Author's Note: This will pick up right where the dream had left off. As always, thank you for the support and enjoy :)

*= quote from the manga

**= conversation until after this quote taken from the manga.


"Are you sure you want to see him?" Minato asked again as they stood in the house. She was so far gone that he wasn't even sure she would answer. He took her slight nod as a yes.

"M-mistress..?" Pakuun asked with alarm as he stared up at Mikazuki. "W-what happened?"

"I… you can never… speak of this to Kakashi, understand?" she said weakly, knowing that Minato could explain further. The horrified pup bolted for the door, running as far away from the scene as he could to escape whatever was going on. "He'll be back," she whispered. "He's loyal… Yes, he can keep his memory too."

Minato released a deep sigh, knowing that it was almost over. Being as quiet as he could, he pushed Kakashi's bedroom door open, to reveal the half awake shinobi still quite ill.

"Sensei?" he said hoarsely as he looked up at him with drowsy eyes. All the exhaustion was knocked out of him once he saw his mother though. "Mother! What's happened? Who did this to you?"

In an instant he was out of bed and next to his mother, helping Minato put her on his bed. She patted next to her, letting Kakashi lay next to her as she used some of her last strength to wrap her arms around him and run her fingers though his hair.

"I am so sorry," she said as tears filled her eyes. "I am sorry that I have not been the mother I should have been for the past year."

"Mother…" he trailed off, trying hard not to cry himself. He was a shinobi. He couldn't cry.

"I was so devoured by my own pain, in the pain of losing my husband, that I forgot that you had lost your father," she said with such regret. "And I am sorry that I will never be able to make it up to you."

"You don't have to make anything up t-"

"Shh," she said softly. "I do Pup. But I can't. I've run out of time."

"We need to get you to the hospital," he said quickly, flying up and grabbing his mother. "We need to get you there now."

"Just like your father," she mumbled as the life faded. "Always trying to save the day."

"Sensei, out of the way please," Kakashi said as he carried his mother, having a hard time because he was still weak from being ill. Minato didn't budge.

"Kakashi, even if you took her to the hospital, there's nothing they could do," Minato said patiently. Now Kakashi's eyes were filling up.

"Get out of the way or I will move you," he yelled, only to be stopped by his mother putting her hand on his cheek.

"Pup, it's okay," she whispered. "Once you go to sleep, this will all be a dream."

"What are you talking about Mother?!" he said with aggravation because he was so confused. "You'll be dead. It won't be a dream. You won't be here anymore! How am I supposed to deal with that? Who'll teach me to actually be decent at the violin, or how to talk in that weird language you use? I… I don't want to be alone…"

"It'll be okay," she said again. "Just be brave."

With any ounce of energy she could muster, she pulled herself up to her son's face and kissed his forehead.

"We will meet again," she promised. "If not in this life, then the next. Now rest."

Kakashi didn't know what to do as Minato took Mikazuki from his arms and carried her away. So badly did he want to run after them, to see what was going to happen next, but he knew that he couldn't. He wasn't supposed to.

Minato ran out to the backyard with Mikazuki, laying her in the grass as he started gathering wood to build a pyre. She was so far gone that she wasn't talking or doing much of anything now but just waiting.

Will you be waiting for me Sakumo? On the other side? She wondered to herself as she lay in the grass, running her fingers through the soft blades. Then she felt something warm and soft laying on her stomach. None other than Pakuun, now returning loyalty after running off the sadness and the pain.

"Mistress, I'm sorry for running," he said in his little voice. She simply nodded, pulling her hand out of the grass and running in over his soft back. "I will protect Master, I promise."

"Go to him now then," she said so softly that it barely sounded like anything. Pakuun obeyed, gently leaping off his mistress's stomach and running into the house where Kakashi sat in his bed, staring at the wall.

"Master?" Pakuun asked gently. Kakashi didn't even look at him. "It won't be so bad Master. Just you and me and all of the other dogs." Nothing. Not even a flinch.

"It's ready," Minato said with finality as he looked back at Mikazuki. "Are you sure this is okay? Have you cast that spell yet? How does it even work?"

"Don't worry," she murmured as he picked her up. "By dawn, I will be gone."

She pressed two of her fingers to his forehead, giving him the last memory she could muster before she was gone for good. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki and my dream is to become Hokage!"

"Goodbye Minato," she said as she finally faded from that world and made her way to the next. Minato knew that he had to work quickly now, even though all he wanted was to think on that last memory, to only think on that and not his dead friend. First, he laid Mikazuki on the wood and lit the fire, hurrying inside right after so that he wouldn't have to watch her burn.

"She's dead now, isn't she?" Kakashi asked as he walked out of his room and towards his sensei.

"I'm sorry Kakashi," he said quickly as he grabbed the boy and pressed his pressure points, making him fall into sleep. The sooner he slept, the sooner he would forget, and the less distracted Minato would be when finishing this job. He carried Kakashi into his parents' room and laid him in their bed since his was wet and blood covered from his mother.

"Pictures," he said to himself as he rummaged through the drawers, grabbing all of Mikazuki's clothes, pictures, and any other possessions he could get his hands on. Once he started a pile of them, he hurried into the attic, grabbing one of the boxes up in the attic and ripping it open. As quickly as he could, he rid all of the boxes of pictures, not noticing that her birth certificate and citizenship certificate were in one of the boxes. As for her trunk… he couldn't bring himself to do it. He knew that her violin was there, her beads, all of the little treasures she had from her old life. No, he wouldn't get rid of that. Instead, he hid it behind the other boxes he'd gone through and hurried back downstairs. By now, her body was ash, leaving behind only the solid sheath from Sakumo's tanto. The tanto! He would have to find that, wherever it was left. Trying his best not to think about what he was doing, he threw the clothes, pictures, possessions, everything all into the fire, turning away to go find the tanto and keep himself distracted.

"I don't think I can watch this anymore," Kakashi said quietly, leading the memory to be ended instantly. They were back at the fire, sitting side by side, staring deep into the flames.

"Are you okay?" she asked as she looked over at her son. He continued staring into the flame as he slowed down his breathing; feeling as if he had just ran a marathon.

"I don't know," he said slowly. "I know I feel different though."

"Different isn't always bad," she said as she placed a hand on his knee. "Kakashi…?"

"Yeah, it isn't always bad," he said back. "So did you meet him?"

"Hmm?"

"Father, did you meet him on the other side?" Kakashi asked.

"No," she said sadly. "I still haven't found him. But I haven't stopped looking... He has the tendency of getting lost…"

"Oh," he said quietly. He didn't know what to do now. All of the gaps were filled in, all of the memories made sense. Maybe she was right and he didn't have a cause or a mission to complete. "I have to stop Sasuke."

"I know," she agreed.

"And you've really helped me."

"It was unintentional, but I'm glad."

"I just have one more question…" Kakashi trailed off. "Mae remembered you, how was that possible?"

"Mae is an old woman," Mikazuki answered, "her mind was not hard to manipulate."

"You gave her memories back, temporarily?" Kakashi asked in shock. "Why?"

"Because, I needed someone to help me get to you," she answered quietly. "This spell has limitations Kakashi. I couldn't simply jump into your mind, even though I had tried on several occasions. I needed you to meet someone I was close to, and go from there."

"Does she still have her memories?" Kakashi asked.

"No," she said back. "If you were to mail her a letter, she would have no idea who you even were."

She could feel something in that very moment, breaking her focus. A decision being made. A dark haired boy packing his bags.

"Kakashi, you have to wake up now. You have to go back," she said frantically. "You have to find Sasuke. Now. You have to go now."

"Wait, why? What's happening?" he asked as she pulled him out of the dream and back into reality. He flew up from his bed in the hospital and ran out of the room, grabbing his vest and throwing it on as he ran. There weren't many places that Sasuke could be, but he figured the best place to start would be the Uchiha compound. Fortunately for him, he ran into Sasuke on the way there.

"We need to talk, now," he said as he grabbed the boy's arm, but it was pushed away.

"I'm done talking Sensei. I'm done waiting around until I care about someone enough. Everyone I've ever cared enough for is dead," Sasuke said darkly, not so much anger but sadness filling his voice.

"Revenge will get you nowhere," Kakashi reminded him.

"No one you loved was ever violently murdered! How would you like it if I murdered the person most precious to you!? Then you'd understand…"

A snapshot of a memory of Kakashi's mother jumped into his brain. He could see her standing there in one of her flowing dresses, thin arms held parallel as she walked across the railing of a bridge with a small Kakashi following her.

"Mother, why did you take me out of class today?" Kakashi asked as he focused on not falling into the river.

"We're going on an adventure!" She said with excitement as she did a dip with her foot as if she was a gymnast on the balance beam.

"Really?" Kakashi asked with equal excitement. "Where are we going?"

"I don't know yet," she said with her laughing voice. "That's part of the adventure!"

"Well, I suppose you could… but unfortunately I don't have anyone special left,"* Kakashi said softly as the memory faded back into the vault in his mind. "Sasuke, can I tell you one last story… to maybe change your mind?"

"Fine," he said sharply, crossing his arms and staring expectantly at his sensei. "But I don't have all night."

"I understand," Kakashi said as he tried to think of the best way to word this. "There was a woman, a long time ago, who lived in this village. She wasn't a shinobi of any sort, though she mostly associated with shinobi, and lived a very good, but short life. In her lifetime, she had always been kind to those around her, even though she sometimes came off as over emotional."

"What's your point?" Sasuke asked impatiently.

"I'm getting there," Kakashi said with slight annoyance. "So, this innocent woman was murdered. By a shinobi. To this day, I hold no grudge against that shinobi or those associated with him."

"Why does this matter? It isn't even relevant," Sasuke said as he pushed past Kakashi.

"It's relevant because that woman was my mother and the shinobi who killed her was your father," Kakashi said calmly, freezing Sasuke in his tracks. "I hold no grudge against you Sasuke, or your father, because that's simply not a way to live. Seeking vengeance will only leave you empty."

"I don't believe you," Sasuke said with rage. "No, you're wrong. If my father did kill your mother, then she must've deserved it."

"Your father was human Sasuke. He could make mistakes too," Kakashi said as he concealed the burning in his stomach from Sasuke saying such things.

"No, he wouldn't kill someone just for fun," Sasuke reasoned to himself. "No, no you're wrong. You're so wrong. No, I'm not hearing this. I'm leaving."

"Fine," Kakashi said coldly. "Leave. Follow the path of darkness and wallow in self pity for the rest of your life. I can lead a horse to water, but I can't force it to drink. If you want to become Orochimaru's tool, that's your decision."

With that, Sasuke disappeared from the scene. Kakashi wasn't sure if he wanted to hit something or rip his hair out in frustration, but he knew what he had to do. He had to tell Lady Tsunade that Sasuke's leaving, that he would now be officially a rogue ninja… That Kakashi had failed his student, just like he had failed Obito and his father had failed his team.

Sasuke was running as soon as he made some distance between him and his sensei. How could his father have killed anyone who was innocent? No, it wasn't true. Sensei was making things up to get him to stay in the village. That was low, even for him. He just had to make it out of the village, meet up with those shinobi working for Orochimaru, and then he would be well on his way to becoming stronger. He could leave this all behind him and focus on what was really important. That was all he thought, until he saw Sakura standing in the road, the only road out of the village.

"It's the dead of night… what are you doing out here?" Sasuke asked, slight concern crossing his mind. The last person he had wanted to see on his way out was Sakura.

"This road is the only way out of the village, so I've been keeping watch," she said sternly as she looked at his feet.

"Just go to bed," he said harshly, praying that she would just leave him alone and let him live with the decision he's made.

"Why don't you ever tell me anything?" she asked as tears ran from her eyes. "Why do you have to be so silent? Why can't you just… let me in?"**

Sasuke stopped and turned around, staring at this girl, his teammate, his… whatever she was to him, he wasn't quite sure, and how broken up she was.

"Why would I?" he asked as he stared at the crying girl.

"Because we're friends, I thought," she started. "Because… things seemed to be changing… You were changing… For the first time since I met you, you were happy. And so I thought…"

"You thought that meant that things had changed?" he asked with plenty of annoyance. "You thought that because I was happier that my parents were magically alive and my brother was dead? No, Sakura, nothing's changed. I have to become stronger."

"Can't you become stronger here?" she asked. "Do you have to leave to become stronger?"

"I don't seem to be getting any stronger here," was all he said as he walked past her.

"Sasuke, please don't leave!" she shouted, desperation ringing through her voice as she continued to cry. "I need you here!"

"You need me?" he asked as he stopped in his tracks.

"Yes, yes I do Sasuke," she said urgently. "You and Naruto and Kakashi Sensei are like my family now Sasuke, and if one of you goes away…. Especially you…."

"Why especially me?" Sasuke asked as he turned back around and stared at her.

"Do you need me to say it?" she asked as she wiped her tears away with her arm. "Kakashi Sensei and Naruto are like family, like my uncle and my brother…. But you Sasuke… well, you have a special place in my heart… And I know, at first, it was because you were the cool guy, the best shinobi in our class, but after spending time with you and the way you've been recently… I realized that… that maybe I do have feelings for you, beyond the shallow ones I had before."

His cold, unfeeling eyes turned soft as he walked towards Sakura. She held her face in her hands, crying almost uncontrollably and trembling with all of the emotions and stress she was feeling. Before her knees could give out, Sasuke wrapped his arms around her back, catching her from falling, and the sat her on the nearby bench.

"Then I'll stay," he decided out loud as he sat down next to Sakura.

"You'll stay?" she asked with disbelief as she sat up and stared at Sasuke. He nodded slightly, giving her a small but sincere smile.

"You gave me a reason to," he answered as she grabbed him and pulled him into a hug. He wrapped his arms around her back and buried his face into her shoulder, smelling her strawberry shampoo. Is this what it feels like Sensei? To have someone important to you. I think I may have forgotten the feeling. "You should go back home."

"How do I know you won't just leave?" she asked as she let go and looked at Sasuke.

"I promise I will not leave," he said as he brushed a stray strand of pink hair behind her ear. "But it's going to be dangerous here soon and I don't need you to get hurt. If you want to help, go find Kakashi Sensei… I think I owe him an apology."

"Right," Sakura said with a nod, smiling even though she still had tears in her eyes. She had done it… Sasuke wasn't going to leave. Little did she know how much she had actually changed the fate of her entire village, her sensei, Naruto, Sasuke, and herself.


"What?" Tsunade asked angrily as Kakashi told her what had happened with Sasuke. "And you let him leave?"

"Forcing him to stay is a better option?" Kakashi asked with just a little more ice than he'd meant. "Sorry, that was disrespectful."

"No time for apologizing. We have to stop him before he leaves the village," Tsunade said as she got up from her desk and hurried towards the door with Kakashi. Just as they were about to run out, Sakura was running in.

"There you are Kakashi Sensei," she said with a breath of relief. "I've been looking everywhere for you. Sasuke wants to talk to you."

"He hasn't left?" Kakashi asked as he and Tsunade followed Sakura quickly through the streets.

"He isn't leaving at all," she said with a smile as they reached the road that she had left him at. Just as he said he would, Sasuke stood there waiting, but in the distance, beyond the gates, he could see them. The sound four were waiting for him just beyond the gate, and he had a feeling that changing his mind wouldn't be a proper excuse for not following them.

"Sasuke, what the hell were you thinking?" Tsunade asked angrily as they made their way over to him.

"I'll explain later," Sasuke answered, "but right now, there are four shinobi out there waiting for me."

"Okay, Sasuke, Sakura, go find Jiraiya, Guy and Asuma. Tell them to meet us here and then get as far away from here as you can," Tsunade ordered, receiving an obedient nod from Sakura but hesitation from Sasuke.

"I'm not running like a dog with my tail between my legs," Sasuke grumbled. "I made this mistake, so it's only right that I help fix it."

Kakashi could see it: Sasuke dying from the curse mark completely devouring his exhausted body. Tsunade and himself taking an extreme amount of damage. This would be the end of the road, the end of Sasuke's journey, unless he could convince him otherwise.

"Sasuke, I understand how you're feeling right now, but it's time for you to admit that you're a little over your head and follow the orders of those older than you," Kakashi said in a way that reminded him eerily of his father.

"No, I won't go. This is my fight," Sasuke answered back. "I have to protect what's important to me."

Visions were flying into Kakashi's head at supersonic speeds as the entirety of Sasuke's life that would be lost if he died flashed through his mind. As they continued, the faster they became, almost frantic.

"Kakashi Sensei!" Sasuke called as his sensei fell to the ground, overwhelmed with too much.

"Pup, I'm all out of time," Mikazuki's voice cut through the sounds and sights of Sasuke's life, pulling Kakashi back to the campfire. "I've run out of power… my spell will be broken."

"What will happen?" Kakashi asked, his mind still buzzing as he wondered what was happening in the real world and how he could get back.

"I don't know," she admitted as she put a hand on Kakashi's shoulder. "All I know is that, it won't be the same. If I am able... I will lend Sasuke some strength... He has a journey ahead of him and will need your help."

Kissing her son on the forehead for the last time, Mikazuki glided into the forest area around the camp fire, a place Kakashi couldn't reach even if he tried.

"Who knows Pup," she whispered. "Maybe things will be better once the spell is broken."

Before he could answer, his father emerged from the woods, more translucent looking than his mother. Mikazuki stared at him as if he were a stranger.

"Sa… sakumo?" she whispered, staring up at him.

"I thought you might get lost in these woods," he said quietly, "so I waited for you."

Kakashi stared at his father, a person who he had loved and hated over the past few years. Even within the past week his feelings for him had flashed between love and hate, hating him for leaving him and his mother alone, but loving him for all of the small memories with him that he'd forgotten.

"I guess this is goodbye, for real then," Kakashi said as he stared up at his parents.

"More like, goodbye for now," Mikazuki said with a slight smile.

"Kakashi," Sakumo started as he walked closer to his son. "I hope that somehow… you find a way to forgive me… for what I did to you… for what I did to our family…"

"I forgave you a long time ago," Kakashi answered, receiving a slight nod from his father. "I have the feeling we don't have anymore time to talk about it now though…"

"No, we don't, but one day, we will. One day, everything will be better again," Sakumo said as he gently took Mikazuki's hand and started walking into the forest with her.

"Goodbye," Kakashi called, receiving a wave from them as they disappeared into bright dust that looked more like fireflies to him, and went to wherever… he wasn't sure where. All he knew was that now, they were at peace.