A/N: Omg this is the last chapter before the epilogue! We've almost reached our first destination... after about a year and a half. xD

I'd like to thank everyone who has favourited, alerted and reviewed (100 reviews!) during the process. It really means a lot!

Thank you for sticking with me and enduring the long waits inbetween! ^^;

Now, enjoy this chapter~

She couldn't sleep for more than a few hours. When she woke up for maybe the tenth time tonight, it was 6 o'clock in the morning.

That's all the sleep I'll get tonight, I guess, she thought. A stinging pain in her chest kept waking her up. Today's the day…

She stared at the ceiling, and all she could see was images of Naruto and Kakashi, the latter of whom confessed his love for her last night. And although she wanted to be happy, the thought of being apart for an uncertain but definitely long amount of time made her feel lonely.

But what could I possibly accomplish by sulking about it?

She stood up. The baths should be open now. She might as well take a bath to help her relax, even if it was just for the moment. She enjoyed it yesterday evening, so why not now?

She stepped out of her room and locked the door behind her. She stopped briefly at Kakashi and Naruto's room's door. She was about to walk on towards the ladies bath, but a sound made her freeze. The door to the room opened and Kakashi stepped out. He was wearing a throwaway filtering mask that covered his nose and mouth.

"Good morning," he whispered, closing the door behind him.

"Good… morning," replied Kaede. She was distracted by his exposed chest. The inn's yukata looked good on him.

Kakashi chuckled. "Now who's the pervert here?" he asked.

Kaede looked back up to his face.

"Why are you wearing that mask?" she asked.

"I'm afraid I've caught a bit of a cold," replied Kakashi as he closed the door behind him.

"A cold? You?" asked Kaede.

"I may be a shinobi, but that doesn't make me immune to colds," he said. "Besides, I don't get sick that easily. My nose is clogged up, is all – nothing a nice hot bath can't fix."

"Are you sure you'll be ok?" asked Kaede.

Kakashi merely smiled at her, petting her head. "Thank you for worrying about me," he said.

Kaede blushed. She loved it when he did that.

"Before we move on to the baths, you might want to fix your yukata," he suddenly whispered.

Kaede was too absent-minded at the moment for his warning to get through right away. She only noticed what he meant when his hand left her head to briefly caress her half-exposed left breast. Even a part of her nipple was exposed!

She gasped and jumped back, quickly fixing her yukata while Kakashi just stood there and chuckled.

"That's not funny," said Kaede, feeling another blush rise again.

"Yes, it is," replied Kakashi. "I just couldn't resist. I'm sorry."

He took her hand and together they walked – slowly – towards the baths.

"No, you're not," said Kaede softly, a smile tugging at her lips.

"You're right, I'm not," replied Kakashi just as softly.

The morning and afternoon went by too quickly. The three of them left the village and started the last part of their journey to the Village of Colours.

Kakashi was wearing his regular mask again. It looked like his cold was gone. Although she had her doubts about whether he really had a cold, or if he just wanted to keep his face hidden from Naruto.

Kaede enjoyed hearing Naruto's stories of the things he'd seen and done so far in his short career as a shinobi. Much as he liked to brag about himself – it was amazing how great of a shinobi he already was. Then again, he did take after both their parents. A lot. More than she did.

Kakashi confirmed everything Naruto told her. Hearing all this almost made him sound like an even greater shinobi than their father. If that were even possible.

"… So how are you still a Genin?" asked Kaede.

"Hey! I've been gone for almost three years!" protested Naruto. "I wasn't there when the new Chuunin exams were held."

Kaede giggled. "Maybe you should leave it like this," she said.

"Huh?" Naruto stared at her with narrow eyes.

"You'd be the first Genin Hokage," explained Kaede with a smirk.

Naruto's jaw dropped. "Whoa," he gaped. "That's genius!"

"What? No, it isn't!" said Kaede quickly.

"The first Genin Hokage," mused Naruto.

"Naruto, I was kidding," said Kaede, bumping him lightly on his upper arm. "If Konoha had a Genin for a Hokage, the other countries could never take us seriously anymore."

"I don't know," interfered Kakashi. "Naruto has already earned respect from lots of people from several countries. We all know he's at a much higher level."

Naruto smirked widely at that remark.

"You'd better watch it, Kakashi," said Kaede. "He's going to act all high and mighty if you keep talking like that."

"I don't mind," said Naruto. "Go on, Kakashi-sensei."

"Then again, Kaede, there's still plenty of stuff Naruto is completely ignorant about," said Kakashi teasingly.

"I'm sure there is," said Kaede, playing along with him.

"Like what?" asked Naruto, scowling at Kakashi.

"Like the Feudal Lord's name," replied Kakashi dryly. "Or why winter's colder than summer."

"What, really?" asked Kaede, bursting out into laughter.

"Do you know that kind of stuff?" protested Naruto.

"Of course I do," said Kaede. "That's common knowledge!"

"Whatever," muttered Naruto. "It's not like I need to use that kind of stuff in combat."

"Well, knowing our Feudal Lord's name might be a good idea," retorted Kaede. "You know, in case some ninja assassins are targeting him."

"She's got a point there, Naruto," chuckled Kakashi.

"Hmpf." Naruto scowled again and crossed his arms.

Kaede exchanged amused looks with Kakashi. His smile never failed to make her heart beat faster.

I really don't want to say goodbye…

It had been snowing all day, but the further they went north, the stronger the wind became, even in de woods. Kaede was already wearing maybe a dozen layers of clothing, but she still seemed cold. She clearly wasn't used to this kind of weather, let alone the temperature. Kakashi and Naruto were just fine wearing their robes over their usual clothes and boots instead of their normal shoes.

Kakashi saw how Kaede was trying to move on beside him, but she was having trouble keeping up with them.

"Kaede," he said, catching her attention. Her eyes were narrowed against the blizzard, yet her beautiful ocean blue eyes still stood out against the white snow.

Kakashi held out an arm, offering to share his robe with her. Kaede smiled and walked against his side. Kakashi rested his upper arm on her shoulders, pressing her lightly against him as they walked on. Kaede held on to his arm with both hands.

"Better?" he asked.

"Much better," said Kaede. And indeed, she wasn't shaking as much anymore.

"Oi, you two, don't get too cosy," said Naruto, touching his tongue with his index finger and making gagging noises.

"We're not," replied Kaede with a smirk. "We're just sharing body warmth."

"Yeah, right," muttered Naruto. "Body warmth."

"Why don't you join in as well?" asked Kaede, her smirk widening. "Kakashi, you have a spare arm, right?"

Kakashi chuckled and played along. He held out his other arm the same way as he just did with Kaede.

Naruto made a face. "Err, no thanks," he said, averting his eyes. "I'm fine."

Both Kakashi and Kaede laughed. "Suit yourself," said Kakashi, and he dropped his free arm back to his side.

Kakashi looked ahead as the siblings continued the conversation. The wind was getting stronger, the trees were standing more apart and it was brighter ahead. This could only mean one thing.

"We're here," he said, interrupting the two.

Both Kaede and Naruto looked ahead. Kaede's pace slowed as soon as he said that, and he followed. Kakashi looked at her, but she was facing another way. From the corner of his eye, he saw Naruto looking at Kaede, suddenly looking sad.

Kakashi wasn't looking forward to it, either. But they had to keep moving; staying out in this blizzard wasn't going to do them much good.

"Come on," he said as he lightly nudged Kaede. "We shouldn't stay outside too long."

Kaede nodded, but still refused to face him. Her grip on his arm tightened.

Before they arrived at the village's gate, Kaede let go of Kakashi's arm and created some distance between them. They wouldn't want the shinobi from Konoha look unprofessional.

Two guards stood in front of the gate as they approached it.

"You must be the shinobi from Konoha," said one of the guards.

"Yes," replied Kakashi. "My apologies for our delay."

"We were informed about your… incident," said the guard in a faked polite tone. Apparently, people from Konoha were still looked down upon by the shinobi here. "Is that Uzumaki Kaede?" asked the guard.

"Yes," replied Kakashi.

"The three of you will be escorted to the clinic in the mountains," said the guard. "There you can drop her off. Then the two of you will be escorted to the village's inn where you can spend the night."

"Thank you," said Kakashi, making a polite bow. "But before we leave, may we please rest for a moment—"

"I'm sorry," said the other guard. "The villagers knew that you would be coming. And they have demanded that Uzumaki stay outside of the village. Our elder has agreed. Therefore, you are to wait out here while your escort is being arranged. I will inform them of your arrival right away." And with that, he ran into the village.

"What?" Naruto spoke up. "What the hell? Why can't we just go somewhere inside and rest for a bit?"

"Naruto," Kakashi interrupted.

"It is too dangerous for Uzumaki to be among our people," the guard elaborated. "Innocent people might get hurt, or worse."

"Nee-chan only did those things when she was in serious danger!" protested Naruto. "Stop acting like she's a murderer!"

"Naruto." This time it was Kaede who interrupted him.

Naruto turned to face her. Kakashi looked at her as well.

"I never intended to hurt anyone in my life," she started. "But I understand that the people who don't know the truth are afraid of me. I don't want them to be scared, or the authorities of this village to lose their credibility." She looked at Kakashi with an apologizing look. "I'm sorry you can't enter because of me."

Kakashi slowly shook his head. "We're fine, Kaede," he said calmly, giving her a smile. Kaede faintly smiled back.

And so they waited, without looking at one another, and without saying a word.

Four shinobi of the Village of Colours escorted them to the mountain area near the village. It was a long, slippery road and the cold was unbearable. They were handed out extra thick coats, but Kaede still seemed like she couldn't bear with it for much longer.

"Are we almost there yet?" asked Kakashi.

"Yes, please hang on for 5 more minutes," replied a shinobi with black, spiky hair.

"You hear that, Kaede?" asked Kakashi. The wind was so strong and loud that she might not have heard it. "Just 5 more minutes and we're there. Hang on just a little bit longer, ok?"

"G-Got it," replied Kaede.

One of the escorting shinobi, a blonde kunoichi, walked beside Kakashi.

"These mountains have a constant temperature of -40 degrees Celsius," she explained. "The patients of this clinic are given regular clothes because of the normal temperature inside the building. They cannot go outside without these special coats, which can only be given by one of the supervisors of the clinic. Going outside for more than 10 minutes without these coats would kill even a fully trained Jounin. That's how they keep their patients inside."

"I see," said Kakashi. "But what if a… patient… manages to get a coat by using violence?"

"This clinic is supervised by some of the most talented shinobi of the country," replied the kunoichi. "They'd have to be killed before anyone other than them can get their hands on the coats. And if one of them got killed, which has never happened before, then the others would know and take the killer down. For good, if necessary."

Kakashi felt a strong twist in his chest.

"I do not believe that Uzumaki-san will have any trouble here," continued the kunoichi, looking at Kakashi. "All the patients get a chakra-blocking seal on them that can only be released by the supervisors. It won't endanger their chakra system; it just makes it impossible for the chakra to flow outside of the body. Uzumaki-san had committed the murders by a purely chakra-based attack. Without it, she should be harmless. No offense intended, of course, Uzumaki-san."

"No, n-none taken," replied Kaede quickly.

"We're here," said the shinobi with the spiky hair.

The building was huge; it looked like a giant mansion. Not at all like what Kakashi had pictured a mental clinic to look like.

Kakashi glanced over at Kaede, who looked anxious.

"Come on," he said with a stinging pain in his chest, "let's get you out of the cold."

"M-hm." Kaede obediently moved forward, her eyes aimed to the ground.

The guards outside the entrance opened the large door, and closed it as soon as they were inside.

They were standing in a huge foyer, where several people who were dressed the same were walking and standing and talking with each other. They all wore dull grey training suit-like clothing.

"Uzumaki-san, welcome," said a friendly woman, approaching them.

Kaede looked at her and nervously made a polite bow. "Th-thank you," she said.

"You don't need to be nervous," said the woman with an obviously fake wide smile. "I'm sure you will get along with everybody in no time."

Kaede blinked, arching an eyebrow.

Kakashi frowned. That's just annoying, he thought. Don't treat her like she's stupid.

"May we speak to your director?" asked Kakashi. "I've been asked to deliver him some documents."

"Of course, sir," replied the woman with that same exaggerated friendliness. "He's been expecting you. Right this way."

The shinobi who had escorted them waited by the entrance. They did not intend to stay any longer than necessary, that was for sure.

"Here we are," said the woman.

"Naruto, you and Kaede stay out here," instructed Kakashi. He saw that Kaede was going to protest, but she held her tongue anyways and nodded. "I'll be right back," he assured her. Kaede smiled faintly at him before Kakashi turned around and entered the office.

Let's get this over with, he thought. Hopefully they'll give us a chance to say goodbye to her…

After about half an hour, Kakashi finally got out of the room, followed by the director of the institute. He was a balding, chubby man, and he looked very friendly.

"Uzumaki-san," was the first thing he said when he and Kakashi approached Naruto and Kaede. Both Naruto and Kaede turned to face him. Kaede made a bow.

"I finally get to meet you," said the man. "I heard all about the cause of your little… delay. How are you doing?"

"… Fine, sir," replied Kaede, avoiding eye contact with him while she said that.

The man was silent for a moment. Kaede could feel him look at her.

"Well, you're safe here," he said finally. "My name is Ueno Kenji. I'm the director of this institute."

"P-pleased to meet you," said Kaede, making another polite bow.

"You don't have to be nervous," said Ueno with a smile. "I'm sure we can help you." He turned towards a nurse who passed them. "Hana-chan."

Hana stopped immediately. "Sensei?" she asked with a smile.

"Show Uzumaki-san to her room, please," said Ueno.

"Of course, sir," she said.

"Sensei," said Kakashi quickly. "Forgive me. May we please have a moment to say goodbye to Kae… to Uzumaki? Naruto here is her brother."

"Oh, right, of course," said Ueno with a smile. "We will give you some space."

As he and Hana took some distance, Kaede felt more and more tense with anxiety for this moment. But she couldn't let Naruto and Kakashi know. It would only make this goodbye even harder.

"Nee-chan," started Naruto. "I've been living alone all my life before I finally made some friends. When I became friends with Sasuke, Sakura-chan, Kakashi-sensei, Iruka-sensei… I immediately started to see them as the family I never had. And… a few months ago, I met you… And… I think I felt that connection… that bond between us, right from the start. And as I got to know you… and you got to know me… I actually learned what it's like to have a real family. To share a bond by blood. I… don't really know how to explain it—"

Kaede couldn't hold back any longer and embraced him in a tight hug. Tears were streaming down her face. Naruto froze for a moment but then returned the hug.

"Thank you for teaching me what it's like to have a family," he said softly.

"No, thank you, Naruto," sobbed Kaede. "For being my family."

They let go of each other, and Kaede found out that Naruto was softly crying as well. She smiled at him and wiped a tear away from his cheek.

"Don't do anything stupid while I'm gone, ok?" she asked.

Naruto laughed between sobs. "I won't make any promises," he said. "But I'll be here to pick you up as soon as you can come home."

Kaede gave him another tearful smile before she turned her head to look at Kakashi, whose face was unreadable at the moment.

"I'll… join that old man and the nurse right over there, ok?" said Naruto, grinning as he wiped his tears away with his sleeve.

Before Kaede could say anything, he was already walking away. She could see him distracting Ueno and Hana, making them look another way.

He's so thoughtful, mused Kaede.

"How're you feeling?" asked Kakashi.

Kaede looked into his eye, still trying to read his face.

"I'm… ok," she answered. "I'm going to make the most of it."

Kakashi's eye narrowed slightly. It looked like he was trying to read her, as well.

"Will you… keep an eye on Naruto for me?" asked Kaede. "He's so much like our mother; I'm sure he has a knack for getting into trouble. I know you two are shinobi and you have to protect the village, but please be careful. I can only take so much—"

Suddenly she found herself wrapped in a tight embrace. Her head was pressed against his chest and she could hear his heartbeat. It was loud and fast; just like her own heartbeat.

"I promise we'll both be here to take you home," he said softly, his chest rumbling against her ear with every syllable. "No matter what, we will be together again."

Kaede felt more tears roll down her cheeks, soaking Kakashi's chest as well. But just this once, she didn't care. She snuggled her face against him and cried softly.

"And you need to promise me you'll hang in there," continued Kakashi. "We'll be here for you, so do your best."

"I, I promise," sobbed Kaede.

Kakashi let go of her, only to place a finger underneath her chin. He slightly lifted her face and planted a masked kiss on her lips. It was not the same with his mask on, but then again, doing this with the mask on alone was risky enough here.

He slowly broke the kiss and cupped her cheek one more time. Kaede leaned lightly into his hand and felt her sadness fade just a little.

"I love you," whispered Kakashi.

Hearing him say this – for the second time now – still made Kaede feel as though the butterflies in her stomach were living up.

"I love you too," she whispered back.

And reluctantly, she followed his most likely equally reluctant lead back to Naruto and the other two people.

This hurt so much more than any battle Kakashi had ever done in his life. Saying goodbye again… This time, to his only living childhood friend who turned to be the love of his life... He watched as she forced a smile to him and Naruto as she followed the nurse to her room. He saw that she was holding back tears – she would probably not allow herself to cry before she was alone.

Naruto, however, was sobbing ungraciously next to him in front of the director.

"Sensei," said Kakashi. "Is it possible for us to exchange letters with Uzumaki every once in a while?"

"'Us', you say?" asked the director with a smile.

"She is Naruto's sister, but also a close friend of mine," admitted Kakashi. A normal friendship between him and Kaede would not be frowned upon.

"I see," said the director more seriously. "Of course you are allowed to do so. However, you will have to wait for a notice from us before you do. Uzumaki will need to focus on her therapy here, without any distractions. And the first steps in curing her are crucial."

"I understand," replied Kakashi. "Thank you."

"Now, I believe your escort is awaiting," said the director. "Have a safe journey back."

"Thank you." Kakashi made a polite bow.

"Take good care of my sister," sobbed Naruto.

"Of course," said the director. "She is in the best hands here."

Naruto nodded in response.

"Please excuse us," said Kakashi, and with that, he and Naruto headed towards their escort, preparing themselves for a long and heavy trip home.

A/N: Stay tuned for the epilogue! Thanks again for sticking with me 'till the end! :D