AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thank you everyone who reviewed the last chapter! As promised, here is another. I know that many of you may not remember the rest of the story at all, but if you have time I really suggest re-reading and enjoying these new chapters!

Another somewhat dark chapter, but no worries-the next chapter is much more lighthearted and the following few chapters put the spotlight on the relationship between Minato and Kushina ( for those who like them ).

Thank you so much for reading, again! Don't forget to review-it really makes me happy and wanting to update more!

Part 3, Chapter 3 目の前が暗くなた "Hope Lost"

A couple days had passed since the battle with Sadao. Akane had managed to make her way back to Konoha despite some trouble encountered along the way. For some reason, a number of troublesome Iwa ninjas had tried to attack her. She had to admit, though annoying, they only proved a nuisance, not a threat. They quickly went down.

She had to wonder if something was going on. There was a disproportionate amount of troublesome ninjas on her way home. Was there some kind of battle going on? Was there some type of feud? Why hadn't Kakashi told her…?

Kakashi.

She took a heavy sigh of regret. It was no wonder he was not talking to her. Thinking back to when she last saw him, she could only be disgusted with herself. She had been so consumed with power, with being the best and making her Sensei proud that she had thrown him away. Did he even want to be her friend anymore?

Her shoes hit the familiar ground around Konoha. It had a different smell and feel, she noticed, than the surrounding areas. It signaled home. But what would she find when she returned? She knew she had certainly been blinded more than she usually was. She had failed to see what she had become, what her sensei was, and how her friends were affected.

Making her way to the gate of the town, she was shocked at the uneasiness of the guard's chakras. They seemed scared…more on guard than their usual carefree and happy attitudes.

"What's going on?" she asked as they started to open the door just enough for her to slip in.

"You haven't heard?" one asked shocked, "We're at war with Iwagakure. And from what we've heard, not doing too well…"

Akane gave a small nod to the guards as she walked through the gate. She was startled as they closed the door abruptly and hard behind her. In the town she could feel the uneasiness. Not doing well? That was certainly a first for the city that she had always known to be so powerful.

As she walked through the town towards the Hokage's mansion, she noticed there was no one out in town. The war had stripped Konoha of its life, it seemed. No more were there happy merchants trying to sell their wears, or excitable children trying out their latest jutsus that they had learned in school. The playground was quiet, and Ichiraku was closed.

Akane had started to wonder if the town had become a ghost town in her absence, but the small creeks of doors and closing of windows suggested that there was still life, though locked away. She also wondered if the Hokage would even be in his office. After all, during a war the Hokage usually helped—especially if Konoha was in danger as it seemed to be.

Her footsteps made it to the base of the mansion. Her hands slid over the bars as she made her way up the steps. The sound of the wooden steps were like thunder in the quiet town. Never before had Akane felt so self conscious as she had now. Never before had she felt like all eyes were on her, watching every move she made—waiting for her to falter.

Her breath quickened as she heard the sounds of blasts in the surrounding areas. Her ears could pick up the sounds of running ninjas miles away. She could hear the screams. Never before had she been able to hear such a thing in Konoha. The city's vitality and liveliness usually kept the sounds at bay.

As she made her way up to the top of the stairs and into the mansion she couldn't help but feel awkward. Never before had she been in here alone. The place seemed cold and unoccupied. The sounds of her footsteps along the hall, and the scrapes of her hands against the walls were her only accompaniment. She was starting to feel certain that she was the only one here…that the Hokage was gone.

"You shouldn't be sneaking around, Akane. Not now, especially."

The girl jumped and spun herself around to meet the voice that assaulted her through the silence.

"Hokage-sama, forgive me!" she exacerbated

She could not believe that he was able to sneak up to her. Then again, he was the Hokage and she was certain that there was a good reason for that…

"It's ok, Akane." He said with a sigh, "I take it you have good news?"

Walking ahead of her, she followed him further into the mansion towards his office looking over Konoha. Akane could tell that his chakra was disturbed and that he was worried about the war. Perhaps he knew something she did not?

"Yes, sir," she started, "I…I finished the mission."

She could feel him sit down in his mighty chair and rummage through a number of papers on his desk and stamp a number of papers. Still yet, the Hokage remained quiet.

"I…I understand why you sent me, Hokage-Sama" she admitted with a sigh, "I, I had no idea. I couldn't see what I had become. I destroyed my friendships. I neglected my family. I threw away who I was, for what I desperately wanted to be…who I desperately wanted to impress. I understand now."

She could hear the sounds of his shuffling papers stop. In the still quiet of the town, she could almost hear the sound of his lips curling upwards into a small smile.

"You did well, Akane." He said admirably, "You always do exactly what is expected of you—and this time, you realized exactly what I needed you to."

Akane stood listening. Like a perfect little solider.

"Akane," he began, "Being a good ninja is not about being the best. You are the most skilled assassin that has passed through the ranks of Konoha in years. You have potential that I have not seen in my entire life."

Akane could feel the heat on her cheeks as he praised her skills and assassination abilities. She could not believe that she was being told this by the most honored man in Konoha.

"But that means nothing if you have no one important in your life; if you have nothing to live for." He explained further, "Akane, being a ninja is a lot about balancing your individual skills and about learning how to use them with those on your team. For too long now, you have learned to rely only on yourself and—in doing so—have thrown away those who meant the most to you, and those who held you as most important. I've seen you do it."

Her blushing turned to pale white. She felt extremely ashamed of herself. She had not noticed that her change had been noticeable to anyone outside of her closest peers. She could not believe that the monster she had become, the automated killing machine, had been seen by the village.

"Akane, you have amazing potential." He said reassuringly, seeing the shock in the girl's face, "But you need to learn to not only be an amazing ninja, but to enjoy life and cherish those in it. You and I both know those who choose the path we've chosen do not live long. You need to live yours to the fullest."

Akane could feel her bottom lip trembling and breaths settling hard in her chest as she listened to the Hokage.

He was right.

"Sir…I…" she started.

"For defeating Sadao you will be awarded the rank of Jounin." The Hokage said with a smile, "I suggest you go celebrate with those who mean most to you."

Akane bowed and started to walk away, still taking in everything the Hokage had said to her. His wisdom was refreshing, even if his insight at the realities of her change stung her harder than any wound had in years. Before she could leave, however, her curiosities escaped her lips.

"Hokage-sama," she whispered, "Why are you not on the battlefield…should I go?"

She once again could feel the Hokage's chakra change. But this time, it was ot one of worry, she felt, but acceptance.

"Akane, I've lived my life." He explained, "I've outlived many, many ninjas. My time to protect Konoha is coming to an end. I'm not fighting because I need to make sure my replacement is up to the challenge of protecting this city. Just as you had your Jounin test, he is having his Hokage test…he just doesn't know it."

With that, Akane nodded and left the office. With her, she not only took the new rank of jounin, but the wisdom of the third. He was right that she needed to reconnect with who she once was, and those who once filled her life with joy. Being a first class ninja meant nothing if you had no one to share it with. The Hokage would be no one if he did not have the love and support of his people. She realized that the best ninjas were those who could share their short life with those that meant the most to them. She was going to start now…

Akane stood in the painfully quiet hall in front of a door she knew well. Although she knew it well, she could not explain the pain in her chest and the racing of her heart as her knuckle approached to knock on the door, bursting through the silence.

"Kakashi!" she said in a weak voice that betrayed her, "Kakashi, I made Jounin! Kakashi I…I'm so sorry can I please come in?"

Nothing.

She could feel the warmth of tears starting in her eyes. He…he wasn't going to answer her. The realization that she may have destroyed the bond with her best friend was choking her.

"Kakashi…Kakashi please, I—" she squeaked out again.

Pulling out a small paperclip from under her arm wrappings she made a few small notches in the lock and waited for the click to alert her to her success. Though she felt bad about breaking into his apartment, she had her good reasons for being worried about Kakashi. She didn't want anything to be wrong with him, even if he was ignoring her.

What she found when inside, however, was startling. Like the hallway outside, Kakashi's apartment was eerily quiet. She could not feel any chakra's nearby, and her heart sunk as she realized that he was not in. As she moved her way through the apartment, she was startled. Her shoes had hit some papers on the ground and their shuffling had disturbed the silence.

As she kept walking, however, she stepped on more of them…and then more. On the table near his couch, was half drunken milk which was casting an unpleasant smell across the apartment. It was then that the realization hit her—these were his battle notes. He was planning an attack on Iwa ninjas…he was in the war right now, and Konoha was losing…

Her heart sunk. Her breathing started to quicken.

Backing up out of his apartment, she simply locked the door and left. She did not want to think of the impossible. She did not want those thoughts running through her head. As each though of doubt ran through her mind, she dashed faster towards her home. Kakashi should not be in this war. He was just a little older than her…and she knew what happened when children went to war…

She ran even faster. She tried to keep telling herself that he was not in the middle of this and that he was just off training by himself or hanging out with Gai…

The door to her house sprang open as she burst through the door—breath heavy and heart racing. She just leaned against the door, locking it with a loud click before sliding down towards the floor.

"Aka-San?" a small voice whispered.

Akane's head looked over towards where the voice came from. In the kitchen, her little sister sat, playing with one of her toys quietly. She could tell her mother was there, too.

"Nami…Mother…"she breathed. "What's…what's going on?"

"The Kazekage was taken." Her mother explained, "Konoha went to help but there is a lot of fighting between us and Iwagakure…it's not going well. Many ninjas have died."

Akane's heat started to beat even faster. Her mother could see the distress on her daughter's face. She looked flushed and in pain.

"Honey, what's wrong?" she asked worriedly.

"I…I just need to rest, mother" Akane breathed as she started to walk upstairs. "I'm so sorry…"

Akane's mother watched as her daughter, who she had not seen in ages walk up the stairs to her room, looking so vulnerable and broken. She wondered if the burdens of being a ninja had caught up with her daughter…

The days passed and the blind assassin never left her bed. Her unseeing brown eyes stared blankly at her ceiling. All day she wondered if she would ever see Kakashi again? Would he come back from the battle, or would his name be amongst the long list of those who gave their life to protect Konoha? Would the last words she said to him been cruel and not her own, but the ninja Sadao had created?

She hated herself. She wanted to go back in time and tell herself not to follow her treacherous sensei. She wanted to tell herself not to give up her friends for power, or praise. She wanted to know what the Hokage had told her years ago. She wanted to scream, but her exhausted and battered body would not let her.

She was stuck remembering the feeling she felt when Kakashi tried to kill himself. She remembered the terror she felt in his house: The way her senses deceived her. The feeling of his deathlike skin; the smell of his blood. She remembered how her body was so consumed with fear that she could not move…how Gai had to carry him to the hospital while she sat in horror.

She remembered telling Namikaze sensei how Kakashi had everything to live for, and how everyone should have something to live for. Yet, over the past 5 years away doing Sadao's bidding, she had been taught to ignore those vital needs. She had been taught to never cry. She had been beaten, stabbed, and tortured and never shed a tear during her missions. Sadao had taught her to separate her from her affiliations—the people that made her happy. She had been so brainwashed over the years, she had forgotten the kind of person she really was…

She had remembered the last time she spoke with Kakashi. A simple "Hello, Kakashi" was all that she could offer out of her robotic, brainwashed lips. Her old self would have given him a hug, asked how his senjutsu was going, and insisted on going to ichiraku. That part of her, the real part of her, needed to break through the lies she had been fed and shine again. Assasin's code or not, she was going to have them all in her life again…even if it went against everything she was ever taught.

As slumber started to find its way to the girl, she was tormented once again as a small lick assaulted her hand. Pakkun waited quietly underneath her bed. Hoping that she was ok. Tears flowed again as Akane drifted into sleep—saying a silent prayer, although not a believer in anything after this earth—that Kakashi would make it home alive.

Kakashi walked through the energetic and lively Konoha. They had come up on top in the battle and everything was well again. But as Kakashi walked past the families welcoming their husbands or sons back from the battle, he walked by them in a fog. The events of the past few days had shaken him so much that the whole did not seem real anymore. The past few days had been such a nightmare, that he was just hoping and waiting that he would wake up from it any minute.

Across town he could see his friends—Kurenai and Asuma congratulating him on the amazing work he and his team did in destroying Kanabi Bridge—obviously, they had not heard the real news. The news that was consuming him—the news that, unbeknownst to him would shape his entire ninja career from now on.

As Kakashi tried to ignore the congratulatory comments and smiles from families, Gai ran up to him and destroyed the bubble that consumed him.

"Kakashi!" he smiled hugging the boy, "Congratulations! We heard how your team destroyed the bridge and moved the war to our side again! I heard that you unleashed a new jutsu!"

Kakashi tried to ignore Gai and continue walking, but Gai's overbearing attitude made that impossible. Kakashi wanted to scream.

"And the best part is Akane's back and I hear she's been in her room for days but her mother says she's changed and…Kakashi…your—your eye! What happ—"

Kakashi ignored Gai's questions and kept walking. He needed to keep walking to maintain his sanity. He could not let Konoha see him lose it. If the entire village saw him as a strong and amazing ninja, then he wanted to remain that way—even if his emotions were as fragile as a piece of glass…

In her room Akane could hear the sounds of rejoice and excitement outside her window. From what she could gather, the war must have finished and that only increased her anxieties. At the same time she wanted, and did not want to know the outcome. Her eyes simply remained fixed, blankly, at a ceiling she couldn't even see.

Breaking her anxiety, however, was the sound of her door slamming open and the feeling of someone sitting at the end of her bed. Their Chakra was a mess and Akane could tell that they were in great turmoil. But her heart couldn't stop beating faster and faster…

"Kakashi…" her voice croaked out, rough from not speaking for days, "Kakashi you're…"

The boy just engulfed his best friend in a hug. Akane hugged him, but noticed that he hugged harder, more desperately. In the silent embrace shared by them, the only change was the warmth of tears on her shoulder and then, finally, words she would never forget:

"Obito's dead."

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