They walked silently towards the training ground. Kakashi was replaying the day he killed the woman that his best friend had asked him to protect. He didn't know that there had been a tailed beast sealed inside her, only to have be released in the village when she returned. He didn't know the seal was placed around her heart. He didn't know that Rin had jumped in front of his Chidori to sacrifice her life for the village.

No, Kakashi had lived with the guilt for years now. He never knew how his arm had ended up in her chest, only that it had, and by his hand she had died.

Emi stayed silent, knowing that Kakashi didn't need words right now. He just needed someone next to him, someone who would understand. She stole some glances at his lone eye that looked distant and lost.

She mulled over the last two days in her head. The things she had done with Kakashi…the kiss yesterday. Was she even ready for that? She had let herself be comforted by the man as she broke down for the first time, and let her kiss her. But did she really want that or was that what she was programmed to do now? Was her default setting a thing men used when they wanted? She had put that memory out of her mind when she took Kakashi back to the apartment and healed him and passed out after. Everything else had been a blur until she woke up next to Kakashi. Making sense of everything hadn't come easy. In shock, her mind raced while going nowhere at all, so she stayed in bed staring at the ceiling and still for who knows how long. She was about to leave the bed when she saw signs that he was having a nightmare, and beyond her better judgement, she reached out a timid hand to hold his.

Memories flooded back to her of her own hands being pinned to ground, and another man forcing himself onto her. She had fought away the memories to comfort her roommate, who just seemed different from that memory, but she wasn't sure how.

She stood a little distance behind Kakashi as she watched his shoulders slump and head lower in front of the memorial stone. He stood there for a long time, just letting his mind fill with memories of all the people he failed to see. All the blood that he had seen spilled. He became lost in himself and his pain.

Time slowed and nothing mattered anymore. He didn't know how long he had been standing when small flickers of light started to glow on the stone like fireflies in the summer. He watched the little lights dance over the names of his loved ones before his brain caught up to what was happening. He turned on his heel to see Emi behind him.

…

While Kakashi had been lost in thought at the stone, Emi could only feel sorry for the man. For all she had been through, she knew what pain was. Despite her breakdown yesterday (but really who could blame her?) Emi was a strong girl. Her parents had been very loving, and up until her kidnapping, she had been very happy. They were kind, caring, and very smart. Having distanced themselves from the world, they built their own home lost somewhere in the woods away from any villages.

Her parents' families both had a very powerful Kekkei Genkai, and the two clans had been torn apart by a lust for power between the clans. The clans had feared each other and bred only the strongest of warriors. Her father's side allowed children to inherit more than one chakra nature from their parents. As generations passed, children were born with several affinities, but lacked strong enough chakra to control them all. Her mother's side had an affinity for senjutsu. They were strong sensors and trackers, and very in tune with nature. Although they could feel nature's energy, it didn't mean they could use it. Several members of the clan had turn to stone in hopes of becoming a sage. However, for the one or two members that could use senjutsu, they were extremely powerful clan heads that had a lot of say in the village's politics. Elders of their Hidden Village had banned any relations between the two clans, for fear that the result would be unstoppable monsters, who would have easily overthrown the power hungry and controlling village heads.

When it came to Emi's parents, they were supposed to hate each other and kill eachother but-love is love no matter who it is between. Her parents could not deny their love for each other, and ran away, becoming missing-nins in the process. They stopped training, retiring from being ninja altogether. They were tired of the fighting between the warring clans, tired of death, and tired of their loved ones being ripped apart in front of them.

So they ran away, having a baby girl in the process. They taught the girl about love. True love. They taught her about happiness, how to find it, and how to fight for it. They had taken up the study of philosophy and the meaning of life, and taught their findings to their daughter.

Whenever Emi was sad, whenever she struggled to find her happiness, she would hear her parents' kind little quotes, that made her lips tug upwards at the corners. Maybe that's how she held out against torture for so long.

"He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has."

She looked at the sulking man in front of her, and let the air drag into her lungs as she slowly and silently backed away. She had lost everything, even herself, and yet she still had him. She had a new life, a new village, a new little boy, and maybe soon she would have a few new friends. And, she had Kakashi. Sure, he wasn't the best of company. He read a perverted book and didn't like Naruto for some reason. He was always late and looked like he didn't care about anything. He made sarcastic comments that made Emi laugh, and didn't really talk to the people she could see cared for him. But worst of all, he was lost in his painful memories of the past and blamed himself for deaths he couldn't control.

"Concern should drive us into action and not into a depression. No man is free who cannot control himself."

That was it! Emi smiled to herself and thanked her parents inwardly. Emi didn't have to say anything, but she could do something to cheer Kakashi up.

She went to the small stream and gathered water with her bending. The water spread out in thousands of droplets like a Christmas tree. She blew cold air from her lungs and froze every drop into a unique crystal.

She tested her unique art project, making the rows of crystals rotate slowly in opposite directions. Blowing fire from her mouth, the crystals reflected, making the ice Christmas tree shine to life. The lights shimmered throughout the training ground and reflected on the memorial stone.

…

Kakashi turned to see the most beautiful thing he had seen in his life. Instantly his memories of Obito, Rin, Minato and Kushina, and Itachi flushed away.

The scene was dazzling. Perfect. Kakashi couldn't say a word, but found his feet moving towards the girl who was sparkling in the sight. In the dark, it looked like they were in the middle of the night sky, watching the universe revolve around them.

The air around them was cold, but the fire Emi was producing was warm and inviting like a bonfire in the middle of winter. Kakashi was drawn into her warmth and stood a few feet away from her, mesmerized by the scene.

Emi stopped the fire to take a breath, and noticed she had missed when Kakashi made his way into her crystal labyrinth, completely lost in the beautiful glow.

When Kakashi noticed the fire had stopped, his gaze focused back on Emi and eye smiled a thank you to her. Then he shushined away and returned with several dry logs. He piled them in the middle of the floating ice tree, and Emi nodded, letting fire escape from her mouth again to light the wood.

She smiled thankfully at Kakashi's quick thinking. It was a little difficult to keep the crystals moving while bending fire from her lungs. She could easily bend two elements at once, maybe three, but this required a lot of fine motor control to move each crystal while not melting them away.

Kakashi chuckled as he looked as the irony of the picture he saw before him. It was his mission to get close to Emi, to give her someone to trust and confide in (in order to ultimately win her over as an asset of Konoha). And yet, here she was, literally melting away his heart of ice with the warmth of her fire. Her smile was so gentle and understanding, her eyes so genuine.

Kakashi forgot what this warmth felt like. Just like how Emi was awe-struck by every sun set she saw but Kakashi scoffed at her childishness, he forgot how to enjoy the beauty of life. The beauty of being alive. And even if it was just in this moment, even if he woke up in cold sweat tomorrow morning, he felt some of his ice chip from his chest and he felt a little lighter.

…

Sarutobi smiled wickedly as he watched the two in his crystal ball. How he had a crystal ball to spy on the village without anyone knowing is still a mystery. And creepy as fuck.

…

Emi burst the ice crystals with one motion, misting the air with ice dusts that sparkled in the light of the fire. She let out a soft giggle as Kakashi blinked until he realized what happened, and then shook the ice dust the looked like the glitter of snow on his spiky silver hair.

They started walking back towards the light of the small village that was closing up for the night, or opening in other places. Normally Kakashi would have taken out his Icha Icha series, but did not see the need to as he watched a long golden-brown braid sway with Emi's steps. He unconsciously hummed at the way it reminded him of his precious ninkens' tails.

Instead of turning down the road that led to their apartment, Emi went in the opposite direction. Kakashi didn't protest and followed his roommate until he found himself looking at a shabby apartment. He could see spray paint that had been wiped away, and several different coats of paint on a door that had clearly been abused.

He suddenly realized whose apartment this must belong to. Leaning with his back against the wall, he made sure he was out of the line of sight when Emi gently knocked on the door.

She was greeted with a grin too large for the little boy's whiskered face. Kakashi watched as the older of the two turned into a blur as she was pulled inside quickly by little wrists. Emi didn't say a word or shoot him a glance. For some reason, Kakashi didn't want to be around Naruto, but he was her escort, and this was where she had wanted to go. He cocked his head back on the wall and listen to the door slam shut.

"EMI-CHAN! EMI-CHAN! HOW DID YOU KNOW WHERE I LIVE?" He bounced dangerously too much.

Emi smiled as she stuck her pinky in her ear and pushed the boy back with a little gust of wind. "Inside voice Naruto-kun. I'd still like to have my hearing by the time I turn 20. Your sensei Iruka showed me."

"You met Iruka-sensei? How did you meet? Were you two on a date? I didn't know you were into my sensei Emi-chan!"

Emi wildly shook her heads and threw her hands back in forth, "No, no, Naruto it's not like that, nothing like that."

"How come you don't like Iruka-sensei? Do you not like boys? Do you like girls?"

"What? No. NO. I like boys. I mean I like girls, too but only as friends. I only like boys as friends, too. I don't like anyone. Well I like people but not like "like-like" ya know?" Emi raised her voice a little closer to Naruto's level and then blushed when she realized how loud she had just said that. She thought of Kakashi's kiss and blushed harder, cursing inwardly.

Kakashi chuckled out in the hallway. He'd never seen this side of Emi. Well, heard.

Naruto tilted his head in confusion with a huh? Emi sighed, "Just because I met him doesn't mean I automatically like him! He's your sensei, I'm your friend, so we were bound to cross paths eventually."

Naruto's eyes widened at what she said, and his draw dropped a little. Emi looked confused, "Uh, what's wrong? Sorry, what did I say?"

"Are we really friends?" Naruto almost said in disbelief.

"Of course we are! Don't you want to be?" Emi chuckled.

"Well yeah! I've just never had a friend before 'ttebayo!" Naruto's smile grew bigger than Emi thought possible. She hid her sad expression with a painted-on smile to match Naruto's.

"Well there's a first time for everything," Emi added positively, hiding her concern. Naruto furiously nodded his head. "And besides, it's been a while since I've had a friend to play with too."

"Really? But you're so nice Emi-chan! I thought you'd have lots of friends, and so you wouldn't want to waste your time on a demon kid like me, 'ttebayo." Naruto's smile slipped away as quickly as it had come, and he hung his head at the words he realized he had just said.

"Naruto. Look at me." He faltered for a second but gradually raised his head to meet her stare. "You are not a demon. I don't know why the villagers treat you like they do, but no matter what they say, you can't listen to them. You are the furthest thing from a demon, unless a demon is bright and warm, kind, and self-less. Sure you play pranks sometimes, but without you the village wouldn't be as fun!" Naruto's eyes glimmered at the words.

"You really mean it Emi-chan?"

"I really mean it Naruto-kun." His teary eyes were wiped away by two soft thumbs. Two arms were meekly stretched out, inviting him into a hug. He flung into the arms and buried his face into her chest, and little arms wrapped around her neck. She fell back on her butt with a thud from his force, but never let him go.

"Thanks Emi-chan," was almost inaudible in the fabric of her clothes. She held him close as he took in her sent that reminded him of nature. Fresh grass, trees, and streams.

Kakashi closed his eye and smiled.

…

The two played all sorts of games until it was too late for Naruto to keep his eyes opened. Emi picked him up like a mother and tucked him into bed with his stuffed animal. She began cleaning up his room and dishes before she took one last glance at her sleeping friend. Smiling to herself, she walked out of the room into the hallway, jumping when she saw a Kakashi that she forgot that was waiting for her.

"Oh, Kakashi, you're still here?"

"Maa, I wasn't going to leave my favorite roommate to fend for herself against a 7-year-old."

"I'm your only roommate," Emi snarked back.

"All the more reason to be concerned."

Emi rolled her eyes and Kakashi kept his indifferent look will a smile crept under his mask. He hadn't talked like this with anyone for a while.

"The only thing you should be worried about is how I kicked your ass yesterday, Mr. jounin."

"If I remember correctly, you're the one who conceded to me."

"Conceded? You wish. You were the one bleeding everywhere."

"At least my hand wasn't like agemono."

"I bet that could be arranged."

"Oh really?" Kakashi leaned in, eyeing her with a tease.

"Yeah, really. And I can set fire to that perverted book while I'm at it, too" She met his glare snapping her fingers to reveal a small flame like a lighter.

"I'd like to see you try. The fact of the matter is, you just aren't fast enough." Kami, he sounded like he was 6-years-old again talking down his self-proclaimed rival Gai.

Speaking of Gai, "Just who isn't fast enough Kakashi? I'm sure you can't be talking about Konoha's own beautiful Blue Beast?"

Upon hearing the voice, Kakashi had quickly blown out her little flame like a candle on a birthday cake and left her with a pouting frown. Looking at her now flameless fingers, Emi got a wicked smile, "Kakashi was saying that you just aren't fast enough to beat him."

"Is that right Kakashi? Then I believe it's my turn to pick our challenge. We will race from the Konoha entrance to Hokage mountain."

"Maa… I don't know Gai.."

"What's with your attitude? We'll never be this young again! We must savor the springtime of youth!"

"Gai, we're still young. I'm only 21."

"Then it's settled," Emi butted in.

"Yosh! If I lose, I will do 500 laps around the village!" Gai exclaimed excitedly and pulled on his rival's jacket, all but dragging him to the entrance of Konoha. The commotion had peaked the interest of his other jounin friends, and Asuma, Kurenai, Anko, and Genma came to watch the spectacle.

Asuma turned to see Emi and walked to her with hands shoved I his pockets. Kurenai glared red eyes at the innocent girl.

"Hey, again. Emi, right?"

"Oh, yes, Asuma-san?

"Just Asuma is fine." Emi smiled and nodded at the informality, "What's going on here."

"Gai challenged Kakashi to a race," Emi beamed with a wicked smile.

"I'm guessing you had nothing to do with this?" Asuma chuckled.

"Nothing at all~," Emi sang back.

…

"Three, two, one, go," they shouted simultaneously. Kakashi was more into the challenge than he was letting on. He wanted to look unamused to Emi, but in reality he really wanted to win. Gai was a great rival, and second to none at physical training and taijutsu.

The two blurred through the streets of the hidden village. Hardly visible to the naked eye except for their trail off dust behind them, the two were neck and neck. Kakashi was pumping chakra into his legs, while Gai was simply relying on his physical training.

The duo flew over rooftops, over laundry, back down to the streets. Kakashi grabbed some fruit from a passing vendor, sending melons and pears flying dangerously close to Gai's face. The man dodged just in time, and sped up.

Road after road, rooftop after rooftop, the two finally made it to where the mountain bottom was close in sight. Kakshi pushed more chakra into his legs and feet. He was not about to lose this to Gai-

It happened before he noticed. Soon he was tripping, giving Gai just the advantage he needed to exploit. Not missing a beat, the taijutsu master surged forward, slamming into the mountain, leaving an outline of himself in the rock. He hadn't had time to slow down, nor could he afford to.

"It was a close call Kakashi, and you were a worthy opponent. That makes us 34-32, still in your favor."

"You really got me Gai, I couldn't keep up." Kakashi scratched the back of his neck.

Gai beamed. His thumb went up as a huge grin showing all his white teeth hit the sun and blinded Kakashi. Kakashi gave a half-hearted laugh and walked sheepishly back to his friends.

Meanwhile, Asuma was dangerously glaring and considering what Emi had done. Right before Kakashi had tripped, he had been the only one to notice she had closed her eyes, waited, and then tapped her foot to the ground, just as rock appeared to rise from the ground the moment Kakashi's foot had hit the spot, causing him to trip and lose his balance. She had then opened her eyes just in time to witness the man falter, and after giggled to herself as Gai went on about hard work and his rival.

'Curious,' he thought to himself. Now that he thought about it, Emi had come out of nowhere. Sure, she was fun to hang out with to drink, and man could she hold her sake, but they knew nothing about the girl. She seemed to spend a lot of time with Kakashi, the famous copy-nin. Asuma couldn't help just being a little suspicious.

Kakashi walked sheepishly towards them, ashamed he had tripped on a stupid rock. He could have sworn he hadn't seen it.

"Who isn't fast enough now?" Emi teased. Kakashi answered with a small humph and walked in the opposite direction. Thank Kami for his mask. Red cheeks were flushed with embarrassment.

…