Yo, next chapter, coming at ya!

Semi-lemony goodness!

Chapter 12: Better to Have Loved and Lost...

I don't own anything...

Naruto's upper body shot up and he looked around. He was sitting on one of the waiting chairs just outside the Hokage's office. Neji was beside him, his demeanor as stoic and stiff as ever.

"Ten minutes... Not bad..." Neji muttered.

"So… it was just… a dream?" Naruto mumbled to himself. From the corner of his eye, he saw Neji's head make a stiff movement, almost like he shook his head. He turned his eyes on the door and heard something shuffle inside the room.

"It… it wasn't-" Naruto trailed off when he saw Neji nod his head. "That's sick…"

Another ten minutes later, Kakashi popped his head out of the office and chuckled sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head.

"I forgot to lock the door," Kakashi said and Naruto and Neji sweat dropped. "And I forgot to tell you that Lord Hokage signed off early tonight; he should be home right now,"

"T-Thanks," Naruto stuttered out with a blush as a passing memory returned to him. Neji said nothing as they stood and began to walk out. Kakashi watched them leave before closing the door behind him and making sure to lock it this time.

"Kakashi!" Kakashi turned around at the call of his name and was greeted with the sight of a very seductive and gorgeous woman whose naked body was hidden under a very thick blanket as she lay on a couch in the corner of the room. Her purple eyes gave him a lusty stare and Kakashi was immediately at her side, his own onyx eyes twinkling with lust.

She handed him a book with an orange cover and opened it to a page that her index finger kept tabs on.

"This one," she whispered and Kakashi read the page at incredible speeds. His eyes widened and gave the woman a questioning gaze. She nodded mischievously and Kakashi smiled and ripped his mask off.

"Thank you, Anko!" he cheered happily as he removed the covers and began to enact the events told in his Icha Icha book.

*.*

Naruto and Neji said nothing as they walked up the street, nearing the Namikaze-Uzumaki home. The sun was only a few minutes away from disappearing behind the horizon but the air was still warm. Naruto kept giving Neji sideways glances before gulping.

"The answer is no," Neji said and Naruto blinked. Neji gave him a look that suggested that he wasn't stupid. "I can see you really want to ask me something and the answer is no,"

"… You don't even know the question!"

"Doesn't matter, the answer is still 'no',"

"I just want to know…"

"No,"

"Have you ever-"

"I said no!"

"Come on!" Naruto whined and Neji rolled his eyes.

"… Go ahead,"

"Have you ever seen another couple… do that?"

"No. See, I told you,"

"Have you ever seen anyone else naked before today?"

"…" Neji's left hand twitched slightly; Naruto didn't notice it.

"…"

"Well?"

"Hm?"

Naruto growled, unaware who was waiting for them outside of Minato's home. "Don't pretend you didn't hear me! Have you ever seen anyone naked?"

Naruto heard someone squeak and he looked ahead to see Hinata blushing and staring at him with some embarrassment. Neji smirked.

"Lady Hinata, how are you feeling?" he asked.

"…" Hinata was still staring at Naruto. Naruto, for his part, managed to subdue the blush threatening to appear on his cheeks. Still, his ears were as red as blood.

"Why…" Hinata started but stopped. Neji almost let out a chuckle but managed to suppress it.

"Haven't you noticed before, Lady Hinata?" he asked and both genin looked at him. "Naruto here is a pervert, which would explain why he would ask me such a question."

Naruto tried to fight it but a blush crept up to his face and he glared at Neji. Hinata stared at him with an unreadable expression and Naruto wanted to beat Neji into the ground again.

"I'm no pervert!" Naruto declared and pointed a finger at Neji. "He knows why I asked that question, he was there when-"

"I assure you, Naruto, that I didn't see a thing. I entered the room to find you unconscious; I paid no mind to nothing else. Even if I had, my eyes were on you when I entered and after I left," Neji said honestly and Naruto gaped at him.

"Wha-You, behind me! And then the sounds, she was over him and…" Naruto stopped and saw that Hinata was close to passing out. "No! We weren't…!"

"Come on, Lady Hinata; let's give Naruto some time to let his perverted mood pass him." Neji said and escorted Hinata into the house. Neji glanced back at Naruto and smirked.

Naruto stood outside, alone and shocked at what just happened. He composed himself and walked into the house, promising himself that he would get Neji back for this. Ten fold…

He opened the door just as Hinata tried to open it and they both stared at each other, one embarrassed and the other speechless.

"Uh…" Naruto said and Hinata's blush deepened before she tried to smile. "Can we… pretend this didn't happen?" Naruto asked and Hinata nodded slowly.

"I'm sorry, I have to go home. I'll see you tomorrow though."

"Goodnight," Naruto said and kissed Hinata's cheek. She lost her footing and almost fell but she caught herself before she hit the ground and giggled sheepishly before walking off. Naruto turned to watch her leave before feeling a hand fall on his left shoulder. He knew who it belonged to.

"Be careful who you mess with," Neji said as he began to walk as well. Neji was a trained shinobi, a Jōnin, and a formidable opponent.

Naruto didn't see any of that; all he saw was a human-sized bull's-eye walking behind Hinata.

"Naruto," at the sound of his name, Naruto entered the house and saw Minato and Kushina sitting beside each other, holding hands and overall showing affections for each other. This was new for Naruto; he had never seen any two people show as much affection as this.

And all they were doing was holding hands. Kushina also had her head resting on his shoulder but it only added to the display. More than that, Naruto could feel the love radiating from them just as much as he could feel heat coming from the sun.

It made him question his resentment against Minato for a second before he shook his head and sat down on the love seat beside the larger couch.

Though reluctantly, Kushina raised her head off Minato's shoulder and tore her hands from his.

"I hope you enjoyed yourself today?" Minato asked and Naruto nodded solemnly.

"… I'd like to ask you something. The both of you," Naruto said. Minato and Kushina blinked, surprised but nodded nonetheless.

"What is it?" Kushina asked with a comforting smile.

"… What happened to… your son?" Naruto asked and Kushina raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?" Minato asked, clearly confused.

"Why do you two say that I'm your son? What happened to him to make you think that I'm him?" Minato and Kushina shared a look, communicating without words. A whole argument had passed them in seconds, Naruto could tell by the looks on their faces.

Finally, the two faced him and began telling him. They started in the beginning; when one of the Legendary Sannin told them that they should be expecting a child. They were so happy to hear that and Naruto felt a pang hit his heart.

They continued on about how they prepared for their unborn child and how it was to be kept a secret so they could make sure that no one tried to disrupt the ritual/birth.

"What ritual?" Naruto asked.

"There is only one time in a jinchūriki's life when the seal is weakened," Kushina said. "And it's during childbirth,"

"So, this really only applies to female jinchūriki?" Naruto asked.

"Ever heard of a man giving birth?" she asked with amusement. Naruto and Minato said nothing.

"Anyway," Minato finally said, "Let's continue,"

He went on to tell him of a masked man appearing and causing the whole ritual to go downhill. He had almost succeeded in killing Naruto, Minato and Kushina.

He did release the Kyūbi and it almost destroyed Konoha. If it wasn't for the help of the Third Hokage, Minato assured both his wife and son that he'd most likely be dead.

Minato told Naruto of his fight with the masked villain and how he had systematically beat him in terms of speed and strength.

"Who is the masked man?" Naruto asked.

"Madara Uchiha," he answered, perfectly serious and angrily.

"Isn't he from the same generation as the First Hokage? How is he still alive?" Naruto asked somewhat doubtfully.

"I'm not sure but I'm sure that that's who I fought that night,"

"When he took us home, we rested for a while before I got up to make ramen," Naruto had to chuckle at this. "Minato joined me and for a while, all was peaceful. All the chaos had settled down and we could rest without having to worry about anything planning on destroying the village," Kushina told him with a sad smile.

"Or so we thought," Minato added and told of the entire 'murder' of their son.

Naruto took in everything he was told and spent time silently thinking to himself. He felt a soft hand rest on his head and he tilted his head back a bit to see Minato smiling down at him.

"You might want to rest up. I'll have decided on your mission by tomorrow," he said before walking into the hallway and up the stairs. Kushina looked at Naruto, watching his expression and feeling relieved when he didn't glare or snarl at Minato. He didn't exactly smile at him but it was better than anger.

"Goodnight, Naruto," Kushina said quietly as she got up and kissed his forehead before following her husband's actions.

Kushina entered her room, closed the door and started searching through the drawers near the door. She heard Minato exit the bathroom and jump on their bed. She smiled as she turned and tossed a bright red night gown on the bed. By now, Minato was only wearing his black sweatpants and had his eyes closed.

"I love you," Kushina said softly and a smile graced Minato's lips.

Rolling her long beautiful red hair into a bun, Kushina striped her shirt off and her pants were discarded soon after. Minato stood and walked over to her and hugged her, never opening his eyes.

He felt her smooth, creamy skin under his rough hands. Jolts of electricity sparked at the end of every nerve where their skin came in contact.

Minato opened his eyes and the first thing he saw were those beautiful violet orbs Kushina called eyes. He stared lovingly into them and saw happiness and love flash in them.

"I love you too," Minato said quietly as his arms slid over her waist and pulled her closer to him. He kissed her softly, and suddenly, words that always escaped Minato when he tried to explain how much he loved Kushina came and fueled the kiss.

They parted and he saw Kushina panting, searching for air to fill her lungs with. He saw her chest moving animatedly as she took in deep breaths and he couldn't help but remember all those long nights spent together, feeling each other's body intimately and expressing their love for each other with actions and loving touches.

She smiled deviously as she put her hands over Minato's callous ones and moved them to her back, right over her bra. No words were needed to be spoken as Minato immediately unclasped them and helped her out of her bra.

The undergarment fell to the ground and Minato stared at Kushina's round and firm rosy-tipped breasts with primal desire and love.

His lips met hers once more and her breasts were pressed against his chiseled chest. He could feel her heart beat against her chest and she could feel his.

With all the swiftness he possessed, Minato spun with Kushina in his arms, and they found themselves on the bed with Minato over her.

The action surprised Kushina, but it didn't displease her. She wrapped her long silky legs around his waist and engaged in another breathtaking kiss.

Minato's mouth then began to travel down her jaw to her neck, where he began to suck on her smooth neck. She let out a moan that burned a deep desire in the pit of his stomach. It brought him joy and pride as a man and as a husband to know that he could make his wife make those kinds of sounds.

Kushina squirmed and shifted her waist as Minato continued his assault on her neck, occasionally eliciting a sort of growl-sounding groan from him. She continued to mewl and even let out an unconscious squeak when Minato's hands roamed over her sides and back.

Suddenly, the mood was destroyed when the front door burst open and then footsteps were heard leaving the house. A yell was heard outside and Minato knew who it was, though it did come to a surprise to him.

"Who?" Kushina asked breathlessly.

"Jiraiya," Minato said as he stood and looked out the window. He saw that it was in fact Jiraiya; he wasn't even surprised that Naruto was involved. What did surprise, even shock him, was the fact that Jiraiya was laying on the ground, his enormous right hand on his jaw and Naruto holding the top of his head as he sat on the ground.

Minato shot down the stairs and out the house to see that he wasn't crazy.

"What is wrong with you?" Jiraiya shouted angrily and in pain.

"That's for knocking me out!" Naruto shouted back, though not as loudly but just as angry.

"I see," Both of them blinked and looked at the door to see Minato standing there with his arms crossed over his chest and a observant expression on his face. Naruto rubbed the top of his head once more before standing up.

"I'm going to bed," Naruto mumbled but a hand shot out and blocked his path from entering the home. "What's the big idea?"

"Jiraiya-sensei, I'm guessing you're here to crash for the night?" Minato asked, momentarily ignoring Naruto's question.

"You got it, kid!" Jiraiya said, though a bit numbly as he still held his jaw. He got up and shifted his jaw around before releasing his hold on it. Minato turned his head to face Naruto.

"The guess room is usually reserved for Jiraiya-sensei," Minato told him and Naruto glared at him.

"So what? I'm getting kicked out to give this drunken geezer a place to sleep?" Naruto asked furiously and Minato shook his head.

"You can sleep in the other room?" Minato said and walked into his home and into the hallway. Naruto glared at his retreating form before turning his glare to Jiraiya who walked by and put a heavy hand over Naruto's head.

"You sure are something," he mumbled before passing him by. Naruto snorted before walking in as well and closing the door behind him. He followed behind Jiraiya before he turned into the guest bedroom and slammed it shut.

Minato was waiting for Naruto up the steps and then turned to walk into the room in between the bathroom and his room.

Naruto followed Minato into the room and saw that it was the only room in the entire house that was painted with a different color. The entire house was a sort of eggshell white with the hallways colored in a dark shade of grey.

This room was a light shade of blue.

It was odd, possibly phenomenally strange, but Naruto felt a sort of connection to this room. He couldn't explain it much more than that. This room was giving off an odd vibe. It radiated grief and love, sadness and happiness.

A second later, it just felt like another room; four walls, a ceiling, a floor, two windows and two doors. The feeling came and went so fast that he began to doubt that it even happened.

There was a bed off on the side, just under the window. It had no frame; only one mattress over another. There wasn't anything else in the room besides a small, childish drawer with small cartoon stickers pressed on the sides and drawers and a small mirror on top.

"Nice room," Naruto noted sourly. Minato gave him a water-downed annoyed look. Whatever annoyed him earlier, he was somewhat over it now… sort of…

"It was a…" Minato stopped himself and walked out of the room. He paused after crossing the threshold. "Don't look in the closet."

Naruto shifted his gaze to the closet door before raising an eyebrow. He lay down on the bed with his back to the closet and Minato. "I'm not interested."

Minato didn't face Naruto, he didn't look to see if his body language said otherwise; he was too tired to care and he just wanted to be with his wife.

He entered the room and saw that Kushina was already in bed. He slipped under the covers and saw Kushina was looking at the ceiling; dry tear trails on her cheeks. Her violet eyes were depressed but her facial expression showed a more pensive look.

"All I wanted was a family," she said, barely above a whisper. Minato understood half of what she said; he read her lips to figure out the other half.

"You do have a family," Minato assured her with a fatigued smile. "All three of us are together again."

She smiled. Her smile was bittersweet, he noticed. "We're not acting like it,"

Minato reached out and hugged her. The woman in his arms was always so confident, so strong, and so fearless.

No, not fearless. She was too smart to fear nothing. Of course she had her fears; she was only human. She was courageous, though, and it was that courage, that confidence and strength that helped her keep on hoping for Naruto's return and to never give up on her son.

Minato wasn't as strong; many times, doubt clouded his heart and blinded him, influenced him to give up. It told him – on multiple occasions – that his first son was no more alive than the dirt he stepped on; that he was stripped from his hands by the cruel hands of Fate and Death.

Kushina knew better though; she acted as his lighthouse, showed him the way home and helped renew Minato's hope and his courage to stand up against the odds.

She was his light; his North star that kept him from getting lost. Now it was his turn to be strong for her; strong and confident.

"We will, my love," Minato reassured as he rubbed her shoulder with his hand. "One day, we will be that family you always dreamt of. You won't ever have to go through that loneliness ever again. I promise,"

He kissed her on the lips and she kissed him back after some hesitation. After a couple minutes of that, Kushina moved so that she was sitting on top of Minato, straddling his waist.

Minato saw the silver haze of the moon coming from the gap left from the curtains on the window. He saw Kushina outlined by the moon, all sweetly feminine curves and lines, a beautiful shadow. She kissed him again, and he returned it in kind, and it was a liquid, smooth thing, as restrained and desperate as the near-still surface of a rushing river.

It went on like that, all skin and light touches, soft sighs, pounding hearts. They moved together, feeling the power of their need, their hunger for one another, a pure blend of desire and warmth and affection and incredible intimacy that shook them to the core.

It ended in silence, the sensation all the more piercing for that, their mouths together, their breaths mingling.

She lay down beside him until their pounding hearts slowed down. Then she rose, and said, "I have something to tell you."

"What is it?" Minato asked and saw a sort of happiness gleaming in them. One he's only seen twice; once when Naruto was born and the day she saw him for the first time in years.

She leaned down to his ear and her lips touched his ear. She whispered so slowly and quietly that even from that distance, Minato almost missed it. But he hadn't and his eyes became as wide as saucers.

"You… Y-You're kidding?" he mumbled incoherently and saw Kushina shake her head, tears threatening to fall from her eyes. He fell to his back and stared at the ceiling. "Wow,"

"I know," she agreed as she let her head rest on his still warm chest.

"Another one?" she nodded her head again. "That's great. Does anyone else know?"

"Besides the doctor, only you and I know," she answered and Minato chuckled. He was speechless; it was incredible news. "Can we keep it a secret?" she asked and Minato looked at her as if she had asked for air to breathe.

"Of course, my love. But how come?" he asked.

"I don't want to take any attention away from Naruto. This might do that," Minato nodded in understanding and kissed her forehead.

"I understand," he said and they nuzzled closer and relished in being so close until Kushina became to sleep. Minato just watched her, enjoying the movements his wife's chest made. He had an irrational fear of waking up to Kushina sleeping in his arms but her chest didn't rise or fall; that she had ceased to breath during the night.

After a couple of minutes of this, he started to lose his hold on consciousness and he too succumbed to the soft lullaby of sweet, sweet sleep.

*.*

Naruto had done it! He had successfully kept himself from looking into the closet.

He hadn't lied to Minato when he said he wasn't interested but eventually, his curious nature started getting the better of him.

So, he did the only logical thing to do; jump out of the second-story window and run off. It'd be ok, though, he wouldn't get lost again. He made sure to keep a shadow clone hiding near the house to escort him back just in case he forgot.

Walking aimlessly was something he loved doing; it helped him get acquainted with his environment and learn new things and places and paths from time to time.

He wasn't surprised when he found that his feet had taken him back to the bridge. He walked over the bridge, silent and cautious. He didn't want any animal coming at him because he disturbed them while they rest. His eyes travelled to the flowing river and smiled as he saw the moon's image reflected over it.

Naruto blinked when he saw a pale green light shine on the side of the bridge. He moved over to the side and looked over the railing. The green light barely showed him anything but he did see a silhouette sitting on the side of the bridge, just near the edge of the river.

The green light came from the silhouette's petite hands, which was hovering over a fish that was slowly dying and its feeble attempt to go back into the river became more sluggish by the passing second.

Once in a while, the fish jumped, showing signs of a struggle, but eventually, like any fish out of water, it died.

The silhouette let out an angry squeak and slammed his or her fists on the ground. Naruto raised his right hand and summoned the Kyūbi's chakra to the palm of his hand. With a little more concentration, he ignited the chakra and it transformed into a decent-sized fireball, big enough to bring to light everything within ten feet of the fireball.

"Cute trick," Naruto stated with humor.

The silhouette looked up in shock and azure eyes connected to deep jade ones. Naruto saw that the silhouette was actually just a girl with big, round green eyes and long pink hair. She had a red sleeveless shirt that seemed a size too big for her and a dirt green skirt. A bandana was tied tightly around the girl's forehead. The thing that caught Naruto's attention was her tear-stained cheeks.

"What exactly was that technique you were using?" Naruto asked, trying to ignore the tears. This was a girl from Konoha; he couldn't let his chivalrous side take over now. He had to be careful.

The bubblegum-haired girl jumped to her feet and began to sprint away.

"H-Hey!" Naruto shouted out to her but she was already gone. Damn, she was pretty quick.

Naruto looked down at the fish. He sighed and jumped down, his left hand still carrying the fireball. He landed beside the fish and saw the gills on his side opening and closing once in a while. Naruto gently shoved the fish into the water and watched as life began to creep into the fish once more.

He turned his gaze back to the direction he saw the pink-haired girl run off to and shook his head as he closed his fist, extinguishing the fireball.

"Weirdo…"

[*.*.*.*]

Smoke came out through both nostrils as a hand slammed the end of the cigarette on the astray.

"Sick pieces of cancer," Obito mumbled as he blew the rest of the smoke in his lungs out of his mouth. His left hand clung to the scarf wrapped delicately around his neck. The fabric felt soft under his touch; maybe it was made of cotton?

It didn't matter, not to Obito. It could've been made of barbwire and salt for all he cared; it'd still be priceless to him and he'd never take it off.

He could still hear her voice, the sweet, emotional sound of her talking to him.

"I made you something," she had said shyly and Obito blinked as he stared at her with his left eye. He was leaning against a tree as he slept on its branch. He yawned and jumped down, landing beside her. She was blushing as her right hand hid something behind her back and her left hand brushed a brown stray hair out of her face.

'She looks so cute!' Obito thought as he summoned up the smile he only reserved for her.

"What's up?" he asked cheerfully and the girl blushed. She wordlessly handed him a light green box with a blue ribbon tied to keep it from being opened easily. Obito blinked and reached out for it. His hand gently brushed hers as he took it from her grasp. He blushed but that didn't stop him from looking straight into her eyes.

He looked at it, examining closely before sniffing it. The girl sweat-dropped, more so after he began to shake it, still, she giggled nonetheless.

"What is it?"

She giggled. "Just open it, dummy," he did. Obito found a beautifully stitched red scarf with the Uchiha symbol at both ends. After examining it closer, she blushed and coughed into her hand.

"It must have cost you a fortune," She shook her head.

"The materials were a bit pricy but," she said but trailed off.

"You made this yourself?" She blushed and looked away with a nod of her head. Obito stared at the piece of cloth in his hands before smiling.

She heard the sound of cloth rustling and she looked up to see Obito wearing the scarf with his usual goofy smile. She returned the smile in kind. Obito grabbed her right arm and tugged on it softly. She moved forward a bit and was surprised when she fell into Obito's arms.

"I love it," he said fondly as he snuggled it against his cheek and she giggled.

"Is it that great?"

"Phenomenally soft!" he declared, eliciting another fit of giggles. "Thanks,"

"You're welcome, Obito," she said and they stood there, holding on to each other before they heard a cough come from the left. The two blushed and saw Kakashi staring at them, his eyes comparable to a sly cat's and a smile under his mask.

"Am I interrupting something?" he asked and the two split immediately. "Obito?" he asked him first but he just scowled and looked away. "Rin?" she just looked in the opposite direction as Obito.

"Not at all," she said and Kakashi nodded, but he knew better.

"Ok, well, let's get going. You know how sensei gets when we're late for a mission."

Obito laughed sourly. "Says the only person in the world who has a worse sense of time than I do," he said with a smirk and Kakashi blinked and stared at him with a distant look.

"Hm? Did you say something Obito?" Obito growled and ran towards Kakashi. He swung his fist at him but Kakashi ducked and jumped away from Obito's follow-up kick.

"Close," he teased before walking off. Instead of running after him, Obito just let out a snort and turned to Rin.

"You coming?" he asked, a bit more calmly than before. She nodded and Obito waited until she was beside him to start walking. They looked at each other before blushing and looking forward, occasionally stealing glances of each other.

Obito gritted his teeth as he fought against his tears. He clutched the scarf tightly in his fist before it relaxed and reached out for a cigarette.

The box was empty.

He seized the empty box and crushed it with little effort. He tossed it carelessly out the window before sucking a quick breath and spitting out a small fireball to incinerate the box.

Obito watched impassively as the box turned to ashes and sprinkled all over his lawn. The wind blew the ashes off the floor and through the air.

"Smoking can kill ya," Obito looked up and saw Kakashi smiling at him from under his mask as he stood on the branch of a neighboring tree.

Obito scoffed. "No kidding," he agreed before taking in Kakashi's appearance. "It's late and you look like you just tried to fight your way out your clothes… or into them?"

Kakashi blushed but it was hidden by his mask. He played it off with a wave of his hand and jumped forward. Obito moved back just as Kakashi flew through the window and landed on the floor without a hair out of place.

"I didn't necessarily start the fight," he stated. He examined the living room to the apartment he shared with Obito and found that it was clean. "You've been thinking about her again, haven't you?"

"Couldn't help it," Obito suggested as he moved to sit on the couch. He was stopped by Kakashi's hand clasping on his right shoulder.

"It's starting to get worse," Kakashi said without preamble but he didn't need to remind Obito what he was talking about; it was already obvious.

"Let's not start this again," Obito mumbled as he shifted his shoulder to free himself of Kakashi's grasp. Kakashi only grabbed his shoulder again and made him spin to face him.

"This has gone far enough, Obito. I know you miss her, I miss her too but you're going too far," Obito looked away, shame coloring his face. Kakashi walked into the kitchen and dug into the trash before coming back to the living room.

He raised his right hand and three empty cartons of cigarettes could be seen. "Smoking? I know it's not illegal but I remember a time when you would've beat my ass if you'd seen me even touching this stuff,"

Obito swiped the cartons from Kakashi's hand, tossing them haphazardly into the kitchen. "And I still will, dammit!"

"Everyone's moved on," Kakashi threw his hands up in exasperation. "Why can't you?"

"Because I love her!" he shouted and Kakashi could see Obito's anger boiling behind his eyes.

"I loved her too!" Kakashi declared but Obito smirked bitterly.

"Not the way I did," he retorted and pushed Kakashi back. "You always rejected her advances. You said no as if you were talking to a little girl,"

"We were only kids!"

"I'm not talking about then, I'm talking about the year before she died. She was seventeen then, she wasn't a kid anymore. She came up to you and asked you out, one last time. Do you remember your answer?"

"Obito," Kakashi began to say but Obito shook his head.

"No, listen, I'm not done. You said no, so when I came to help her through it, she surprised me by asking me out. Finally, after years of trying to get her attention, I finally got it! She gave me a chance and since then, I'd been happy from sun up to sun down," he said and Kakashi could see tears forming in his eyes. They'd tried to talk about this before but Kakashi was always too afraid to let it escalate this high before.

Now, he didn't have a choice.

"Do you remember her eighteenth birthday, about a year later? The whole party? Do you remember?"

"Someone brought alcohol," Kakashi answered monotonously. "Anko, Guy, Kurenai and I were all drunk as hell,"

"Yeah, do you want to know what happened after the party?" Obito didn't let him answer. "She led me to some secluded clearing just outside the village. We sat near the river and talked all night. It was so amazing just how much we talked. We talked about nothing and everything all at the same time."

"I see," Kakashi stated and Obito nodded.

"Then…" Obito paused, hesitating to tell Kakashi the rest. "Then she kissed me. We kissed for what felt like forever and then we parted. It felt different; something about the kiss just seemed different from all the others. She gave me this look and she told me something I never thought I'd hear her tell me in a million years.

"I need you, Obito. I want you so badly and I need you to make me feel like a woman. That's what she told me," he said and Kakashi's expression didn't change except for the miniscule widening of his eyes. Obito saw that Kakashi was surprised as hell.

"I tried to convince her out of it. I told her that we didn't need to rush into that sort of thing and that I could be patient. You know what she said? I love you, Obito," By now, his tears were flooding out of his eyes and he had to pause so he could catch his breath.

"We did it. That night, I made love to the most beautiful woman in this world. I don't regret it, I swear I don't," he proclaimed proudly.

"So what exactly are you holding on to? Are you blaming yourself for her death?"

Obito looked away at the ground. "I don't blame myself for her death; that, I know, is something not even I'm stupid enough to believe. When I find the bastard who killed her…" he trailed off as his mind produced many horrible thoughts of torture and blood.

"So what is it?" Kakashi asked.

"…" Obito closed his eyes tightly as more tears fell. "The night we made love… I… I couldn't say it…"

"Say what?"

"I could tell her that I loved her!" he cried and his body shook. He broke down and fell to his knees. "I chased her for years, asked her out for dates nonstop, but the night we finally expressed our love, I couldn't tell it to her."

"Obito…"

"It… the next day, she died without knowing," he slammed both fist onto the floor and leaned his body forward.

"That was eleven years ago,"

"So why does it feel like it happened just yesterday?" Obito asked and locked eyes with Kakashi. Through his hysteria, Obito didn't notice that he activated his Sharingan. Kakashi stared into his eyes, watching as each of the three tomoe in each eye shook violently. It then began to shake and change into an odd-looking Sharingan.

"Obito!" Kakashi shouted and Obito took a second to compose himself. He took in a breath with his eyes closed and when he opened them again, they were back to their normal black shade.

"I'm sorry, Kakashi," Obito said as he looked down at his hands. "That… That was a weak moment. You weren't supposed to see it,"

"It's fine," Kakashi said and kneeled in front of Obito. He grabbed Obito by the back of his neck and placed his forehead against Obito's.

"I miss her too. Not a day goes by when I don't think of her," he told him. "I know I'll never completely understand the type of bond you and her shared but I do understand how it feels to lose a loved one,"

Obito squeezed the last tear from his eyes before wiping it off. "I know you do,"

"It isn't good to hold on too hard to the past. You can't spend your whole life looking back. Not even when you can't see what lies ahead. All you can do is keep on keeping on, and try to believe that tomorrow will be what it should be – even if it isn't what you expected."

"That's pretty deep; who'd you rip it off of?" Obito asked with a smirk. Kakashi smiled as he got back up to his feet. Obito joined him.

"I got it from Kushina, believe it or not," he said and yawned. He stretched his tired body, earning a few, satisfying pops. "I'm gunna go to bed," He rubbed the back of his neck as he headed for his room. "Night," he waved.

"Night," Obito replied before going into his own room. He took a look at the empty cartons he tossed into the kitchen before shaking his head. "Cancer sticks…"

Off in the distance, a small boy came walking up to the shack standing near the entrance of the Leaf village.

"You know, it's pretty late," One of the Chūnin said as the boy stared at him with tired eyes.

"My town… need help… bad men…" Without another word, the boy fainted and the Chūnin standing guard rushed to help the boy up and sent him to the hospital right away

Sigh, that was a handful...

By the way, can people stop bitching about Naruto's "weak-willed", "stupid" self? He's not weak-willed, he's going through a lot assholes... And he's not stupid.. How the hell would you react to all of this? Would you be any different?

Not like we can all really know so who are you to judge?

Sigh, sorry, I'm a bit agitated...

*Also, we haven't seen all Naruto can do so don't call him weak! Neji's a jonin and a prodigy for god's sake! Even with Naruto being trained so harshly, he still isn't God or a mighty being... Calm down, he'll have his time in the sun again!

Till next time!

Next Chapter: Meeting With Clouds [I think...]

Good luck with whatever and if you got a problem with me or one of my stories, please feel free to: Deal with it, Get over it or Choke on it...