Kakashi ends up taking me to see Lady Tsunade. Her receptionist, a short haired woman with a pet pig, I believe Shizune is her name, looks slightly suspicious of us when we tell her we need to see the Hokage. Nevertheless she grants us access. Kakashi knocks on the office door and our new Hokage shouts for us to enter. Kakashi strides in confidently, but I hesitate at the door, scared to find out the truth.

The office is covered in piles of paperwork. Some of it strewn about the floor as if pushed away in a moment of anger. Tsunade sat behind her desk, long blond hair pulled into two low pigtails. Her brown eyes flicker up to look at the two of us, before returning to the paper in front of her. "What do you need?"

"We have a, ah, precarious situation and are in need of your help." Kakashi says, beckoning for me to enter further. With a slight sigh I move forward next to him. Tsunade jolts at the word "precarious", setting her paper aside to focus her attention on us.

"What's wrong?" She asks. Kakashi looks at me, questioning if I should tell her, or if he should. I gesture at him, letting him know that he can tell her.

"On a recent mission my student was captured by Kabuto Yakushi." Kakashi starts, sounding a bit unsure how to continue. "While he had her he..."

"He raped me." I blurt out, unable to stand the tension in the room. Tsunade sucks in a breath, body immediately going ridged.

"How long ago?"

"A week... I think." I start biting my lip. It's a bad habit of mine when I'm nervous. Her eyes soften when they land on me.

"We need a medic to check if she's pregnant." Kakashi states, placing a comforting hand on my shoulder. It doesn't help much considering my stomach starts to churn at the thought. What if I am? What should I do with the baby? A million questions race through my head, but my thinking is cut short when Tsunade speaks.

"I'll take care of her."

"Really?" I ask. To say I'm shocked is an understatement.

"Yes. I met Kabuto before coming back to Konoha. He nearly killed Naruto and now I find out he raped another of my shinobi." She growls, standing from her desk. "I'll run the tests and no matter if they come back positive or negative, I will take care of you."

"T-Thank you," I say, shocked beyond belief. The best medical ninja in the world is going to take time out of her busy day to help me. I can't believe she's this nice.

"Let's head to the hospital and I'll start running the tests."

Kakashi and I sit together in my hospital room while Tsunade looks over the results of the test. A tense atmosphere has settled over us. Kakashi's busy reading his Icha Icha book, but I can tell he can't concentrate on it. His eye keeps flickering towards the door, anticipating Tsunade's return.

I just sit and stare at the wall, praying to every god out there to make the results negative. If the test is positive then I have to have the child. I may be a killer, but I only kill those who deserve it. The child would go up for adoption, of course, with an added warning that they have a chance of developing a Sharingan.

My fingers drum against my thigh restlessly. I can't seem to stop fidgeting! Breathing proves to be a challenge. The nerves are making me feel like a snake is coiled around my lungs. There's a soft knock at the door and my breath hitches in my throat, it has to be Tsunade. I try to speak, but nothing comes out. Kakashi notices my struggle and calls for the person to come in.

Tsunade enters, a bright smile on her face. That's good, right? Smiles mean good news not bad news? Or is she mocking me for bad news? No. She wouldn't do that. Would she? My teeth immediately begin picking at the skin of my lip. Anxiety washes over me, rendering me unable to breath.

"I assume the smile is good news?" Kakashi asks, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees.

"The tests all came back negative." Tsunade confirms. Relief causes all the air to fly out of my lungs in one breath, a similar sensation to being hit in the stomach. My muscles relax and I fall back against the bed. I don't even realize I'm crying until Kakashi walks over to wipe the tears from my eyes. I smile at him gratefully and hug him.

"Thanks for being there for me," I whisper, nuzzling my face in his chest.

"Like I said, you're my family." He chuckles, tightening his arms around my waist. "I'll always be here for you."

"And I for you." I respond. A sharp jump in chakra near the roof causes me to flinch slightly. It feels like Sasuke and Naruto. "Kakashi..."

"I know, you stay here and rest. I'll take care of it." He says in a hushed tone and disappears.

"You two are close, huh?" Tsunade asks, raising a blond eyebrow and setting her clipboard down.

"Yeah," I smile. "Kakashi's like an older brother. When our team first formed, he was the only one I could rely on. Naruto wasn't very bright, Sakura was too obsessed with my brother, and Sasuke was so stuck up no one could stand him. Naturally the two of us were drawn together."

"What about your other sensei? Takeshi, right?"

"He's my dork." I giggle and sit up. "Honestly, we're close, but Kakashi was the first person I opened up to when I came to Konoha, so I trust him over everyone."

"I see. So how are you feeling?" She asks, sitting down across from me. "Mentally, I mean."

"I guess I'm in a state of denial." I admit. "I only get bits and pieces of the whole incident and I'm trying my hardest to erase it from my memories."
"The only ones who know about this are Kakashi and I, correct?"

"Yeah, I don't want anyone else to know. I don't need them treating me differently. They already do that enough now that they know about the demon."

"Ah yes, Kurai Tora. Naruto told me about it when we were traveling back to the village," she says with a faint smile. "As we were walking he was muttering about needing to make up with you. I asked him about it, at the time I didn't realize I was going to get your life history according to Naruto." She lets out a bark of laughter and sits down next to me.

"He tends to go overboard a lot." I smile. "The first day we met and I told him about how my family treated me he promised to be a better brother to me than Sasuke. But that doesn't mean I'm still not mad at him."

"What did the little idiot do?"

"It might not be the best thing to admit this to the Hokage of the Leaf." I mumble. I mean I let two of the most wanted criminals in the world go. Not to mention I did it with a smile on my face and a promise of there being a next time so we could talk.

"So don't think of me as the Hokage right now." Tsunade urges with a smile. "Think of me as a therapist of sorts. I'm going to recommend that we have weekly sessions to work through the mental aspect of what happened to you. Everything you say is confidential and we don't necessarily have to talk about the incident."

"Okay then. Well it all started when Itachi and Kisame busted in on us on our way to find you." I start. Before I know it I'm telling her the entire story from that moment to the argument with Naruto. I have to say it feels great! It's like a huge weight is taken off my shoulders in confessing to Tsunade how much I love my brother and even Kisame. She sits and listens without interrupting, a thoughtful look in her eyes as I finish. "Naruto just doesn't understand what it's like. Itachi was there for me as a child, he was my sole source of love and no matter what he does, be it good or bad, I can't stop loving him."

"I can understand where you're coming from." She says with a self-depreciating quirk of her lips. "When I was younger I loved my teammates like they were brothers. Both Orochimaru and Jiraiya were there for me after the loss of my younger brother. When Orochimaru went rouge, it was hard on me. Even after all these years, and all the horrible things he's done, I still can't stop thinking of him as a brother."

"Finally someone gets it." I sigh and rest my head on my hand.

"Sometimes our hearts go against what our minds are telling us. Sometimes you just have to take a leap of faith and believe in your heart."

"Yeah." I grin and look up at her. I've never really had a woman role model before. It feels great. I mean let's face it, Kira is not a role model, and my mother was the exact opposite of what I want to be.

"So I want you to meet me in my office in a week around noon for our first official session." She sighs, standing up. "In the meantime I have paperwork to do." With that she leaves, the click of her heels fading as she gets further from the room.

I decide to go home. Kakashi can handle the idiots and after the events of today I could use some rest. I don't realize how long we were in the hospital until I step outside. It's relatively hot, like Konoha always it, but it's starting to cool off as the sun begins to sink below the horizon.

I stroll casually down the hard packed dirt streets of the city, giving an occasional smile to a passerby. The stalls seem especially busy today, all of them offering sales to get rid of merchandise bought for the celebration of the new Hokage that took place the night before. I'm kind of disappointed I missed it, but on the way home from the mission we kept getting distracted by different aspects of each town. We did a lot of shopping while we were out of Konoha and arranged for all of it to be dropped off at our homes in a week. It was actually quite fun. Especially when Luna called one shopkeeper a "greedy asshole" and stormed out of his shop.

Once at home I shower and change out of my daily clothing to loose black pajama pants and a purple tank top. I lay in bed with a sigh, loving the softness of the mattress. I allow my eyes to drift closed, hoping for a quick transition into sleep. Just as I'm on the cusp of passing out, there's a knock on the door. My eyes flicker open and a slight noise of annoyance escapes my lips. Who the hell could that be?

I shiver slightly as my bare feet meet the cold tile floor. I fling my door open with a glare. Standing in front of me are perhaps the three most irritating people in the village. "What the fuck do you want?" My voice is menacing, but it doesn't faze them.

"Well hello to you too." Suzume says with a sarcastic roll of her eyes. "We planned a sleepover for tonight, remember dork?" The sleepover, right. I guess the whole 'Am I pregnant?' thing made me forget. And just when I was looking forward to getting some sleep.

"How bad is your memory?" Luna asks knocking on my forehead with her knuckles. I swat her hand away with unnecessary force. A resounding smack echos through the night air.

"Didn't you guys plan this just this morning before you got back to the village?" Hikari asks, pushing past me into my apartment. The other two follow behind her, throwing their bags on the floor. "Nice place ya got here."

"Thanks," I grumble and walk into the kitchen to grab a bottle of water. "So what are we doing tonight?"
"Well we have junk food, cards, we can talk about boys, and basically we were just gonna wing it." Suzume answers with a shrug. I sit down cross-legged on my bed and Suzume claims a spot next to me. Luna and Hikari are content to just sit on the floor in front of us in a mound of pillows and blankets that I can only assume they brought.

"So how was the mission?" Hikari asks, pulling out some type of sugary food.

"Oh it was fine." I say with a shrug. "Nothing too exciting."

"Tora was kidnapped by Kabuto." Luna adds flippantly.
"Oh. How did that go?"

"I found her nearly beaten to death." Suzume says boredly, picking at her nails.

"Along with her prince charming." Luna smirks.

"Prince charming?" Hikari asks with a raised eyebrow.

"We did a joint mission with a Suna team. It was Gaara and his siblings." Suzume explains.

"So Gaara helped save her?" Hikari asks, leaning forward. She seems a little too eager to know this.

"Yep, there was some wolf mutant thingie there too that I trapped and then Gaara crushed him with sand." Suzume smiles. "There was blood everywhere."

"Gaara killed Hiro?" I ask, excitement clear in my voice. "Thank Kami, that guy was such and asshole. He murdered his younger sister just to prove his loyalty to Orochimaru."

"That's awful!" Luna gasps, covering her mouth with her hands. "I mean, sometimes I want to murder Hikari, but only figuratively. I couldn't imagine actually killing her!"

"Is that a compliment?" Hikari asks, looking at her sister. "Because I feel like it was, but your words make his seem as if it's an insult."

"I think it was a compliment." I answer with a smirk. "I want to kill Sasuke all the time, but I don't do it because he's my brother. So what do you want to do?"

"We could do dares." Suzume offers. "I mean it's not like we have to stay in all night, we don't have any parents here to tell us not to go outside."

"Oh! I have one!" Luna shouts excitedly, bouncing up and down from her spot on the floor. "I dare Tora to paint 'Kira loves Kakashi' on the side of Sadistic Apricot-sensei's house!"

"Are you trying to get her killed?" Suzume asks, her voice raised an octave.

"Do we even know where Sadistic Apricot-sensei lives?" Hikari adds with a sigh. "If we don't know where she lives, then we can't do it."

"Oh yeah," Luna says dejectedly.

"We may not know where Kira lives," I smirk evilly. "But I know where Kakashi's apartment is, we can paint it on his door."

"I like your thinking." Suzume and I share a sadistic smile. "Got any paint?"

"Nope." I say. "But I know someone who does." I stand up and pick my way through the mess of blankets and pillows on the floor. I walk out the door and over to Naruto's apartment, knocking loudly on the door. The others follow and we stand there giggling to ourselves, waiting for the blond. When he doesn't answer, I knock louder and shout, "Naruto! Open up, I need a favor!"

There's the sound of something crashing to the floor inside his apartment, followed by a curse from Naruto, before he opens the door. He's only wearing a pair of light blue pajama pants, revealing his well toned torso and his hair is damp. He must have just gotten out of the shower. "What d'ya need?"

"Got any paint?" I ask with an innocent smile.

"What's it for?" He raises a blond eyebrow apprehensively, glancing between the four of us.

"Don't worry, it doesn't involve you." I reassure him.

"Any color preference?"

"Something bright, that doesn't wash off easily."

"Got the perfect thing." He disappears into his apartment, before coming back a second later with a bucket of blood red paint and a few brushes. "Figured you'd need these too." He nods towards the paintbrushes and hands the bucket over to me.

"Thanks Naruto!" I chirp, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "You're the best."

"Yeah, yeah." He mutters, ruffling my hair. "Just let me know if you need anything else."

I give him a wave before walking off, motioning for the others to follow me. Once on the street we travel the back roads to avoid traffic and a chance of someone seeing us. When we get to Kakashi's door I take the red paint and write 'Kakashi loves Kira!' with a little tiger face to make sure he knows it was me. "This is surprisingly anti-climatic." Suzume sighs, sounding bored.

"I know how to make this more exciting." Luna grins and begins to bang her fist on the door. "Kakashi-sensei! Tora's vandalizing your door!"

"What the fuck are you doing?" I ask, voice rising with hysteria. "He's going to kill me!"

"Tora!" Kakashi's voice is muffled by the door between us, but the anger it holds is all too clear.

"Run!" Suzume shouts and we take off, using the rooftops for a quicker escape. Lucky for us, he decided not to follow us. Then again, that means next time he sees me I'm going to get yelled at.

"You jerk!" I exclaim when we stop to catch our breaths. "I'm as good as dead next time he sees me!"

"Well it was boring, so I figured a good chase would make it fun. Too bad he didn't give in." Luna defends, holding her hands up in surrender.

"Fine," I growl, then smirk as an idea comes to me. "I have a dare for Luna."

"Oh this should be good." Hikari mutters to herself.

"First we need to go get Ino," I declare and take off in the direction of the blond's house. I don't use the door when I get there, instead I climb up to her window. She's sitting on her bed reading through a magazine and nearly jumps out of her skin when I knock on the glass. She looks at me, annoyance clear on her face, but opens the window anyways.

"What do you want?" She whispers angrily.

"Go ask your parents if you can come spend the night at my house."

"Why?"

"Because we're going to be partying and I want you there." I say in a duh voice. Then add quietly. "Plus we're doing dares and I need you to show us where Kira's house is so I can get revenge on Luna."

"Sounds like fun." She smiles. "I'm sure I can, just wait for me at the front door."

"M'kay!" I grin and jump down to the street where the others are waiting.

"So?" Suzume asks.

"She's on her way down."

"And why did we need Ino?" Hikari raises an eyebrow.

"Because she's going to show us where Kira lives and Luna's going to break in and steal her diary."

"Of course," Suzume sighs, attempting to hide a slight smile. "We're all going to die after this one."

"I know!" I say giddily. "Isn't it fun?"

"Hi guys!" Ino's voice interjects as she strides out of her house, a purple bag slung over her shoulder. "I hear you're in need of the location of my Aunt's house."

"Yep," Hikari chirps and slings her arm around her twin's shoulders. "Luna here is going to break in and steal her diary."

"Whatever you say." The blond shakes her head. "I wasn't involved."

"Deal." I nod. Ino leads us a few streets over to a house not far from the Hokage building.

"This is it." She states, looking up at the white-painted house surrounded by flowers.

"This is strangely bright for Sadistic Apricot-sensei." Suzume muses.

"Aunt Kira still lives with my grandparents." Ino explains. "My grandpa died a few years ago and my grandma lost a leg in the Third Shinobi War, so she just stays here to take care of her."

"How sweet of her." I comment, examining the two silhouettes in one of the lower windows. "Have fun Luna! We'll be at my apartment, if you aren't back before morning we'll just assume you were caught."

"You aren't staying?" Luna's eyes widened.

"Are you kidding?" Suzume laughs. "I don't want to risk Sensei catching me here with you!"

"Fun," the redhead grumbles.

"Bye Sis!" Hikari waves and we take off down the street at a sprint, wanting to be as far from Kira's home as possible.

"Think she can do it?" Ino asks once we're back in the safety of my apartment.

"Not a chance." Suzume snorts, sitting down on my bed. "Last time we stole Kira's diary it took Hikari spouting random nonsense to distract her while Luna and I took it from her bag. Even then we only had five minutes to read through it before she realized what we'd done."

"She deserves it." I say with a humph, crossing my arms over my chest. It's not like Kira would actually go through with killing Luna. She might get tortured, lose a limb or something, but death won't result from this dare.

"So what are we doing while Luna's out?" Hikari asks, cocking her head to the side. "Or should I say while she's trying not to die?"

"I don't know." Suzume shrugs, looking at me. I just stare back helplessly.

"Don't look at me, I've never had a sleepover before. Remember, I was a friendless, deprived child. Well I shouldn't say completely friendless, but sleepovers were out of the question with them."

"You guys are hopeless." Ino sighs dramatically, sitting down gracefully on the floor. "We talk about boys."

"But like... how?" I ask, still feeling a bit clueless as to how sleepovers work.

"Well we can start off by rating all the guys on our teams." She explains.

"That's easy," I smirk. "They're all zeros because they aren't Gaara."

"Well, Neji's not a zero." Suzume argues. "I'd give him an eight, maybe a nine, but there's always room for improvement."

"Nope, he's not Gaara, therefore he is a zero."

"Do you really wanna start this argument?"

"Yes, because I know I'll win. Neji can't compare to Gaara."

"Have you seen Neji's freaking eyes? They're like, the perfect shade of lavender!"

"Please, Gaara's green eyes are so much better. Plus his hair is an awesome color."

"I bet Neji's is softer. It's like touching a cloud."

"You've touched his hair before?"

"W-What?" She stutters, face turning a brilliant shade of red.

"I win." I state confidently.

"You don't win! How do you win?"

"I threw you off track and you broke the chain of argument, therefore I win. End of story."

"That's not how it works Tora," Ino interrupts, earning a sharp glare from me.

"Yes it is."

"No it's not."

"I don't care, I win." I pout and cross my arms over my chest stubbornly.

"I don't even want to argue with you." She says and flicks her hand dismissively in my direction. "Why don't we start out easy and do Tora's team."

"Sasuke is a zero, Naruto's a seven." I say immediately.

"I thought everyone, but Gaara was a zero." Hikari teases.

"Naruto's pretty cool, so I give him a seven. He still doesn't compare to Gaara."

"I think Naruto's more of a four." Ino muses. "I mean he's cute in a kinda dorky way, but his personality just overshadows it."

"I'd give him a six," Hikari says. "I enjoy his pranks and sometimes his personality is fun. I don't particularly care for looks."

"Yes, but we can all at least agree Sasuke is a zero?" Suzume asks causing the rest of us to nod enthusiastically.

"Can we talk about Gaara though? I mean, he's just like, the definition of perfection."

"I swear if I hear that name out of your mouth one more time I'm going to strangle you." Suzume shouts frustratedly.

"But, Suzume!" I whine, clinging onto the other girl's shoulders. "He's just soooooooo cute!"

"I don't care if he's cute! You're starting to get irritating!"

"I think I unleashed a monster." Ino mutters, attempting to pull me away from Suzume.

"Hey Suzume?"

"What now Tora?"

"Isn't Gaara just the most adorable male to ever walk the earth?" I giggle and duck behind Ino to avoid the fist that came flying at my head.

"Get back here Uchiha!"

"Save me!" I squeak and wrap my arms around Ino's waist. Suzume tries to reach around her to get to me, but the blond puts her hands up to ward off the Haruno.

"Move it! I want to strangle her!"

"But I like breathing!" Suzume pushes Ino hard and she crashes to the ground on top of me. I gasp as an elbow digs into my side, but reposition myself to fight Suzume off with my feet. I lash out blindly and end up connecting with her jaw, which only seems to piss her off more.

Ino rolls away, making me vulnerable to attack. It doesn't help that Hikari's somewhere off to the side just laughing at us and being of no help whatsoever. "Come on Tora, I just want to give you a hug!"

"Yeah, around the neck so you can cut off my air supply and suffocate me!"

She grabs my left foot and I lash out viciously with my right, knocking her hand away. "The longer you wait, the worse it will be!" She sings, ignoring my legs and pouncing on top of me.

"Help!" I screech the moment her hands make contact around my neck. The pads of her thumbs press gently into my skin, slowly choking off my air supply. I buck my body wildly in and attempt to throw her off me, but my efforts end up being in vain.

"What the fuck is going on in here?" Luna's voice startles the both of us and I take advantage of Suzume's distraction to free myself from her hold.

"You could have killed me!" I gasp, hands resting on my throat.

"Oh please, I wouldn't have killed you. Just strangled you enough to make you pass out." She shrugs and stands up, turning to Luna. "You got it?"

"Fuck yeah." Luna holds up a small, black, leather bound book. Her green eyes are sparkling with happiness. "Shall we read?"

"We shall." Suzume plucks the book out of her hands and opens to a random page. Clearing her throat she reads, "'Today was awful. Those brats I call students decided to try and set me up on a date with Kakashi. I swear if they pull something like that again I'm going to murder them. I mean sure, a date with Kakashi would be nice, but I don't want to have to depend on my students to get me one! I'm a freaking Anbu, I should be able to get one date, right? Whatever, it's not like I care...'"

"I remember that!" Hikari chuckles. "She tried to impale Luna on her katana!"

"Let me read one!" I say, grabbing eagerly at the book. Once I get it I turn to another entry and read. "'I ran into Kakashi and Gai at the market today. Somehow they conned me into going out to eat with them. It was awkward, to say the least. Gai had to challenge us to an eating contest. I, of course, won. His hyperactive attitude towards life clashed with mine and Kakashi's more uncaring natures. Kakashi looked good though. He always looks good, but for some reason he looked especially good today. Does that make any sense? Oh well, I have to go on a mission with the brats tomorrow to escort some stupid official back home. I can already feel the headache.'"

"Let's look in the back now! That's where she keeps her drawings." Luna says and I turn to the the last page. The others peer over my shoulders, wanting to catch a glimpse Kira's work.

"That's amazing." Ino whispers in an awe filled voice. On the page was an intricately drawn portrait of Kakashi. It was so well done it looked like a photograph. I flip the page to one of Luna, Hikari, and Suzume in the midst of their training session. The next one is of Suzume and I fighting on the floor. Then Kakashi strolling down the street. The more we see, the more awed we are. Kira only drew everyday life, but she drew it in such a way that the art seemed to come to life and tell a story. Everything was perfect. From the glint of sunlight in someone's eye, to the crinkle of fabric on a shirt.

"I can't believe she never showed us these." Suzume mumbles, running her fingers over a drawing of Konoha's landscape. The five of us are so entranced by the art that none of us notice the soft click of my door and light footsteps treading into my apartment.

"Hello girls." I jump, slamming the book in front of me closed in the process. Standing in front of us is Kakashi and Kira. Neither of the looks amused, in fact they look quite murderous. We don't have time to react when both Jounin attack. One moment they were there and the next moment they were gone. Then there's a slight whisper of wind across my neck and then darkness overwhelmed my senses.

My dreams are strange. Well, stranger than usual. It's not dark and it's not cold, but for some reason I'm terrified. The sunlight streams through the leaves of the trees around me and the air is filled with the soft noises of chattering birds. Why am I so afraid?

I jump through the trees, and if it were any normal day I'd be reveling in the feeling of the wind against my face. But it's not a normal day and I don't know why. A feeling of anxiety is building in my chest, making it difficult to breath.

The scenery around me blurs as my pace increases. There's something happening, something that I need to prevent. I come upon a clearing and stop, gaping at the horrific scene. It's as if the world in front of me has been split into five different screens. Each one playing a different moment in time, though I don't know if it's past, present, or future.

The images on my far left depict Chouji. I can clearly see him and the body of another person, whose features I can't make out. The food obsessed boy is laying against a tree, eyes closed and I can't tell if he's alive or dead. From the looks of him, he's sustained quite a few injuries.

My eyes travel to the next screen. Neji stands, back to a tree, impaled by a yellowish arrow made of some unknown substance. Blood runs from various cuts along his body, tracing a crimson path down his pale skin. His breath comes in short pants, eyes locked onto some hidden enemy.

I look away to the next screen. Kiba and Akamaru are hidden behind a rock. Blood runs from the corner of Kiba's mouth and he cuddles Akamaru close. The small, white dog is shivering against his master's body, looking completely spent.

Next is Shikamaru. He's on his knees, clutching his head, caught in a genjutsu. His face looks composed, but I can see the fear in his eyes. All the training in the world hadn't prepared him for this. That glint in his eyes proves that he knows this is the end, despite the smirk on his face.

The last screen holds the most heart wrenching scene. The sky is filled with black clouds and a harsh rain comes down, drumming on the rocky surface of the Valley of the End. The statues of the first Hokage and Madara Uchiha stand tall over looking two boys. Naruto lays on the ground, eyes closed, chest heaving under his blood soak clothing. Sasuke kneels over him, his dark hair shielding his face from view, but somehow I know he's the one who did this to Naruto.

With that knowledge comes the realization that this is the future and there's nothing I can do to prevent it.

Light streaming in through the window is what wakes me the next morning. I blink my eyes open, rubbing at them to clear away the slight haze. Ino, Suzume, Hikari, and Luna are all asleep still, half-hanging off my bed in a jumble of limbs. Ino's head is resting on my stomach and Suzume's got her legs slung across mine.

I shift slightly and attempt to untangle myself without waking them. After a minute of trying, and failing, I just stand up, not caring if they stayed asleep or not. I pad across the room to my bathroom and go through my morning routine quickly. Suzume's the only one up by the time I come back. "G'morning." She slurs, stretching her arms above her head. "What happened last night?"

"I think Kira and Kakashi knocked us out." I sigh and start preparing some tea. "Last thing I remember is seeing Kakashi's pissed off face."

"Lovely." She sighs and takes a seat at the kitchen table. I spoon some sugar into my tea and blow on it tentatively. "I can't believe knocking us out was they only thing they did."

"I bet training's going to be hell." I groan, offering her a cup of tea. She takes it and holds it between her hands. We sit in silence, taking occasional sips of our drinks. Neither of us feels obligated to speak and in truth it isn't awkward at all.

The peace is broken by a curt knock at my door. Who could that be? As I rise from the table, the anxiety from my dream starts to build. By the time I make it to the door, my hands are shaking uncontrollably. I wiped them off on my pants, hoping it'll help steady them, then reach for the door handle. My heart drops at the sight of a stoic chunin standing there.

"Tora Uchiha?" His voice is deep and emotionless. It's the kind of empty voice used to deliver bad news.

"Y-Yes?" I swallow, cursing myself for stuttering.

"Lady Tsunade has requested that you assemble a team with four other shinobi and report to her office immediately."

"M-May I ask as t-to why?"

"Sasuke Uchiha has gone rouge and your team is being sent after Shikamaru Nara's as a relief team."

Wow, that was a really rough patch of writers block. Sorry bout that. Let me know what you think.

~C.S.