"Chidori..."

"Oh, I don't think so Hatake." Madara hissed as he jumped back away from Kakashi as blood soaked through his ripped and torn robe and shirt. No, this wasn't the end. He'd be back for the little bitch later. He vanished. Leaving the Leaf nins to wonder about who he was and why he had been there to begin with.

"Hokage-sama!" Someone called out as several dark figures dropped down behind the sphere. Sarutobi narrowed his eyes at the group and spotted his grandson, still in his adult form on the roof top at least twenty feet away looking as if he had run a marathon.

Kona hit the ground in front of the sand sphere. He turned his head to look at several of the others, Shika, Hinata, Neji, Sauske, Sakura, Ino, Choji and Shino appeared behind him. "Kona! What happened?" Neji asked as the back of the sand sphere started to fall open and Gaara and Lee both still in their adult forms appeared. Lee held Uzu cradled in his arms and looked worried. She had'nt woken up, stirred or made so much as a peep since the attack started.

"Sakura. Check Uzu-hime." Lee signed then handed the blond to Kona who immediately checked for a pulse as the third Hokage and several other nins snuck up on the group. Kona dropped to the ground still holding the blond in his arms as Sakura moved forward and made some hand signs and laid her glowing green hands against the girl's skin to check for injuries and such.

"Her pulse is steady. Her chakra is still really low. Kona, you said that she was awake earlier. Did she move around much?"

"No. No not really. Why? Is that a bad thing?" Kona asked in a panicked tone. Sakura shook her head.

Kona looked at Sakura as Lee and Gaara used what was left of the sand shield to hide themselves as they changed themselves back to kids and stumbled out of the sand sphere and dropped down next to Kona and scanned the area around them anxiously.

Sarutobi studied the kids with a dark expression on his face. He was still in the dark about a lot of stuff. Or at least that was the impression that he got. Like the fact that an untrained little girl who wasn't even a genin, could know advanced medical jutsu without making an effort to learn it. Or the fact that the sand Biiju had temporarily made his home in their village. Or the fact that his grandson who should still be three, looked seventeen. Acted seventeen and had come directly here, in the middle of a battle and seemed rather attached to Uzumaki.

It was bothersome. And a puzzle. But it was a puzzle that he intended to figure out.

But ata the same time he knew that asking the kids was pointless. So he'd just have to watch them and see what happened next. And while he was at it, he'd investigate that cloaked figure that the kids had fought off, and the source of the demonic chakra that had lit up the skies just a little while ago.

"She's fine Lee, Gaara. She hasn't woken up because her body is still very weak and needs the sleep to help her recover. She'll wake up in a few hours feeling a bit better. You shouldn't let her move around or do too much on her own, she might collapse if you do." Sakura said gently as she reached out and took the girl from Kona and did a more through examination as Shika stepped forward.

"That's all well and good but Uzu is going to need a place to recover in since her home has been reduced to that-" He said as he pointed behind them. Lee and Gaara and everyone else turned and looked at the smoldering remains of Uzu's apartment and Lee turned red and cringed.

Oh shit.

He had done that, hadn't he? He didn't really recall doing it, but he was fairly certain that he had. He lifted his hands and quickly signed. "She can stay with me. Shika, Neji, Sauske, and Kona can help out by swinging by and helping me keep an eye on her. Sakura...you'll have to stay close to us too, just in case she needs you for some reason."

"It's nice of you to offer Lee, but do you really think that you have the room?" Shika asked curiously. Lee didn't even hesitate. He nodded and Sakura sighed.

"Alright. So we have a plan."

"Fantastic. Lets get the fuck out of here before the old timer and the others figure out that we're-" Kona started to say as he stood up and scooped Uzu up in his arms and turned to leave when Sauske reached out and grabbed his arm and pinched him once, twice, harder on the third time.

Trying to get Kona to realise that the adults were right fucking there, and they had heard every damn word.

Kona got a funny 'oh shit' look on his face as his grandfather crossed his arms and smiled at them coldly. Sauske groaned and Shika rolled his eyes and sighed. Gaara pinched the bridge of his nose. Neji snorted and grabbed Hinata and pushed her behind him, not really knowing what to expect from the older man but wanting to protect his baby cousin just the same. Sakura and Ino both exchanged a look with Lee.

The third Hokage studied the kids for a second, silently debating on what to do now. But he could only think of one thing. A simple question.

"What was that person after?" He spoke in a dangerously quiet tone, a tone that brooked no arguments. He'd beat the answers out of his grandson if he had too after this fucking fiasco. Kona looked around nervously and debated on handing Uzu off to someone else and running like hell.

He did not want to mess with his grandfather right now. Especially since he was young enough not to be hindered by arthritis and could easily run him down if he wanted too. Fortunately for him, it was Sauske that spoke up. "He's called Madara Uchiha, lord Hokage. And he's after Uzumaki."

Sarutobi turned his head just a little bit and stared at the young Uchiha as he sucked in a breath. "Uchiha Madara?" Young Sauske knew this for sure? He sounded like he knew for sure, but Sarutobi was unsure of how much faith he could put in the child's words. Yet that nagging feeling in the back of his mind... The one chanting, 'I know what you don't' got the best of him.

Sauske had no reason to lie. None of them did.

He smiled kindly at the raven and looked back at the blond child in Kona's arms, his expression dark and troubled. If that masked man was in fact Madara, and he was after Uzumaki...

Then his true target was the nine tailed demon sealed with in the child. He'd have to assign someone to stay with the girl as a body guard. "Kakashi."

The silver haired jounin moved forward. Gently shouldering his way through the Anbu so that he could get to where the Hokage stood. He stopped just shy of the man's side and waited for his Kage to speak again. "Kakashi. After this incident I fear that Uzu may need a body guard that can defend her adequately. I'll be assigning you as her temporarily guardian. She's going to be living with you until I feel that she is safe. From now on...she will be your responsibility."

Kakashi bowed his head. "Hai." Kakashi said gently.

Kona looked back and forth between Kakashi and his grandfather and slapped Kakashi's hands away when he reached out to take Uzu. This was bad. This was really bad. If Kakashi took Uzu now...Madara would have her with in a year.

Luckily he wasn't the only person who had come to this conclusion. Kakashi took a threatening step forward and snarled at the boy. "Hand her over-"

Kona didn't back down. If anything he stepped up to the man and pushed him back a few steps. Sarutobi watched the act of aggression in fascination. Wondering what could drive his young grandson to push someone almost as dangerous as himself and wondered how Kakashi would handle the boy. Kakashi stared at the boy in shock as fury rose swiftly in his chest.

How dare he. How dare he seek to keep the copy nin from Uzu. The copy nin had killed lesser men for the same shit. He stepped up to the boy again, keeping in mind that Uzu was unconscious, possibly wounded somewhere and growled at Konahamaru warningly. The brat did not want to fight him on this.

He'd rip him apart if he tried.

"Give. Her. Here." Kakahsi said from between tightly clenched teeth. Kona put his hand on the man's chest again and roughly pushed him back again. He wasn't handing over Uzu!

Kakashi would get her killed! His grandfather would get her killed! He couldn't trust anyone that wasn't one of their group! "Go fuck your self Copy cat. I'm not handing Uzu-hime over to anyone that I don't trust." Kona snapped at the silver haired man. Kakashi stared at him for a second, an unfathomable expression on his masked face.

"Alright, kid. Have it you're way." Kakashi said in a dangerously low tone as he gave the boy a chilling smile.

He asked for it, and in the mood he was in right now; Kakashi was all to happy to oblige.

(******************************************************************************************************************************************************************)

This whole chapter was a flash back to set up the next chapter.

Hopefully there will be more interactions between Kakashi and Uzu since they should be living together starting in the next chapter.

I still want to do a lemon between Uzu and Kona. I also want to do another one with Lee and make the girl Uzu, but I'm wary of trying. I can see it in my head, and it all looks good. But...I'll leave it for now and just focus on the bonds between the kids and Kakashi and Uzu