Kakashi took in a deep breath. Judging by the amount of chakra that she had released, he guessed that this was some kind of consequences of having close-to-none chakra. He tried hard to analyze the situation. From the conversation between Orochimaru and Rena, it was obvious that… that she wasn't human. She was…. Suzaku.

He remembered it from his study in history. Suzaku was one of the great demon gods that was known to be the only living one. But since the goddess hasn't shown herself for so many years, she slowly became forgotten, and the ancient history gradually degraded to mere legends. And here he was, witnessing the very existence of the goddess.

Kakashi was torned. He didn't know what to do. He could definitely tell that Rena, or Suzaku or whatever, didn't want anyone to know about her true identity. She didn't even know that Kakashi had figured out! Then who was he to tell everyone in Konoha? He didn't have the right to do that without Rena's consent. But he couldn't leave her like this! Someone would find her eventually, and begin to question how she was suddenly nine-year-old looking rather than twenty. Things could get complicated if he just left her there. Making a split second decision, Kakashi gently picked up Rena.

"What do you mean, you don't know anything?!" Tsunade slammed her fist on the desk. "Don't fool with me, Kakashi. I felt it. No, I even saw it! That amount of chakra being released isn't normal. And you were the only who was around that area and you're telling me you don't know anything? And," Tsunade glared at the copy-nin. "Why were you late for the report? You know you should have been here as soon as the invasion was over. What took you so long?"

Kakashi could withstand the penetrating glare of Hokage. After all, he was one of the strongest ninja in Konoha and a former member of ANBU. Not getting intimidated by an enemy (or Hokage, in this case) was nothing new or hard for Kakashi. Realizing that intimidation wasn't working, Tsunade silently growled. Even though Kakashi was the only one who wasn't fighting with the enemy at that time, she knew that it was possible for Kakashi to not know what exactly had happened in the forest. The strange yet beautiful song, then enemy's sudden death, and Kakashi's fishy-ness. Tsunade rubbed her temple. She could deal with Kakashi later. For now, she had to deal with other stuff, including the unexpected death of Orochimaru.

She knew something unnatural happened in the forest. And she knew Kakashi knew what happened and he was hiding it from her for some reason. And the absence of Rena gave her a bad feeling as well. Kakashi only reported that he was searching the forest for Rena when he heard the song. Immediately, he felt somewhat drowsy, for the lack of better word, and he didn't snap out of it until he saw a huge burst of chakra in the middle of forest. When he got there, he found other shinobis from Konoha and ANBU as well.

Of course, the story was fraud, and Tsunade knew it. According to the reports of other shinobis, Kakashi showed up a lot later. If he really did head to the source of immense chakra like he said he did, then he should have been there in no more than 3 minutes. Instead, he showed well after about 15 minutes after the incident. What was he doing during that time lap? Well, she couldn't make Kakashi speak so she decided to wait. One day, he will run out of lies and have no choice but to tell the truth. All she had to do was just be patient and wait.

Closing the front door, Kakashi sighed deeply. That was one of the phoniest lies he has ever made and he knew it. He could also tell that Tsunade saw it right through (It would be surprising if anyone didn't). But he had no choice. He still didn't know what to do with the truth that he had found out. He decided to not tell anyone, even Hokage, until Rena regained consciousness so that they can discuss the matter together.

When he entered his room, he was surprised to find Rena awake. She was sitting in the bed, blankets pulled up to her chin. She looked fine except….. frightened? Was that fear in her eyes?

"Wh…. Where am I?" Rena asked.

Kakashi just smiled. Of course. She's never been here before! No wonder she doesn't know where she is. But her next question left Kakashi dumbfounded for a long time.

"And…. And who are you?"

Unable to answer the question, Kakashi just gaped at her. Amnesia? She didn't remember who he was? Trying to maintain his calm, he introduced himself. Then Rena looked worried due to Kakashi's expression.

"You… you seem to know who I am…… Can you explain me who I was? I… I can't remember anything about myself."

Kakashi buried his face in one hand. The worst scenario, which he didn't even think about, was coming alive. When he needed her advice the most, she woke up with blank head! What the heck was he supposed to do now?!

Rena didn't seem to know what she was supposed to do. She could figure out that this man was really despaired that she couldn't even remember her name. But there was no choice but to figure out one by one.

Kakashi, finally able to calm down, introduced himself and sat on the bed. "You are Mizuho Rena and…." He stopped. Did he have to tell that she was also Suzaku? He decided against it. She will figure out someday and he didn't want to tell her until then. "And… you were my partner for missions."

"What? How? I'm only nine years old!"

Kakashi, for another time, couldn't believe what he was hearing. So not only she lost entire memory, but she also believed that she was nine?! This was getting more ridiculous.

"Trust me, it will make sense once you remember."

Secretly, Kakashi hoped that it would make sense to her because it didn't to him.

"Ena?"

"No, Rena. Mizuho Rena."

"But I like Ena better!" Rena pouted. As frustrating as it was to teach her own name, Kakashi couldn't help smiling at her cuteness. Even though she was the same Rena, he couldn't possibly think that Rena that he used to know was actually like this. Maybe she was right. She was a different individual, he could say. Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea to name her Ena. But he quickly crossed that out of his mind. No matter how weird it was, this was Rena and he was going to stick with it.

"And second rule, you can't go outside."

Rena gaped at him open-mouted. "No outside? Why?!"

Kakashi sighed. He's… never been good with kids. He never had nephews or nieces or cousins when he was little. His father and mother were both only child. So he had no experience dealing with kids and he had to say it was more difficult than he imagined.

"Rena, there are a lot of people looking for you out there. If.. If you get caught, these scary looking people will ask you lots of questions that you will have to answer. And.. And I really don't want you to be in that situation. I know it's hard to understand, but you will get it later."

Sadly, Rena nodded her head. Kakashi kindly put his hand on her head. It must be hard for her, he thought. She just woke up without any memory of herself or anything and now she was stuck here with him for no reason, and she was just banned to go out of this house.

Looking at his face, Rena slowly smiled. "You're really nice." She blurted out.

Kakashi was surprised at her remark. Was he nice? He really didn't know. He tried to be civil to others to avoid conflicts, but he never considered himself nice. But he was glad that someone thought that he was. Coming from ANBU and everything, he never had close friends. Until Iruka and Rena came along, that is.

Rena spun around, swishing her beautiful, silver hair. He couldn't help thinking how brilliant and mesmerizing it was. Sure, his hair was technically silver too, but her hair was closer to white than gray like his. In the night, it reminded him moonlight.

"But I really wanted to go see this town…." She murmured.

Kakashi knew what she meant. If she lost her memory of herself, that meant she didn't remember anything about Konoha either. The only place she knew so far was this house and getting out of it unnoticed was nearly impossible unless…..

"Hey." Rena's amber eyes fixed on Kakashi as he called. He slowly licked his lips. Was he sure about this? If they got caught, things could get messy. But oh well, he could break some rules for now.

"I think I have an idea."

"All right. Now, remember you have to act accordingly, OK?"

Rena eagerly nodded her head, eyes full of excitement. It was almost New Years, so Konoha streets were already full of decoration and the spirit of New Years. Also, just getting their village saved sure boosted people's spirits. Excited, Rena kept looking around different direction, wishing that she had about eight eyes. Kakashi, on the other hand, just wished that no one he knew would….

"Eh? Kakashi sensei?" Kakashi somewhat froze at the familiar voice. Out of all the people, he had to see them?! He turned around to find Naruto and Sakura.

"Hi, how are you doing? It sure is nice out here now, isn't it?" Kakashi greeted them rather nervously.

"Kakashi-sensei," said Sakura, pointing at Rena. Kakashi just knew that Sakura would notice in no time.

"I didn't know you had a cat."

"Ah, I found it at my door after today's.. mission. I was too tired at that time so I let her in. I'm trying to find her owner right now."

"Aw, she's so cute." Sakura extended her hand and began to pat her. Rena, thank god, mewed and growled affectionately just like a cat. Maybe a bit too much like a cat. "I've never seen a silver cat around here though."

Kakashi's heart dropped. This was the best that Rena could do. It took about half an hour for her to even transform into a decent looking cat. But she had silver fur and golden eyes. He just hoped that no one would find it too weird.

Kakashi just shrugged. "I don't know. I haven't either, but I'm sure I will be find the owner."

"Heh, she is really cute," said Naruto, continuing to pat Rena. Naruto and Rena stared at each other for a long time. Fearing that Naruto might notice her (even though there was no way), Kakashi quickly pulled away. Forgetting her act, Rena growled rather annoyingly.

"Well, have fun. I will go look around the owner," said Kakashi, waving his hand.

Actually, transforming Rena into a cat turned out to be a pretty good idea. Rena didn't seem to mind that she didn't have to walk (because she was in Kakashi's arms). Whenever she wanted something, either food or toys, she gently bit Kakashi's finger to get his attention. Whenever he looked down, he found Rena giving all excited 'I-Want-That-Thing' look. Kakashi, trying to keep himself from laughing, gladly bought whatever she wanted.

When they got home, Kakashi carefully let her on the floor. "Now you can undo your transform." Rena seemed somewhat nervous. Getting into a cat took about half an hour, and she had no idea how to get back. She closed her eyes and wished for the best.

"Eh?" Rena stared at Kakashi, confused. Her transformation was obviously semi-undone. Her tail and ears were still there. Her eyes still looked like cats' and she couldn't stand up and had to stay all four like a cat. Kakashi sighed as Rena used back of her hand to scratch her face.

It took nearly another half an hour to get most of her transformation undone. Her ears still looked like cats, but they were too tired and hungry to care. Kakashi opened all the food that he bought. Squealing with joy, Rena began to dig in. Her cat ears twitched happily.

"You sure did seem to like Naruto a lot," said Kakashi with a hint of tease.

"Nawuro?" repeated Rena with mouthful of food.

"You know, the blond kid that we met there."

Snapping out of her happiness, she quickly finished the food in her mouth. "I, I don't know why but I think I saw him before. Do I know him?"

"Naruto? Yes, you, Naruto and Sakura (she was the one with Naruto) were in the same team."

"Really?"

Kakashi nodded. Rena continued to chug down her food. "I don't know. I just felt like I knew him so well. More than friends, that is." She just shrugged. "I guess I will remember soon enough."

Feeling full and content, both of them began to feel sleepy. There was one bed, since Kakashi lived alone. And there was no way either of them sleep on the couch since it was freezing and he didn't have a spare blanket.

Rather awkwardly, both Rena and Kakashi got on bed. But as they got closer, it turned out to be not as half bad as they expected. Rena immediately fell asleep. Kakashi, looking down at the young girl sleeping at his side, couldn't help thinking that his life would be pretty interesting with her.