Author's Note: Hello one and all! I finally put myself to work and managed to get out chapter 11! You should be excited, because I wrote 7,000 words for you guys! ;) I guess for all you Christian/Catholics reviewers, you should consider this my Easter present for you. The beginning is a little more dark and morbid, but you'll see that it doesn't stay like that for long. Hope you enjoy! Please read and review!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.


Kakashi glanced all around him as he walked through the doors of ANBU headquarters for the first time. Even though his façade was one of tranquility, menace, and indifference – a strange combination – his heart beat erratically in his chest, the sound pounding rhythmically in his ears.

The headquarters were, without a doubt, the darkest, most imposing, and most intimidating place he'd ever had the misfortune to be in. It wasn't hard to find the room in which the initiation took place; it was the only room that had any smidgeon of colour and the lights weren't the usual dim bulb. No matter how richly decorated it was though, the room still seemed to send out a dark and creepy message, beckoning him to come closer. Kakashi felt as though he was walking himself straight into the pits of hell, and if he'd known about the type of missions he'd be going on, he would have known that he was almost correct.

As he entered the initiation room along with the other initiates, he noticed immediately the lines of ANBU going along both opposite walls. They were dressed in full uniform, masks on their faces hiding their eyes, the light of the room casting an eerie shadow on the face of their mask, making the eyes glint dangerously and turning the mouth's lips up into a wicked, devilish grin. It was like he was joining a cult. He looked away from them at once, a discomforting feeling building itself in the pit of his stomach.

His eyes instead trailed along the regal-looking rich red carpet that lined the floor, leading up to a chair. Kakashi winced inwardly as he noted that the carpet was the same shade of red as enemies' blood; the carpet, instead of making the room feel majestic and welcoming (though that was hardly what you needed to be in ANBU), only added to the hellish effect of the room. A bead of sweat formed itself on his forehead as he heard the exit door shut and saw the lighting grow dimmer.

A tall, burly man (the commander) wearing a different uniform and no mask with dark coal eyes emerged from the shadows and placed himself next to the chair at the front centre of the room. His beady eyes scrutinized the crowd of initiates, just as Kakashi had felt the other ANBU members look down on him before, and the man let out a terrifying laugh that made Kakashi's blood run cold.

"They just keep getting younger!" he bellowed, walking over and getting right up in the face of two teenage initiates. The two teens tried to keep a calm demeanour as much as possible, but Kakashi noticed that all the blood seemed to drain from their face as the supposed initiator stood in front of them.

The man did this to a few more initiates before walking back over to the chair in the centre, seemingly satisfied. He pulled out a light-coloured scroll from his pocket, placed his hand on the chair and called out: Daimon Botan!

A man in his early twenties made his way from the beginning of the line of initiates to the chair at the front centre of the room. The young man sat himself down, relaying to the commander beside him his name, his purpose, and his desire to join the ANBU Black Ops. At once much teasing erupted from the commander, mocking the young man in the chair. He spoke many insults, mocked his physical and mental state, and even went so far as to spit on him. Botan, the young man in the chair, tried his best to keep calm during this, but by the way his eyebrow was twitching incessantly, it seemed that he only had a little until he lost his temper. Then the commander switched gears and proceeded to intimidate Botan, telling him of what could happen to him if he betrayed Konoha, of how the ANBU didn't take kindly to any remotely traitorous gesture. The commander mentioned all the ways an ANBU could kill, holding up photographs to his face of the most gruesome deaths possible. By the end of it Botan had gotten so disturbed and frightened, that he'd ended up chucking his lunch back onto the ANBU headquarter floor.

The commander shook his head at the boy before him, and made a motion to the ANBU to escort Botan out. After the display of what it meant to be initiated, the whole group of initiates went silent, barely daring to breathe, dreading their turn.

"You have seen what it must take to be an ANBU. If you do not have the guts, admit it now before us, and you may take your leave." As soon as this was said, a few young men and women dropped their heads and bowed before leaving.

Kakashi watched as a few more took the initiation test, some failing and some succeeding, and all of a sudden, ANBU wasn't looking like such an appealing option to him anymore. Still, this is what you've wanted, he convinced himself. This is the opportunity you've longed for. Don't turn away from it yet: take it. If you fail the initiation test, then you fail, but at least try! He didn't have any more time to think as he heard the commander's voice boom, "Hatake Kakashi!"

Kakashi walked solemnly up to the chair, numbing all emotions with every step he took. Sitting down, he prepared himself for the ultimate test of his mental strength and willpower.

"Hatake Kakashi, eh?" the commander's voice chuckled. "The Hokage's student? Konoha White Fang's brat?"

Kakashi's right eye twitched involuntarily at the mention of his father's name and the commander smirked at him. "Yes, you want to be more useful than your disgrace of a father, am I correct?" The commander spat in front of Kakashi as he mentioned his father. "Talent isn't everything, Hatake Kakashi. You may not be strong enough for ANBU yet; after all, you do need to kill your emotions."

"I am prepared."

The corners of the commander's mouth turned up; he grinned at Kakashi sadistically. "Are you sure? You look so young, like an itty-bitty baby. Can itty bitty Kakashi be trusted with such a big kid job like this?"

Kakashi looked ahead, his eyes hard. "Yes," he growled.

"Even after you killed one of your team-mates? Nearly two of them? Can you really be trusted?"

Kakashi's nostrils flared in anger for a moment, before he regained his composure. "Yes," he insisted.

"Let me ask you something Hatake. Do you have any friends?" The older man sneered at him.

"Yes."

"People you care about?"

"Yes."

"Hmm," the commander's eyes glistened darkly. "I didn't think you would; I have a much more interesting way of testing you now." He reached up his hand, staring Kakashi in the eye, and placed his palm on Kakashi's forehead.

A jolt of something resembling electricity flowed through Kakashi and suddenly, Kakashi realized that he was no longer in the ANBU room, but in another room; one completely covered in darkness except for a single spotlight in the centre. Under the spotlight was a girl, her light brown locks shielding her face, a bloodstained apron covering a short black dress. Kakashi knew who she was; he would recognize that hair and dress anywhere. Rin. "Kakashi," she turned to him, her tone of voice frightened and pleading. "Kakashi, help me."

When she faced him, the first thing he noticed is that she was covered with bruises and scars, some still bleeding and others healing slowly, forming raw and ugly marks on her porcelain skin.

A metal door opened –he'd heard it even though he couldn't see it – and a shinobi (he couldn't tell from which village) emerged from the darkness into the light of the spotlight overhead. The mystery shinobi (a man) waltzed arrogantly over to Rin, lifted her up by the neck and slammed her forcefully into the nearest wall. "Weakling," the man hissed venomously. "You're pathetic."

Kakashi watched the scene unfurl angrily, and made a move to go over and stop the man…maybe put a chidori or two through him, but when he tried to move, he noticed that he couldn't; his feet were literally rooted to the ground. He struggled some more, only snapping his head back up when the man spoke again.

"Get up weakling," the man spat, looking down at Rin who was now on the ground. "Get up and defend yourself."

She tried to lift herself up and managed to in the end, weakly putting up a kunai in defence. The man opposite her came at her full force, relentlessly making kunai mark after jutsu after kunai mark. Rin, who was obviously running low on chakra, did her best to defend herself but it was clear that he had the upper hand.

"Rin!" Kakashi called out desperately, trying to figure out what else to say, what else to do to make her survive.

The man and Rin seemed to not have heard him, as the battle continued.

"No!" Kakashi yelled again. "Stop it! Let her go; take me instead!"

This time, it seemed like the man had been the only one to hear him for he turned his head towards Kakashi, and Kakashi immediately recognized him as the commander. What the hell? He thought. What's going on? After racking his brain for a few moments, Kakashi deduced that the commander must have put him in a genjutsu to see how he would fare in a disturbing situation. As soon as he realized this, the restraints on his feet disappeared and he was able to mobilize himself again. Kakashi, with a fiery will, charged at the man (his commander) in the genjutsu, hitting him straight on. "Bastard!" Kakashi screamed fiercely at the man, hitting him again and again until finally, the room turned back into the ANBU initiation room.

Kakashi's eyes flew open at the sight of the room and his chest heaved up and down heavily from his panting. The rest of the ANBU room was silent in shock and surprise, looking down at the floor beside Kakashi. What the hell? That seemed to be the main thought of the day, as he too looked down at the ground beside him. He was met with the face of his commander, staring up at him in surprise, holding his now-broken nose. Oh. It was obvious now what had happened; Kakashi had probably gotten so riled up from the genjutsu that he had attacked his commander in real life.

"Hatake!" the commander barked at him.

Well there go my chances of succeeding. "Yes?"

"Welcome to ANBU."

Kakashi's eyes widened even more at the words of his superior. "What?" he breathed, not believing his ears.

"Welcome to ANBU," the older man repeated. "You have displayed everything an ANBU must be, everything he must have. Talent, skill, and harmful intent to name a few, but most important are strength, determination, and fierce loyalty. It is with pride that I welcome you into this elitist organization. I trust you will fare well here."

"Thank you," Kakashi maintained his neutral expression, as he stuck out his hand and helped his commander to his feet. "This is a great honour," he bowed.

"There are some things you must understand though and some things you need to improve on. You must restrain your emotions and discard all personal feelings while on missions. They will make you weak. You must ascertain to yourself and to us that your loyalty for your village is just as great, if not greater than, as your loyalty to your important persons."

Kakashi nodded, listening intently yet still incredulously. He couldn't believe that he had passed; he thought that knocking your commander to the ground would definitely guarantee someone a fail.

"This is your family now. This is your priority. Do you understand?"

"I understand." Even though these people look like they want to kill me, not be my family.

"Very well Hatake. Congratulations. You will be known as Wolf from now on. You are dismissed and may pick up your uniform as you exit." His superior nodded and bowed while Kakashi returned the gesture before leaving.

Striding confidently and with an air of relief through the doors, he picked up a black bag that contained everything he'd ever need for an ANBU mission. The ANBU who handed him his stuff, told him about the walkie-talkie that would be used to communicate during missions and how ANBU would notify him whenever he had a mission.

Kakashi exited the dark headquarters rapidly, emerging into the bright sunlight of daytime Konoha. He walked briskly and with purpose, reaching his apartment faster than usual and threw open the door. When he walked inside, Rin smiled up at him. "How did it go?" she asked politely.

He let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. It surprised him but he ascertained that it was most likely because his subconscious was still worried that the genjutsu may not have been a genjutsu after all. Seeing her smiling and without any bloodstains or kunai marks only added to the relief he felt after being released from the ANBU headquarters. "Thank god," he whispered to himself.

"What was that?" she asked him. "I didn't catch it."

"I said it went fine," he responded, smiling.

"You got in?" She appeared excited even though he knew that she didn't agree with his decision to join.

"I got in," he held up the outfit packaged in a black bag.

She grinned up at him and clapped. "I knew you could do it!" she cheered. "So what's your code name? Is it something cool?"

"It's kind of cool…yeah. I'm known as Wolf."

"Like rawr Wolf?" she growled an imitation of a wolf's growl. "Or creepy werewolf?"

"Rawr Wolf."

"I like wolves," she told him, still grinning.

He simply smiled back, not really understanding if that was all she meant by her statement or if there was a hidden message.

"Hey, when do you start missions?"

"Uh…tomorrow I think, why?"

"We should go out to celebrate!" she suggested cheerfully.

"Ok," he agreed. "What do you have in mind?"

"Well, we could eat out for dinner or something."

"Sure."

So it was agreed that on this particular evening they'd abandon kitchen duty and let someone else make the food. The pair walked around the streets during the evening, still unsure of where to go. Rin had originally suggested Ichiraku's but Kakashi complained that they ate there too much, and as she began to protest, he silenced her by tacking on, "And I'm not that cheap."

She frowned up at him, but went along with it nevertheless. They ended up dining at a marketplace restaurant that had opened up only a month before. It was small and local, so there weren't too many who ate there, but the food was good and fresh, and cheap considering the fact that Fire Country was in a war. Only trade between allies occurred, and it wasn't usual that even allied countries would share food when it came in small rations. Konoha always had the most food because it was a sunny place filled with an abundance of arable land though the scorching summers sometimes contributed to less crop production.

After dinner was over, and they went back home, Rin asked a question that she'd been dying to ask the whole day. "So, what are you going to do now?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you're in ANBU right? That means you won't be teaching anymore."

"I know."

"So what are you going to tell those kids?"

Kakashi paused. He didn't know what he was going to tell them; truth be told, he hadn't even thought of them when weighing the pros and cons of his decision. "I don't know," he admitted. "I hadn't thought of that."

"You better think of something soon then because they're probably expecting you to train with them tomorrow."

Kakashi remained silent, only nodding his head in response. On the walk back neither spoke, and the silence continued upon reaching the apartment; it was only broken when Rin bid him goodnight and fell asleep. Kakashi stayed up as long as possible, trying to think of the best way to break the news to his students; they would be furious with him, of that he was sure.

Morning came quickly and the bright sunshine of Konoha called its inhabitants to wake and begin their daily rituals. Before ANBU was able to give him a mission, Kakashi had quitted his apartment and headed towards the memorial stone, telling Obito all that had happened and the dilemma he was in at the moment. The talk with his former teammate did not last long for he knew that he needed to be at least relatively on time to see his team and let them know. Waiting patiently for him at the training grounds were Haruhi, Sasaki, and Nikko, all chatting quietly amongst themselves.

"Yo," Kakashi greeted them as cheerfully as possible.

"Sensei!" Sasaki answered back enthusiastically. It was strange; although Sasaki had been the first to express his dislike of Kakashi, the boy seemed to be the one who had gotten the most attached.

"What are we doing for training today? Any missions?" Haruhi inquired, eager to prove her worth.

Kakashi just shook his head, and the rest of his team took this unusual silence as a sign that something was wrong.

"What's wrong sensei?" Of course, leave it to Nikko to be the most empathic one.

"Nothing…I have to tell you guys something."

"Yeah?" They all listened intently to him now, worried expressions crossing their features.

"I've been transferred."

"To what? Another team?" Sasaki questioned.

"No," Kakashi answered but by the looks on his team's faces, it seemed they wanted a more complete answer. "I…I'm going into ANBU."

His team groaned collectively, Haruhi being the first to break. "Come on sensei! You too? This just isn't fair! Who does ANBU think they are anyway?! They can't just take you all away! I can't believe this! Geez!"

"How can you leave us like that sensei?! I know that they don't force you to join or anything! How can you do this to us? It's like some sort of betrayal!" Sasaki yelled.

"Sorry, but they need me."

"That's bull! You're barely older than us! They wouldn't recruit you unless you were recommended or something. That means…that means that you wanted to join! That means you asked to leave us! I can't believe this!" Sasaki continued on furiously, shouting at his now former sensei. All of a sudden, he stopped flailing his arms and his voice became low. "What did we do? What did we do to have you want to leave? Are we not good enough? Do you not like us?"

Wow. If Sasaki's goal was to send Kakashi into the third largest guilt trip of his life (the first and second being his father and Obito), it was definitely working. "You guys should know by now that this has nothing to do with you. You're a great group of brats," Kakashi teased. "But ANBU's something I've wanted for a while and now I've been given the opportunity. Even though I'm a genius, all my life it seems like I've been just ruining everything and now…now maybe I have the chance to help, and I'm going to take it."

"But you could be killed! Or worse!" Haruhi protested.

"That's true, but I need to do what I can to help my village, to protect those I care about," Kakashi ruffled their hair trying to keep up his complacent countenance.

"Sensei," Nikko spoke, surprising Kakashi. "I understand. It is your duty to do all you can to help and you wish to be an asset to your village. You're an even greater person than I'd imagined. Your determination, your courage, your kindness; surely you have already given your life's worth of servitude and you have proven your worth, at least to us, ten times over. You expect much of yourself, and that is why you amount to much. I would have taken the opportunity as well, and I hold no resentment towards you for choosing that path. I know that if that situation were different than it is now, if you really had a choice, you would have stayed at this teaching job. I can see it in you; you actually like us," the young boy broke out into a grin.

Kakashi stood there staring at the grinning Nikko, flabbergasted. The boy's mini-speech had been the most mature form of acceptance that Kakashi had seen yet; Nikko was much more intuitive than he'd ever thought. Recovering from his shock, Kakashi replied, "I would like to stay, but you're right; this is part of my duty. This is something I need to do; the war isn't ending and maybe if we have enough properly trained shinobi, we can win. As of right now, it is true that my future is uncertain, but hopefully this idiotic war will cease soon and then none of us will have uncertain futures."

"Well, we wish you luck sensei! Don't die on us!" Haruhi told him, seemingly starting to accept that this was something she could not change. "What will happen now? Will we be assigned a new sensei?"

"I don't know," Kakashi confessed. "It depends on whether or not they have enough people to replace me. Seeing as you're all Chuunin now, they may decide to just keep you as a three-man cell and let you go by yourselves on missions. Whatever happens, always remember to stick together; there's strength in numbers."

"We'll stick together like birds of a feather!" Haruhi and Sasaki chorused.

Kakashi smiled lightly at them, before he noticed a shadow pass through the trees behind them. "Stay here," he commanded, taking off to find out what or who it was.

The person turned out to be an ANBU operative, who had come to notify him about his first mission. "You are to meet at the gates in one hour for your debriefing," the man with a cat mask relayed the message to him and disappeared.

Moments later, he emerged from the shrubbery and walked back over to his team. "I need to go," he told them. "I've been called on my first mission." Kakashi waved, walking away from his team for what he hoped would not be the last time.

"You're a great person sensei. Thank you for everything." Nikko's voice rang in his ears.

"Good luck!" Haruhi yelled after him, waving her arms up and down. "And since we probably won't see each other for a while, I feel next to no shame saying this: You're hot sensei!"

"We'll miss you!" Sasaki declared last, also waving his arms frantically.

Walking away, all at once, Kakashi felt a flurry of emotions course through him; gratitude for the entire team, contentedness at Nikko's words, hilarity and surprise at Haruhi's –though he expected nothing less from the exuberant female – and a wave of relief and nostalgia from Sasaki's words.

By the time he reached his apartment, Kakashi realized it was noon and he had only 30 minutes until he was supposed to be at the gates. He breezed through the apartment, grabbing his uniform and dressing quickly, stopping only momentarily to let Rin know what was going on. She asked him what type of mission it was and when he would be back, but Kakashi told her that he had no clue, and hopefully, he would be back in a week at the most. She groaned and threw her pillow over her face; mumbling something that sounded like, "Take care. Be safe."

Assuming that that was what she said, Kakashi assured her that he would come back alive, and reminded her that she didn't need to worry about the rent for this month; he had already given the landlord their money. At this news, she seemed to perk up more, or at least enough to stand up and smile at him. He stared back at her, also smiling a little; it was only when he realized that he had ten minutes to get to the gate that he broke the gaze and left.

The first mission would be the simplest one, he was told. It was a test of his ability, endurance, and loyalty. The senior ANBU would always go to the frontlines, while the juniors would spend most of their time at the Fire Country border, ready to defend. If all went well with the juniors, they'd get to move up and closer to the front lines with each mission. When one of the juniors asked how long it took to become a senior, the shinobi debriefing them said to the juniors gravely, "With the way the war is going, it can be anywhere from a few weeks to a month."

"How many seniors are there?" the same junior asked.

"Around 25 or 30. The numbers fluctuate based on how many are killed."

The junior gulped, afraid to ask his next question. "And how many die a day?"

"Five or ten. It doesn't hurt to tell you this since you cannot resign now that you've just been initiated; there is a 40 percent survival rate, which, for what's going on up at the front lines, is amazing.

This silenced the junior's questions all together, allowing the person debriefing them to explain the mission. "Your mission is simple enough. You are to rendezvous with the other ANBU at the border, and then split up into your assigned groups and each take a section of the border. Dispose of any threats. If all goes well, you should be back home by the end of the week. Oh, and for your information soldier," the person glanced over at the junior who had been asking all the questions, "The border group's survival rate is 30 percent."

After spending nearly a week at the Fire Country border fighting off Earth-nin coming at him from left, right, and centre, Kakashi understood why it was necessary to kill your emotions in ANBU. Essentially, at this time, ANBU was no longer a shinobi organization but more like a group of skilled assassins. One always needed to have the mind-set to kill every imminent threat, and if one hadn't killed one's emotions, one would find themselves feeling sympathy for the enemy shinobi; one would find themselves wondering if the enemy they were killing had a family back in their country or wondering why the enemy looked so young, scared, and innocent as they pleaded with you not to kill them.

When his time ran up, Kakashi was very glad to be back home in Konoha, away from the blood and gore, away from the crowded sleeping tents and disgusting food pills. He had arrived at mid-afternoon after a long trip back and had collapsed onto his mattress, startling Rin as she came out of the washroom. Seeing his state, she had asked meekly how the mission had gone and he'd tried to mumble something, but he was so exhausted that it came out incoherently by the time the words reached his tired lips.

She knew that there was a good chance he wouldn't even get out of bed, and she secretly thanked the ANBU 'one week on, one week off' policy that was implemented specifically for the fatigued and inexperienced juniors. She waded her way past him and into the kitchen, pulling a pot with soup out of the fridge and heating it up on the stove. Rin was sure that he hadn't had a decent meal in the past week, and he definitely looked thinner and sicklier than he had when he'd left. As soon as the soup was heated up, she poured it into a bowl and stuck it in front of his mattress. He nodded his thanks at her attempts to make him feel better and gratefully drank the soup that was placed in front of him, moaning tiredly as he felt a sharp pain in his side every time he tried to move.

Rin noticed this and frowned. She made him lift up his shirt and show her the gash that cut along the side of his abdomen. "Geez, you're lucky," she sighed with relief after she tested the flesh around the wound. "Any lower and you'd be looking at certain death."

He shrugged, wincing as the motion irritated his wound. "I'm used to close brushes with death."

"You're 14, you shouldn't have to be."

Kakashi wanted to protest but decided that it would take all the energy he didn't have at the moment, so instead he sighed resignedly and let her work on healing him. She first took some rubbing alcohol to clean the wound – something he hated – then healed it mildly with her chakra. The finishing touch was a gauze bandage wrapping itself all the way around his abdomen – a process that he'd needed to prop himself up on his elbows for. Once she finished with his abdomen, she moved to work on the rest of his wounds, and by the time she had finished with the last nasty kunai mark on his bicep, he had already fallen asleep.

He slept the remainder of the day, and woke up around noon the next day. Rin smiled down at his tired form. "Good morning sleepy head."

Kakashi nodded to acknowledge and return the greeting, groaning when he sat up. Rin's smile fell. "Easy there; you don't have to get up if you're not ready yet."

He shook his head and got up, wincing every now and then as he trudged his way slowly into the washroom. Much to his chagrin, cleaning up took longer than usual, for his fatigued body would not allow him to operate at normal speed, sending sharp pains through him whenever he attempted to move like a regular person. By the time he came out of the washroom half an hour later, Rin already had his food out on the table and was working on separating the piles of clean laundry into his clothes and hers.

She stopped to sit with him while he enjoyed his lunch, the first solid meal he'd had in a week. "How are you feeling?" she asked him.

How was he feeling? He was feeling like he'd gotten thrown over a cliff, run over by a truck, and then thrown off a cliff again. Still, he couldn't tell her that after she'd worked so hard the night before to dress his wounds. "Better," he told her, the lie becoming a truth as she smiled up at him.

"That's good."

"You don't have to do everything, you know? I can help," he offered.

"Huh?"

Kakashi looked over to the place where she'd left the piles of laundry. "Oh," she said as she realized what he was talking about, "No, it's fine. They're easy chores, and you're still tired; there's no need for you to trouble yourself. I have to do them now anyway, because tomorrow I need to cook so that there's nothing to do for the day after tomorrow."

"What's going on the day after tomorrow?"

"We're having some belated holiday celebration at the hospital. I volunteered to come in a few hours before and help set up. There's going to be so many nurses and their guests…I think it'll be a fun thing for me to go to though."

"When is it?"

"The day after tomorrow," she stated obviously, "are you sure you're feeling ok? No amnesia or anything?"

He rolled his eyes. "I know that. I meant what time?"

"Sorry," she apologized, embarrassed. "It starts at seven PM but I need to be there at five PM."

"Would you like me to come?"

"Would you like to come?"

"It won't kill me," he shrugged.

"Sure, it's fine with me. But only if you feel up to it; I'm serious Kakashi; if you don't feel up to it, don't come."

He nodded, but the position still stood that he was going to go with her.

The two days passed by rather quickly and soon it was the afternoon before the holiday party. Rin scurried through the house, trying to find the right outfit while Kakashi looked on at the scene, amused; he was already dressed and sitting at the table, waiting for her to finish. She was currently at her drawer, tugging at an article of clothing that didn't seem to want to come out. Finally, after much fighting on her behalf, the stubborn drawer let go and she fell to the floor, clothing in hand.

Pleased that she had won the battle, Rin headed to the washroom to change and came out just minutes later sporting a an outfit of straight-leg jeans, a Burberry style jumper on top of it, and a red t-shirt underneath. "I'm ready!" she called out to her teammate who was still situated at the table.

Kakashi nodded and stood up slowly. He froze when he saw her in the new getup and tried to stop the blood from rushing to his face and making him blush. It was one of the nicest outfits he'd seen come out from that drawer, and it was definitely preferred to the regular black/indigo dress she wore. Even though it was much more casual when compared to what people usually wore to parties and festive events, it somehow still managed to look elegant on her frame. Her hair had been placed up in a regular ponytail, her bangs framing her face in an entirely different way than he was used to seeing. Kakashi realized that he must have been looking at her for too long because she became fidgety.

"Should I change?" she asked uncertainly, biting her lip.

He cleared his throat nonchalantly, trying to mask his embarrassment at having been caught staring. "No, not at all. You look fine."

"I was going to wear a skirt or a dress but then I decided that it would be a nuisance if I needed to climb a ladder or something-"

"You look fine," he insisted, cutting her off.

Her cheeks turned a rosy pink and she nodded. "Ok, let's go then."

The minute they reached the hospital, half the nurses came out to greet her, pulling her away and gushing at the sight of Kakashi. He followed the pack of young females inside, afraid that he was going to get lost in the large hospital. They brought Rin to a room that looked more like a conference hall than anything, and shoved her towards the box marked decorations. Without complaint, she grabbed a ladder from near her and began to put up the red streamers and white snowflakes around the room. When the group of young nurses no longer took any interest in staying with her – mainly because Kakashi kept ignoring them – they left, hurrying off to the hallways to find their friends and exchange gossip.

Rin rolled her eyes at them, but Kakashi could tell she didn't really mean it because of the good-natured smile on her face. As she put up decoration after decoration, Kakashi occupied himself with holding the ladder. The pair engaged in idle chatter while they worked, but that quickly ceased as the room began to fill with people and food, music and lights. The celebration brought many of the previous older nurses Rin had been friends with; they had all taken their leave after becoming pregnant, who had brought their newlyweds along with them. She listened politely to their stories of what had gone on in their lives since they'd left the hospital, and they gave her all the juicy details about their weddings, describing them in greatly unnecessary detail. Kakashi amused himself by finding some food, and standing by himself off to a corner in the south of the room.

Once all the newlywed nurses and old operators had finished their discussions with Rin, she politely excused herself and got some food, walking over to the corner where Kakashi was leaning against the wall casually. "Having fun?" she asked.

Kakashi shrugged his shoulders for the umpteenth time that day. She didn't have to ask; she had already known his answer before he had given it. "Me neither. Come," she said, grabbing him by the wrist, "let's get out of here."

Leading them towards the exit, she grabbed their coats off the racks and headed outside. He followed behind her wordlessly, unsure of what she was doing or where she was going. Rin didn't turn back to him to say anything or explain where they were going, but she stopped dragging him along when they reached the main marketplace. It was nearly empty except for a few merchants and customers, but the holiday themed lights that hung from every apartment balcony, every storefront window, and every street lamp provided a bright and warm atmosphere.

"I've always liked it most here during the holidays," she grinned up at him. "The lights, they're always so beautiful."

"Yeah," he agreed, gazing around himself in awe. Something was definitely wrong with him; the mission must have screwed everything up in his brain; the trauma of defending the border must have gotten to him. What else could explain how everything he looked at was seen in a different light, as if it had just appeared in all its splendour, coruscating with beauty in front of him? Ok, now he was sure he had gone crazy. They were just lights after all. Everyone had them; they were nothing new. So why did it feel like this was the first time he'd seen them? Why did he think they looked amazing now?

"Let's take a walk," Rin's voice disconnected him from his thoughts, and he shook his head, for the first time glad for the distraction.

They walked along the strip of markets and malls, peering into all the windows of small boutiques that were still open. The cold nipped at their hands and face, but the beauty of the outside night deterred them from going inside somewhere and taking cover. An hour later though, the cold had turned their noses, cheeks and fingers red, their lips purple, and their bodies began to shiver in the chilly air. A store nearby sold hot chocolate and they waded in like penguins, their limbs frozen. Once their bodies were thawed and their cheeks only rosy from the soothing pleasure of the hot chocolate going down their throats, they decided to head back.

As they passed many more storefronts, Rin noticed something in one of the windows and went inside. Kakashi had barely registered that she'd left his side until he asked a question and received no answer. Becoming panicked, he looked around frantically for her, his shoulders dropping in relief when he noticed that she was running to catch up to him.

"Where did you go?"

"I had to buy this," she pulled out a small red stamp with a Fire Country emblem.

"A stamp?" he arched an eyebrow.

"Not just any stamp," she assured, taking the lid off and stamping her hand. She showed the red mark to him; it was a rough drawing of their sensei's face with the words 'Yondaime Approved' on the bottom.

"Hokage paraphernalia," Kakashi rolled his eyes, understanding.

"I thought it was cute!" Rin maintained. "It will definitely cheer him up when he has to do all that paperwork! I'm going to give it to him for his birthday," she grinned.

"That's a good idea," Kakashi concurred. "Now let's get out of here," his teeth chattered, "I'm freezing."

"That reminds me!" Rin exclaimed, digging into the messenger bag she had taken with her. "Here you go," she pulled out a blue knitted piece of fabric. "I made you a scarf while you were gone! I figured you'd get cold and all so…anyway, it's your favourite colour!"

He took it from her, stunned. He still couldn't get over how unbelievably kind she was to people who didn't deserve it. "T-Thanks," he stammered, feeling his face heat up a little; if she asked him about it, he'd let her know that the only reason he stammered was because of the cold. Yeah, that's it. It was the cold's fault. He tied the scarf around his neck carefully, revelling in the warmth it brought, and stuck his hands back into his pockets.

A cold gust of wind blew by; Rin shivered and unconsciously attached herself to Kakashi's arm. He looked down at her in shock, but seeing as she didn't seem to notice, he let her stay attached. It wasn't like he minded or anything; it wasn't like there was someone they knew around.

Besides, he kind of liked it. It kept him warm.


Author's Note: Well, there it was! All 12 word document pages in size 9 verdana font of it! I really hope that you enjoyed it, and please leave a review. Thank you to chapter ten's reviewers: ninbunny alchemist, catgirl9696, chibirain94, Sakra-chan, Bluishorbs, catwomanswrath, snappa, Hikari Minamoto, and JoiZ. D!

Chapterly Writer's Tip: Alliteration assists authors always. Alliteration is the repetition of same sounds and is used to write effective persuasive pieces. It is a rhetorical device that author's find very useful, and it's my personal favourite.

Chapterly Challenge: Alright, now for the standings of the chapterly challenge! Last week's answer was Dead men tell no tales! A lot of you got that, so congratulations! Here are the standings so far!

Catgirl9696- 5 points

Chibirain94- 5 points

Sakra-chan- 6 points

Snappa- 9 points

JoiZ. D- 5 points

Ninbunny alchemist- 0 points

Catwomanswrath- 0 points

Sachie-chan11- 2 points

Bluishorbs- 0 points

Hikari Minamoto- 5 points

So there you go, snappa is currently in the lead with Sakra-chan and a few others close by! Now for this week's challenge: It is fruitless to indoctrinate a superannuated canine with innovative manoeuvres. There you have it! What is common saying hidden underneath all these articulate vocabulary words? You may use anything but the Internet as a resource! Good luck!