Author's note: YAY an update

Author's note: YAY an update! Well, I don't think this chapter turned out quite as boring as I thought it was going to be! The plot thickens. The story is now half way done. I hope the last half can be super exciting and dramatic. Thank you so much for all the reviews! I love them! You are all amazing and so nice!

PS: Wow, math fail. My favorite character: he was in ten episodes. I knew what episode number he started in, and what episode he ended in, but forgot to add one because I simply subtracted episode numbers and didn't count the first episode he was in. Sorry. Jezzabela was just, like, about 10 episodes off, though! Idate is one of my friend's favorites...she finds him extremely cute... virtual high five for that Kimimaro is, in fact, my favorite. XD

Part 3: Chapter 1: Painful Reunions

Kakashi lay under the shade of a giant tree tiptoeing on the outskirts of the forest. It was a terribly hot day, and he needed some relaxation after his training session. It was hard, naturally, now that he was on the brink of becoming a full fledged Jounin, but he was eager to accept all his challenges.

Kakashi looked down at his teammates practicing their shuriken throws. They were getting much better, and he knew that they were making their sensei proud. Kakashi, on the other hand, was to be given the title of Jounin and given his first A-rank mission to lead in the near future. The pressure was on him to do well, and to obey all the rules. He wanted to make not only his sensei proud, but his father as well.

"Kakashi-kun!" Rin smiled wiping the beads of sweat from her brow, "Come practice with us!"

Kakashi dismissed the girl with a wave of his hand and closed his grey eyes. He needed some rest, and this was the perfect opportunity. As he closed his eyes, however, he got to thinking about all the things that he had pushed to the back of his psyche. His friends plagued his mind. How was Gai these days? He hadn't seen him in months. The last time he even saw the boy was when Gai finally passed his Chuunin exams…

Months was nothing, however, compared to Akane. It had been 5 years. Truthfully, he didn't even know if she was alive. He hoped she was alive, though. He had been mad at her for a while; after all she left without saying goodbye when he was on his deathbed. She probably hated him now for his little stunt. Heck, he hated himself for a while after the fact, too. As painful as it was, he could understand her motives.

His fingers traced under his gloves and danced across the ragged scars on his wrists. They were a lasting reminder of what he did, what he lost, and the new outlook he gained. He worked twice as hard now to surpass his father, and to impress his sensei. He tried his best to get along with Obito, too, even if it was hard at times. It seemed to be working; he was, after all, going to be one of the youngest Jounin ever.

"Kakashi," Namikaze sensei called out, "Are you alright?"

"Fine, Sensei just tired." Kakashi yawned, "Why?"

"I was just worried for a minute…" Namikaze smiled, "Anyways, we'll have to go soon so…"

"HATAKE KAKASHI!"

Kakashi sprung up from his place on the grass and stared wide eyed at the sight before him. There was Gai, in one of his poses, giving him a huge thumbs up. His teeth were shining so brightly in the summer sun that Kakashi could have sworn he was going to go blind.

"My eternal rival! We meet again!" Gai exclaimed, "I have not seen you in so long! I challenge you to 100 laps around Konoha!"

"Gai it's way too hot out!" Kakashi cried, "Maybe another day…"

"Nonsense, Kakashi!" Gai said striking another pose, "The heat adds to the challenge!"

"He has a point, Kakashi." Namikaze grinned, "A Jounin would accept any challenge."

"You have to be kidding me." Kakashi exclaimed, "This is childish!"

Gai gave Kakashi a smile and ran off without warning. So he was going to play it dirty, was he?

Namikaze smiled as he watched his student run off after the other boy with a determined smile on his face. It was nice that one of Kakashi's best friends was back in Konoha. With his friends, Namikaze could tell that Kakashi got the well needed boost that he deserved.

Kakashi continued to run as fast as he could. Gai had gotten a head start, so Kakashi had to decide what his plan of action was going to be if he was going to beat him. He wished he was better at Senjutsu at the moment…but the heat and the tire from running was clouding his mind. Kakashi decided that he should just let Gai win this challenge. They would be tied, and that wouldn't be so bad. He could always just beat him in the next one.

He decided to stop the race and walk around Konoha. A lot of things had changed in the past five years. Akane's sister Nami was starting the academy this year, and so was this little boy named Iruka. They were the best of friends, and it was nice that they were able to start at the academy together.

Obito's little cousin Itachi had graduated the academy at the age of six and was considered a prodigy in the eyes of his clan. It was taking a considerable toll on his teammate. He was training extra hard, but his Sharingan would not activate. He could tell that Obito was getting extremely frustrated. He had reason to be, though. Kakashi admitted that he would have been frustrated with the lack of progress, too, if he was Obito.

Kakashi's eyes moved through the town once again. Colors were everywhere. The annual summer festival was going to be taking place soon, and he was getting more and more excited. He could remember long nights, way back when he was a Gennin, when the group of them would all go out and see the festivities. They would all eat ramen, and marvel at the various acts and musical performances that took place during this magical time.

Inside, Kakashi wished that the rest of his friends were home. Gai was back from his missions, and probably would be for a while, but he hadn't seen Asuma or Kurenai in ages, too. Ebisu was still training with Gai, but it seemed like Gai's over flamboyance was enough to scare Ebisu away. Not that Kakashi blamed him….

In the corner of his eyes, a flash of red caught his attention. They walked by too fast, but he could have almost sworn that it was…

"KAKASHI!"

He cursed inwardly as he heard that voice. Gai had figured out that he was not playing his little game anymore. What was to follow, most likely, would be an eight hour lecture on never giving up and persevering through the tough times. He hated Gai's motivational speeches.

"You gave up, Kakashi!" Gai exclaimed, "How could you!"

"I am tired," Kakashi admitted, "Why can't you challenge me in rock paper scissors or something?"

"That would not be as fun, my eternal rival!" Gai smiled, "What were you doing anyways? You looked like you were staring off into space, or something?"

"Nothing, I just thought I saw…"

"Is that Sadao-sensei?" Gai questioned as he looked off into the crowd.

Kakashi's eyes looked in the direction that Gai was staring at. Amongst the crowds of people setting up for the festivities, he could clearly see the tall man with his characteristic Jounin vest, and his slightly messy brown hair. To his right, stood a girl, decked in her usual red top and black pants.

"AKANE -CHAN!"

Kakashi rolled his eyes as his friend ran off into the crowd after them. Although, slightly embarrassed for his friend, Kakashi followed him towards the fire jutsu masters. As he walked up there, though, he started to feel that something was different. Getting closer he could see that she seemed distant and colder than usual. There was no excitement evident in her face as Gai approached-not even a smile.

He noticed that she simply stood by her Sensei's side and listened quietly as Gai explained how excited he was that she was home, and how she had to go do something fun when the festival began.

"We can all go to Ichiraku again!" Gai was explaining, "We could all get together and train…or…or we could visit the academy and do all the things like we used to!"

"That would be impossible," she said in a flat tone, "I have work to do."

"Oh," Gai said with disappointment in his eyes, "Maybe some other time, then?"

"Perhaps."

Kakashi watched in confusion as she simply turned her back to Gai and walked off. What was that all about? She was usually very happy to see every body. Why was she suddenly acting like none of them existed?

"Aren't you going to say hi to Kakashi?" Gai questioned to her back, her black 'Seika' kanji was dark against her light skin.

"Hello, Kakashi."

She just continued to walk.

"What's the matter with you?!" Gai called back with anger dripping from his voice, "Aren't you happy to see us? We haven't seen you in five years!"

"A lot has changed in five years, Gai; I am not a child anymore." She said plainly, "Maybe you should grow up, too."

Kakashi watched as she continued to walk away with her sensei. Gai stood in the middle of the street; his characteristic smile2 0was gone. The twinkle in his eyes, the life in his face, and his energy seemed to have been drained from the boy. To put it frankly, the boy standing in front of Kakashi was not Maito Gai.

"Gai…" Kakashi said in almost a whisper, "I'm sure she didn't mean it in a mean way."

Kakashi mentally slapped himself. Of course she meant it that way, what else could she have been trying to say? How could she even do that to Gai? She must have known that he had been in love with her since they were children and then she goes and stabs him in the back?

"Sure, whatever," Gai said brushing past Kakashi, "I have to go finish training. See you around."

With that, Gai simply disappeared into the crowd. His words to Akane were flashing through his mind over and over again,

"We can all go to Ichiraku again!"

"We could all get together and train!"

"We could visit the academy and do all the things like we used to!"

The last line echoed in his mind. What had changed? Sure, the years had made them older and more responsible but there had to be a major reason they stopped doing all the things they liked to do. There had to be one defining moment that really split them all apart and caused Akane to act just like…

It hit him.

She acted exactly like Sadao.

He hated the man.

Sadao and Akane walked into the Hokage's office to receive their newest assignment. Apparently, it was an assignment that only they could complete. Sadao figured he had some special skill that none of the other ANBU assassins had. Was it his expertise in fire jutsu maybe? If it was so dangerous, he would have to leave Akane here…

"Sandaime Hokage, hello," Sadao said bowing, "We came as soon as we received your message. You have a mission for me?"

Sandaime looked at the man and the girl besides him. She had grown up a lot over the past five years and seemed to have the same hardened attitude that her sensei had. He figured that Sadao had instilled in her a code he thought assassins should follow. From the looks of it, too, she was obeying it perfectly. The girl was completely dethatched from the world-just like Sadao.

"Actually, Sadao, it's a mission for Akane." The Hokage said with a smile, "It truly is a mission that only she can do."

Sadao looked down at his apprentice with a hint of jealousy in his eyes. He had taught her everything he knew, she was basically a carbon copy assassin of him, and yet she was getting the job? What did she have that he didn't? He had trained her for 7 years and he couldn't find anything spectacular about her. So she could do a few fancy fire tricks, big deal. So could he.

"I will accept any mission, Sandaime Hokage." She said with a bow, "What is the background."

Sandaime looked at Sadao across the room again and then down at the papers littering his desk. The girl was waiting patiently for her mission instructions. Sandaime noticed she stood with an air of calmness over her, and her face was void of emotions. As he spoke, however, he could almost detect the slightest look of shock capture her face.

"Sadao, leave the room."

The sensei looked at the Hokage with a confused look on his face. His amber eyes starred into the Hokage's brown trying to pry the answer out of the man, but to no avail. In defeat, he simply decided to walk out of the Hokage's office; leaving his pupil behind.

With a click of the door, Akane knew her sensei was out of the room. After waiting to make sure that her teacher was off the premises, the Hokage started to brief her on her mission.

"This will be your first A-rank assassination on your own, Akane." Sandaime explained, "Consider this your Jounin test."

"Understood, Sandaime." Akane nodded, "Who do I need to dispose of?"

She could hear the Hokage shuffling through papers on his desk. The frantic way in which he collected them, too, suggested20to her that he was distressed. He seemed nervous, and he seemed almost scared to tell her what her mission was going to be. If it was this hard, why was he not sending specialized ANBU assassins? What was so unique about this mission?

"ANBU Intelligence suggests that a small clan outside of Konoha has been receiving top secret information on us. We need you to track down the people responsible, dispose of the information, and destroy anyone involved with the gathering of this information. If this data was sent to rival hidden villages, or worse, into the hands of someone evil, we could all be in serious peril." Sandaime explained, "I need you to complete this mission without a hitch. You are the only person who can do this, Akane."

The Hokage watched as the girl contemplated the whole mission. It seemed, to him, that she was already planning the moves that she was going to utilize, and the tactics she was going to use to take down a whole village's information center.

"It seems to be a relatively standard assassination, sir, so you must understand my confusion," she began, "Why am I the only one capable of completing this mission?"

Sadao looked into the girls eyes. She could hear an audible sigh and she could feel his internal struggle. To be completely honest, she was a little nervous.

"Because," he began, "I need you to infiltrate your own clan."

Kakashi worked through the small set of papers he had to fill out before bed time. He had been living on his own in a small apartment ever since his father had died. Kakashi had to admit, while he missed his father, he liked the independence he got by living on his own. He was able to stay up late, and read all the books he wanted.

His attention was diverted from the papers, however, as a knock came from his front door. Kunai in hand, Kakashi walked to the door and looked out the small hole in the door. Standing at his doorway, was his sensei.

Kakashi immediately let him in and instantly noticed the group of papers in the man's hands. They were marked with various explanations and pictures. Littered on it were the names of various ninja from the bingo book and various jutsus specific to various villages.

"Sensei, what a surprise!" Kakashi smiled, "I was just going to bed."

"Likely," Namikaze smiled, "Anyways, intelligence has suggested a raid by Iwagakure is possible in the near future. While we still do not have a specific date, it is suggested that the raid may start as early as in a few day's time. You must be ready to respond at a moments notice to lead your squad on your first A-rank mission. Contained in these papers is everything you need to know to lead this mission successfully. As of today, you are officially a Jounin."

Namikaze sensei watched as Kakashi scanned over the papers with unparalleled excitement. While he was happy that Kakashi was excited to lead a new mission, he was worried that the boy didn't understand how dangerous the mission could actually be. He was over-competent, and in a mission that could be as deadly as an enemy.

"Take this seriously, Kakashi, lives are in danger." Namikaze explained, "Review the information carefully and get some rest. We have training in the morning."

With that final note, the sensei walked out of the boy's small home leaving Kakashi to read over paper after paper in preparation for his first mission as a Jounin.

Little did Kakashi know, it would be a mission he would never forget.

Gai sat silently at Ichiraku ramen. The bowl of food in front of him remained untouched as the boy simply sat in a daze. His sensei had tried to explain to him the assassin's code, and why his friend may have acted so coldly towards him. The fact that it could have all been explained, however, didn't make him feel any better.

In a seat next to him, he could hear the sound of someone sitting down. His eyes detected that it was, in fact, Sadao-sensei. He looked frustrated and angry. The boy noted that the sensei's characteristically collected nature was gone, and his chakra seemed imbalanced. Something must have upset him.

Still looking at the man, he could notice that his amber eyes scrolled across Konoha even as his order of Ramen was placed on the table. Gai could tell that the man was looking for some type of specific detail, something out of the ordinary, something that only a skilled assassin would even notice.

As Gai squinted his eyes, he could almost see a small shadow dashing across the rooftops of moonlit buildings in the city. When he tried to focus on it more, however, it was gone. His eyes shifted to the seat next to him.

It was empty.

Thanks for reading! Please review!