I know you've waited long but life's keeping me busy and I had a huge, HUGE Writer's block! I couldn't think of what to do after Chapter 24. But hopefully this will suffice!

Enjoy!

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"What am I going to do?", a young woman cried out, almost desperately. The mistletoe even happened a few days ago and she's hanging out with Kakashi again. But some things have complicated her interaction with Kakashi.

Aya was lying on her bed fully-clothed. Her hair was down and it spread over the pillow that her head was resting on. Another pillow was on top of her head though. She was covering her head in a vain attempt to hide.

Rolling to her side, she remembered the feeling of something warm on her lips…. She knew what it was now and who it was too and she felt chills running down her spine and goose-bumps started forming around her arms. Aya involuntarily blushed when she remembered the man who had given her, her first real kiss in a long time… and she felt happy.

But what will happen after this event?

Will Kakashi and Aya just become the next big couple in Konoha? That would be too good to be true. Aya's a realist… of course she does let her imagination run wild and rampant but she has to face the facts. Nothing ever blooms in just one night… Aya never did believe in Love at First Sight… She wants things to go slowly and let love develop between two people… What the heck? She's thinking as if they were already a couple… Well… there've been moments… She thinks… Maybe their love and fondness of each other grew and she didn't know it...

"I hate love… it's too confusing!", she muttered.

Well there're two things that she's pretty sure of right now:

A.) She's confused.

B.) She's so confused that she doesn't know what to do right now.

Well, one thing's for sure, Aya won't get anything done if she's going to stay here and mope in her bed. Sighing, she rose up and went to her vanity desk to comb her hair into a clean and high ponytail. She took her Forehead protector and tied it around her waist.

"I'm not going to stay here… even if I want to... There are missions to be done since Christmas has ended.", she said to herself while sliding her foot into her sandal. She then left her home and headed off to the Hokage's office. Unfortunately, Kakashi was also going to the same direction in order to get the details for his mission also.

She dashed to the nearest door when she saw him, walking causally towards her. He was reading his book so there's a good chance that he had not seen her. Aya pressed her ear to the door of the room that she was hiding. She heard his footsteps getting louder and then softer. Aya felt her heart slow down when she did. He was now going somewhere else. She finally took a gulp of air when she calmed down. She forgot to breathe when she heard him. Bang!

Aya was thrown butt first on the floor. She cursed silently while rubbing her bottom to ease the pain a bit. She then heard a man's concerned voice, asking her if she was alright. Looking up, she gasped. She did not expect Kakashi to be standing in front of her with his hand holding on to the doorknob.

"Aya? Are you okay?", he asked her, his voice obviously shocked.

"Yes, I'm fine. Just… startled.", she answered while standing up. She didn't know what to say to him after that.

"What are you doing here?", he asked.

"I just had something to do here.", she answered him, shocked that she was able to make her voice sound calm but her hands were already shaking.

"You have something to do here? In the men's bathroom?"

Aya felt her heart drop lower than her stomach did. She's inside the men's bathroom. She has to think up an excuse!

"Uh… Oops…. I guess that I… needed to go so badly that I ignored the signs! Hehe…", she uttered, scratching and smiling at her blunder.

"Well.. just remember to look after this.", he said as his eyes giving a little twinkle signaling that he was laughing in the inside.

"Right.. Umm… Bye…", she mumbled and went dashing towards the Hokage's office. She did not want to stay in this place a moment longer. She stopped when she did get to the door. Aya raised her arms and knocked on the hard wood. She heard a sound that signaled that she can come inside. She twisted the knob and came in.

"Hokage-sama, what are my missions?", she asked.

"Aya! Ah, will tell you everything", Tsunade said and handed her a scroll which Aya took and unrolled.

"I would have wanted to tell you everything but there are many ninjas who have missions that I need to give out. You best prepare for this one."

She skimmed through the sentences and rolled back the scroll when she finished. Aya gave a bow to Tsunade and left in a cloud of smoke to prepare for her mission. This mission is going to be rather difficult. She was to escort a family of three to Konoha. Problem was, they were to wait at the border of the Sound country and she was to go there and back to Konoha with them. They are to stay alive since they're probably the only ones left in their clan and the path to Konoha from Sound is a dangerous one. Typical ninja path…

Well, there's nothing she can do about it. Ninjas must do what they have to do in order to protect their countries and villages. Aya shrugged as she placed her kunais neatly into her bag pocket. She'll be ready by dusk but she'll leave in the morning where there are less attackers and bandits.

- o – o – o – o – o – o – o – o – o – o – o – o -

Before the sun had completely come out of its hiding place, Aya was already standing in front of the Giant Gates of Konoha. She was ready for her mission. The gates were going to be opened soon and she was ready to get out of Konoha in order to avoid Kakashi, not that she didn't want to hang out with him like always. But ever since he kissed her during that Christmas night… well, everything changed. She didn't know how to act around him anymore! She's nervous all the time whenever he's there at her side!

Aya shook her head vigorously. It is not the time to think of Kakashi and of their relation to each other. It is the time to become a shinobi. Her feeling must not get in the way or else another's life might end.

The huge doors swung open and now it was her time to go. She took a step forward and started formulating plans in her head.

Good-bye Konoha… There might be a new addiction to its family soon…

- o – o – o – o – o – o – o – o – o – o – o – o -

Phew… I finally found a suitable continuation for this chapter! I know you've guys have been waiting for a long time and for that I'm very sorry. There's this thing that's been bothering me, see? I call it "Real Life" and it's been bugging me since this is my last year in high school. Life's been hard on all of us so I'm sorry. I hope that I'll be able to update soon. See you guys next time.

Thanks to those who will review, you guys have been a great pick-me-up for this story. So this chapter goes to you all. Happy Halloween!