Note: I know this is an insanely long chapter, but it was either have it be SUPER short or SUPER long so... I just decided to make it super long.

Also the next chapter is all about the Konoha Crush where things really start to take off and I'm weirdly excited to post it. I hope I didn't make it awful lol. Please remember to review!

Shuriken and kunai had been flung all over the field, with Tenten and Guy both cheering behind Kana's shield. She smiled, too, as Neji formed a small crater around his feet – it wasn't much, and they still had more to go in the remaining week, but the fact that he had shown this much progress in both Body Blow and Palm Rotation was astounding. He really was a genius.

"You're going to have to push harder," she called as the shield fell, "The entire purpose of this jutsu is to keep your opponent from getting in close and take advantage of your weak spot, so you want the sphere to be at least double that size." Kana began focusing her chakra to her arm as the trio spread out around the boy. "We're going to run at you head on and you have to push us back, got it?"

Neji's breathing appeared labored but he nodded and slid back into his stance with his arms spread, "I understand. I'm ready."

Tenten was the first to rush in with a scroll, pulling it open as she ran so a large flanged mace appeared in her hands. Guy and Kana soon followed – with her Kurogan on she could see that he was channeling a ton of chakra to his raised fist, sort of like what she was doing. Tenten's mace came down on the sphere, immediately being flung out of her hands with enough force to cause her to stumble back. Kana's satisfaction rang when her own fist connected with the whirlwind. Her chakra seemed to negate Neji's Palm Rotation for about half of a second, allowing her hand to pass through slightly before shoving back and flinging her aside in the direction Neji was spinning. She swore when she hit the ground and heard Guy's own grunt of discomfort somewhere off in the distance.

As rude as it probably was, Kana had expected Tenten to fail. She was a long distance fighter so her taijutsu was pretty lacking by comparison, but she thought that least Guy would be able to punch through. Picking herself up off of the ground, she saw that the crater had widened by about a foot but the boy was barely standing, teetering back and forth in the center of that crater as if a strong enough gale would swipe him off of his feet. Kana didn't need to use her bloodline trait to understand that he was running low on chakra, given that they had been at this for almost two hours straight. Guy's training typically ran from dawn until dusk, but this wasn't the same type of training so she knew she had to make this last go count.

"One more time, Neji," she called, "You're doing fantastic, I just need you to push yourself a little harder." Kana waved the other two to the side and began to focus her own chakra, feeling it ripple through her skin and snake around her body like a hungry fire being willed into existence.

"There's a good chance Neji's going to have to fight against Sasuke and Naruto in the final stage, you know," Kakashi stated as he read his well-worn Make-Out Paradise volume – or, well, he pretended to read it, considering his eyes hadn't actually moved from the center of the book in over ten minutes.

Kana tore her eyes from her copy of Make-Out Violence to peer at him curiously, "Well, yeah, that's how the exams work… Are you worried about them?"

"Not necessarily, I just want you to be aware that Sasuke's improved a great deal since you last saw him fight. That's all."

Her eyes slanted at him, but she kept the book open in her folded lap as she tried to use his tone and wording to decipher what exactly he was trying to say. God, he could be such a cryptic shit. "I know you've taught him chidori – believe it or not, I still keep an eye on him. But I don't understand what that has to do with that Naruto kid."

Ever since the day on the training field there had been a tenseness between the pair that Kana couldn't seem to shake; she didn't think Kakashi was the type to hold a grudge over something as simple as her getting catty with him, especially when it sure as hell hadn't been the first time she snapped at him, and vice versa. He had dropped by her apartment to lend her a book and to relax together, but his sudden proclamation only seemed to cause the tension to reemerge. Kakashi's eye didn't leave the book, but she saw his eyebrow twitch at her snippy tone.

"Naruto is being personally trained by Jiraiya," he started, "and I know he's most likely teaching him how to tap into the Nine Tailed Fox's chakra. It might be a good idea for you to teach Neji how to combat a powerful unique chakra type, like yours."

Neji stretched out shaking arms and crouched again, waiting for the signal. "I'm gonna come at you on my own this time, but it's not going to be a normal attack. I'm going to use my own chakra to attack you. Got it?"

He nodded wordlessly just before Kana charged, her legs moving as fast as they could as she threw up her shield, feeling it wrap around the front half of her body in a small, black, translucent crescent. Neji was too tired, too drained to spin fast enough to fully fend off her attack, his Palm Rotation giving considerably under the force of Kana'a speed and chakra – he kept spinning, however, as the girl pushed in. Dirt and rock crunched beneath her sandals as she was pushed back a couple of inches; she grit her teeth and forced another surge of chakra into her shield, taking a strained foot forward and feeling the clashing energy whip her braid behind her like an angry snake just before something exploded in her face.

The force of the chakra types combating each other out launched Kana, who was desperately fighting off the disorientation caused by it, backwards and to the side – she was able to concentrate enough to awkwardly arch her back and place her hands on the ground to use the momentum to her advantage, swinging her legs downwards so she skidded to a stop on all fours. Neji wasn't as nimble as she was, unfortunately, hitting the ground at a rough angle and bouncing along the patchy grass until finally coming to a stop.

"Ah, Neji are you okay?" She cried, racing over to his twitching body. Guy was by his side in an instant to roll him onto his back, Kana joining him just a few moments later as Tenten lagged behind. Neji's white eyes squinted against the sunlight. "What..?"

Kana cautiously picked up his arm, gingerly rolling and stretching out the various joints. "Your chakras couldn't cancel each other out, so they forced themselves apart. Sort of like an explosion," Guy explained, eyes watching his former student's hands unzip his shirt and tenderly press along his stomach and ribs.

"Does anything hurt?" she asked, "Can you move okay?"

Neji bent his legs and shrugged a shoulder in a testing manner – Guy helped him sit up from the ground and the trio watched him roll his neck, wincing when Kana's hand drifted to his back and fingered a cut that was about two inches wide. "It looks he got scraped, but other than that he's fine," she stated, pulling her hand away to cup his cheek and turn his face towards her. "You did splendidly, Neji. I'm so proud of you."

She leaned in to plant a delicate kiss on his cheek, not giving a damn about how he blushed furiously under the eyes of his teammate and sensei. Neji glared at her, so she kissed his other cheek for the sake of embarrassing him, though this time he reached up and pulled at her braid, pulling some of it loose and fluffing it out as she tore herself away. "You little shit," she grumbled. Neji's eyes held a rare mischievous glint that was almost immediately extinguished by Guy's clap on his shoulder.

"Ah to be young and feisty."

"I was thinking about making a sukiyaki pot for dinner for everyone, is that okay?" Kana lifted up a bundle of shitake mushrooms to inspect them for any creepy crawlies or unwanted fuzzies before placing them into the basket that was hooked around her arm.

Next to her, Kotetsu was eyeing spring onions with their shopping list in his other hand, silent and looking completely out of character with a somber expression. Ever since they met up at the gatehouse, he had been sort of distant and while Kana appreciated it at first as a pleasant change in pace, she realized that there was something wrong with him and it was beginning to irritate her. "Hey," she said sharply, nudging his arm with her elbow, "You hear me?"

Dark eyes slanted as he tossed the onions into the basket, but didn't look at her. "Why do you always act like I'm a nuisance?"

The small, dejected sound of his voice caught Kana off guard and her hand froze over the head of Napa cabbage she was about to pick up – what the hell did she do to prompt this? For a few moments they only stood silently in the market, Kotetsu's eyes downcast and Kana merely staring at his tanned face; when he realized that she was just going to keep gaping at him, waiting for an explanation, he sighed.

"We met almost three years ago when you were leading my team, and I still don't know anything about you," he explained, "You never tell me anything about yourself... If you don't just blatantly ignore me whenever I ask a question, you just tell me 'It doesn't matter.'"

Kana gnawed on her lip. Why the hell were people getting on her case today? "Kotetsu, you know I'm not that… I'm, uh, not the best at being a friend." Eloquence wasn't her forte, either, apparently, "I don't know what I'm supposed to do, or say... But…" She trailed off and chose to just eye the cabbage that was in her hand.

Disappointment was etched into his frowning face and it was clear that Kotetsu didn't appreciate her answer. "I've seen you with those kids, though. Neji and that Rock Lee-"

"They're different and you know that," she snapped angrily, "Neji's like my brother, we've been together for our entire lives. I love him, he is my life. Do you understand that, Kotetsu?"

"Yeah I get that, believe it or not, but what about Lee – what makes him so special? And then there's your obsession with the Uchiha kid, and your weirdly close relationship with Kakashi and Guy. You don't act like they're a bother when they're around." The hurt and anger rang in his deep voice, and Kana wasn't sure if it made her feel bad or angrier.

"You don't bother me, Kotetsu, I just don't know how to deal with you sometimes!"

"Which makes me a burden!"

"No, I-" she grit her teeth together, unsure of what to say but sure that she didn't want this to escalate, as there were already whispering housewives huddling together.

Kana took a long, deep breath and held it in her chest for a few moments to let her head clear; her agitation at the situation dropped down to a simmering, so she continued, "Look, I get what you're trying to say. But you have to understand that I spent my entire life being treated as a weapon – I wasn't allowed to make friends or get close to anyone, so all of this-" she spread an arm out and waved it around her,"–is something that isn't just foreign to me, but feels entirely unnatural. Sasuke is very precious to me, yes, but we haven't even spoken to each other since he was a child. He…" her eyes finally broke from Kotetsu's softened gaze, focusing on the third button from the top on his grey uniform shirt, "I can't explain what happened with him. But, until Lee came along, my social life was composed of my Kakashi, Guy and Neji. Lee was like…"

Her lips pulled upwards into a weak smile as she remembered the day she met the boy.

"Wow, you were trained by Guy-sensei? You truly must be a fantastic shinobi!" Lee's voice rang through the air of the training ground with enough excitement to nearly cause Kana to topple over as he leaned forward, the sudden closeness making her feel uncomfortable. He had large, round eyes that were dark and lined with incredibly long eyelashes, peering up at her in awe with his bowed mouth pressed tightly together as he appeared to inspect every part of her face.

Guy flashed his trademark "Nice guy," grin, as he called it, and clapped Kana on the shoulder, which only added to her unsteadiness. "That's right, Lee, the girl you see before you is my pride and joy: Kana Shimi, one of the youngest students ever to graduate the Academy and progress to the rank of jonin by the age of nine years old, joining the Anbu Black Ops just a year later. She was also my first student and is like my very own daughter."

Kana could almost literally see stars forming in this kid's eyes, the intensity of his gaze making her wonder what the hell kind of boring life he must have led to be this impressed - sure, it was rare for someone to get promoted as quickly as she did but it wasn't as if she was the only one. Though, as she looked him up and down, Kana could see why Guy had grown so fond of the boy; Lee's noticeable eyebrows aside, there was a passion for the shinobi life that raged within him. She had watched him train a few times before from the bushes with her old sensei, watched him beat his arms and legs against training posts until they were too swollen and bloody to hit anything else, or until he passed out and Guy carried him to his home.

"I cannot believe this, you are amazing I cannot even dream of how-"

Seeing him fawn over her like this was such a bizarre and abnormal experience that Kana wasn't sure what to do – she was used to people looking at her with guarded expressions, with eyes that made it clear they were nervous of what she was capable of. Without thinking about what she was doing, Kana raised her hands and held his face between them, her thumbs gently pressed on his impossibly soft lips. "You're noisy," she said flatly.

Despair fell over Lee's face and tears filled up those beautiful dark eyes of his as he whimpered something against her thumbs. 'Ah, crap,' she didn't mean to come off as rude, she was just stating the first thing that came to her mind – she didn't think he would just break down like this.

She removed her left hand from his cheek and ran it through his surprisingly silky black hair, touching their forehead protectors together with a 'clink'.

"I like you."

He was like this little ray of sunshine that brightened her days with his near-obnoxiously cheerful demeanor – it suddenly occurred to Kana that if it hadn't been for him, it would have been excruciatingly difficult for her to bring herself to open up to people. "He's just different, that's all," she muttered, dropping the cabbage into the basket. "Believe me, I really do value your friendship." Kana stepped over and nudged him with her shoulder. "I'm glad I met you."

Kana was hoping that her words would cheer the chunin up, but it seemed to only darken his already depressed demeanor. 'What the fuck does he want?'

"So Genma gets to hold you in front of every shinobi in the village, and I get a shoulder bump next to vegetables," he muttered, nodding with his eyes downcast, "Nah, I get it." Kotetsu reached out and took the basket off of her arm before walking around her. "I think I can finish the shopping. Thanks."

"I figured I'd find you here."

Green eyes stared intently at the grilling meat that sizzled in front of her, watching the agonizingly slow browning process as if it were the most important event to ever take place in her life. Kana didn't look up when Guy kneeled at the floor table across from her, choosing to just count the tiny bubbles that began to form on the edges of the sesame barbecue pork, so far there were twenty five.

Guy reached over the grill and picked up her bottle of sake to check how much of the alcohol was left – she heard him sigh as he set it back down, the clay bottle making a hollow 'clink.' Village law dictated that a shinobi became an adult when they achieved the rank of chunin, meaning she was legally capable of purchasing and drinking three bottles of peach sake at her favorite place to eat, though Guy was a very strong believer of self control and moderation.

"Am I that predictable?" she mumbled in a low voice. Two hundred fifty-one bubbles had accumulated on the various slices of pork, meaning it was going to be done soon. Her old sensei plucked two pairs of clean chopsticks from the cup next to the grill to flip her meat for her, but Kana grabbed her own chopsticks and smacked his hand away. "I can do it myself – I don't need your help!" Her hands clumsily turned the slices of pork over, but she dropped three pieces through the grate before throwing her chopsticks down, watching them bounce off of the table and roll some place she didn't give a damn about.

"Kana, I heard about what happened with Kot-"

"No fuuuucking shit," she blurted angrily, "You and everyone in this god damn village knows about 'What happened with Kotetsu' since if the stupid fucking chunin at the standby station can't keep their mouths shut, the even dumber than shit housewives at the market can't keep their mouths shut. So if all you have to say is 'I know what happened with Kotetsu' then please just leave me alone so I can order another bottle of sake."

Kana could hear the vitriol in her voice, the poison dripping from every word she spat out at him, but her head was swimming in alcohol and frustration. Nonetheless, Guy pulled the meat off of the grill, piling it onto a plate for her.

"This is your fault, you know. You insisted I go and 'Make friends,' to, 'Not waste my youth on a lonely life.' But, you know what? I was fucking fine the way I was. I was content with the way things were. I had you, and Kashi, and Neji and Lee and was keeping my promise to keep Sasuke safe. But that wasn't good enough for you, was it?" She stopped long enough to pile some sides onto her rice and stuff a big lump of food into her mouth, "No, you shaid I had ta meet pupple or elsh you were gunna get me thrown outta Anbu."

As she struggled to swallow, Guy took the opportunity to speak, "Kana, when did I ever say I was going to have you thrown out of Anbu? I don't have that type of power."

Kana's eyes rolled and her scowl darkened. "You did it to Kashi."

Shock, horror and pain flashed across her sensei's features all at once, his mouth hanging open – she could practically see the thoughts fly through his mind from behind his dark eyes. "And now look at me. I'm emotional, I panic, I cry, I hurt the people around me…" Tears pricked at the corners of Kana's eyes, "The people I don't hurt get hurt because I'm a terrible ninja, Genma actually had to ask me if I was depressed… All I wanted to do was live my life, to be a weapon for Konoha and keep other people safe… And you had to go and mess everything up!" She sobbed the last part out and hung her head, "I'm so fucking tired of crying all of the time! Why couldn't you just leave things alone?! I hate you for making me like this!"

She knew she was overreacting, that her words were cutting deeper than they needed to. Guy's shoulders slumped with every slurred sentence until he finally used his large hands to cradle his head, resting his elbows on the wooden table. "Oh, Kana…" he started in a low voice, "It's true, I was the one that first petitioned for Kakashi to be removed from his service in Anbu. I was the one that convinced Asuma and the others to join that petition, effectively convincing the Hokage. However…"

A muffled sob escaped his lips, shooting straight through Kana's heart. Seeing her sensei cry wasn't something that was new to her – everyone had seen him cry tears of happiness and pride, especially whenever Lee was involved – but this was different, these were tears of pain. Pain she had inflicted.

"I only wanted the best for you, to see you live a full life. After the Uchiha clan was destroyed by Itachi, I sat there... And watched you turn into a machine. An emotionless shell that only cared about missions and training – if Neji and that Sasuke didn't exist I know for a fact that whatever life you had left would have died with the clan. Even so... That small sliver of light within you began to fade so quickly that I – I was so scared I was going to lose my little girl."

Kana stared in horror as she watched the proudest, strongest man she knew weep into his hands – it was as if the sob from before was a knife that had been lodged in her chest, and now someone was twisting it. She couldn't speak as his broad shoulders trembled. The shoulders that brought her comfort throughout the years, shoulders that were a symbol of warmth and security for her, shook before her like a leaf in the wind that was just about to detach from its branch. Kana didn't know what to do, what to say. She could only sit in her seat and stare in shock, silent tears streaming down her sickly pale skin, as the man that had taken the role of her father at such a young age broke down.

"I was just so desperate to see you smile again, Kana. I wanted you to know that there's more to life than fighting and guarding others, which is why I told you to go out and socialize with the others. If I had… If I had known that you only did it out of fear of what I'd do in retaliation…"

Shame burned in her chest like a poison, joining the pain in her heart as a bane that threatened to rip her apart – Kana finally used her shaky hands to push herself off of the table to a kneeling position and crawled around the low table to Guy's side. She reached out tentatively, silently, to grasp one of those shoulders and pull Guy into an embrace, her other hand resting against the side of his bowl hair cut. "I didn't think you'd be so miserable that you would come to hate me."

"Don't be stupid," Kana mumbled, "You and I both know I'm not capable of hating you. I just… I don't know what to do, dad. I'm confused and conflicted, and I don't know what people want from me or how to give it to them. You didn't tell me that having friends would hurt so much. I'm sorry, you didn't deserve any of that."

They stayed like that for a few minutes in silence, Guy's head moving up and down at a steady pace with Kana's breathing as the adrenaline from the situation dissipated. Holding her former sensei was a different feeling – she was always the one being dragged into his near-violent hugs, or being comforted, so the change was bizarre. Her arms looked so thin and frail against the large mass of his body, and the weight of him leaning into her made her use her core and back muscles to stay upright. Eventually, Guy shifted so that his body was propped up by the hand he had placed on the floor, raising himself to touch his forehead against her headband. "It's alright, baby girl, I know it's tough at times but these experiences are, well, they're what make us human. Just remember that you don't owe anyone anything – if you aren't comfortable with them or if they ask too much of you, you don't have to deal with them. Especially Kotetsu. Okay?"

"Got it."

He pulled away and turned to the food that was still sitting on the table, "Speaking of owing people, I believe I still owe you a meal so mind if I stay a little longer?" He grinned at her as if the last half hour never happened, picking up the chopsticks he had pulled out for himself earlier to pile some meat and sides onto a plate that previously held fried onions. Kana returned the smile and shrugged before dragging her own plate over to her new spot.

"Don't you have anything better to do other than prevent me from stress eating?" she joked half-heartedly, filling up her own plate, "I'd have figured the Third would have you out on missions since I've been keeping Neji all to myself."

Guy chuckled, "I've already been out on a couple of missions with Kurenai and Yamato so I guess you could say I have the next week off until the final exam." He took a large mouthful of food appreciatively, his cheeks puffed out like a rugged-looking frog. Lee looked a lot cuter when he did that, Kana noted.

"In that case, why don't you take over Neji's training?"

He stopped chewing for half of a second to glance down at her questioningly, his mouth still too full to respond; Kana reached for the sake bottle to pour out the last cup's worth that remained, but was stopped by Guy, who grabbed her wrist and shook his head.

Sighing, she explained herself, "Look, I taught Neji the Palm Rotation, which was all I had planned for him – he learned it faster than I thought he would so I honestly don't have anything as backup… And really, you're his sensei anyways so I don't think it's right for me to train him anymore."

"Will you please let Guy-sensei resume Neji's training?"

Kana hadn't even sat down in the chair she had pulled up to the hospital bed before Lee had asked her the question so being "Caught off guard" didn't even come close; she gave the boy a questioning look as she seated herself, but he only stared down at the bandaged hands resting in his lap. "Do not misunderstand, I am well aware of your impressive skills as a shinobi and from what I have heard you have been doing an excellent job with Neji. But simply I cannot bear to see Guy-sensei coming in here day after day… I feel like every time he looks at me, he is only filled with sorrow and guilt even as he tries to encourage me."

Frustration was etched into the young boy's normally genial face as his hands gripped the plain white sheet that covered his body; Kana could only imagine what he must be going through – to have your entire life's purpose hanging by a thread as your body fails you…

"I do not want to be the reason behind his grief any longer," Lee continued, "I want him to stop visiting but I know he will not unless something else demands his attention so please, Kana, let him continue Neji's training for the third stage of the exam." He looked up to meet her concerned gaze, his large eyes pleading, "Please, Kana, Guy-sensei needs to be away from me. I know he thinks of us as his own two children and you are one of the shinobi he respects the most so, if he is going to be persuaded by anyone, he will listen to you."

Her chair squeaked against the linoleum as Kana stood up and leaned over, fingertips gently tipping Lee's face up. She touched her forehead against his and gave him a sad smile, "Of course, Lee."

It was her day off so Kana wasn't wearing her forehead protector – the warmth of his skin radiated through her own and she felt him relax as she spoke. "But, you know, you're going to have to keep me entertained because I still have a week and a half left before I can take on any extra missions."

Lee's demeanor had visibly improved when Kana pulled back to sit down, his bow-like lips turned upwards into a slight smile. "I believe that is a fair trade."

"Are you sure? I have no problem with him remaining under your care until the end of the exams," Guy said, waving his thanks to the waitress that brought two glasses of water to their table.

Kana shrugged, "I'm not all that cut out for teaching. He's really best off with you now."

It looked as if Lee's suspicions were correct. "Okay, then, starting tomorrow I'll take Neji back into my care."