite and gestured with her chopsticks. "But I still don't know who's going to pay for this. We should have stopped by the apartment."

"Our home is currently a crime scene, unfortunately." He propped his elbow on the counter and rested his head on his hand. He didn't want to think about how much it would cost to fix the window Danzo's men burst through. His eye caught movement in the distance as he said, "Our meal ticket has finally arrived."

Chiisai followed his gaze and yelped at the person heading their way. The bowl tumbled out of her grip but Kakashi caught it. His girlfriend, in a shocked tone, stuttered, "That…That's what you're betting on? She's going to kill us, Farm Boy! You've brought us to our deaths!"

Lady Tsunade stormed into Ichiraku's with Shizune trailing behind. Fire burned in the Hokage's eyes as she accusingly pointed a finger at the two. "What the hell are you two doing here?!"

"We were hungry," Kakashi replied. God, he really must be irrational to have done this. Never had he voluntarily evoked the Hokage's anger before. He usually was the one scolding others at such actions. Her fury was known throughout the land, and he invited it willingly. Love really did make one do crazy things…

The blonde woman pointed down the street and yelled, "Dammit, I order you to return to the hospital now! Do you not realize the situation you two are in?"

Shizune cringed at her superior's harsh tone. They were causing a scene that even drew people out of the market. Kakashi was the only one seemingly unaffected, and he simply shrugged, "We can't do that."

"Did you just sass me, Hatake Kakashi? Do you want to die?!"

"No," he replied, "I would never do that. You see, we don't have money to pay for the meal. Therefore, we can't leave."

Her hands dug into her hair as she released another furious groan. If she weren't so angry she may find Kakashi's actions amusing, especially since he was doing this for Chiisai.

Teuchi hastily stepped out. The Hokage's rage bombarded him like a tsunami, even if she was silent. However, he, among probably everyone else in the village, heard the conversation. Kakashi was never one to not pay, but seeing as his girlfriend was finally back meant it was a special occasion. So, being the man that he was, the owner kindly said, "It's on the house for today."

Kakashi gave Chiisai an I-told-you- so look, causing her to break out in a grin. She wasn't sure why she thought his expression to be so funny, but nevertheless the idiotic situation had her cracking an even wider grin. Her shoulders began to shake, and before she knew it Chiisai found herself laughing. For a moment, her troubles and guilt were completely stamped out.

Her laughter only made Lady Tsunade angrier, though she didn't accuse the woman. Instead, she blamed the jonin for the predicament.

And though Lady Tsunade yelled and cursed Kakashi for his foolishness, even dragging him by the ear, a smile remained planted on his face. Because after everything that happened, he managed to make Karasu Chiisai laugh, and for a good long while. He never thought he would find himself in this situation, especially one he himself created. But hearing the woman he loved break out into laughter (because of him) felt surprisingly amazing…And it reminded him of someone else.

Obito, he thought, I now understand why you acted so foolish. Though I hated your stupid excuses and actions, it made Rin laugh. I thought us completely different at the time…It turns out we weren't so different after all.

END

Felt the need to end on a lighter note, since the first part had such foreboding. Are these chapters getting too long for anyone? Just curious if I need to adjust. Also, I don't want to confuse or bore anyone either, so hopefully everything's turning out fine.

gaabi: Here's one without a cliffhanger :)