"If you work hard, even on days when there's no one to fight, you'll be better prepared for the days when there is someone to fight! Today was a bad day… no use beating yourself up about it, now. So all you can do is start preparing for the next one."—Might Guy

Kanata's Bad Day Part I/Enter the Shark and the Uchiha

Everyone in the village was hard at work rebuilding everything that was destroyed during the Leaf's invasion by Orochimaru and the Sand Village. We had buildings reduced to rubble, hundreds of people injured, and a dead Hokage. Of course, homes and shops were easy to fix, because they were just things. And thanks to our healers, many of the wounded would probably be back on their feet in no time. But the Hokage's death could not be undone, and although the people in general were taking it all quite well, the reality was that we were in a state of crisis.

Who would lead us? The elders?

I shivered at the very thought. The only reason I had been safe from those corrupted bastards was because of Lord Hokage. One could only hope that I was a tiny matter in comparison to the rest of this madness. But there was a certain elder I feared above the others, knowing well that he probably was not my biggest fan in the Leaf Village. Considering that I had always branded him as the type to hold grudges, I was watching my back.

There was still information about my past that only the Hokage had known.

For the sake of myself, as for that of everyone else, I couldn't risk anyone else finding out about it. And I had promised Lord Hokage. I'd promised him that I wouldn't tell anyone, not even Kakashi about it. Therefore, unless someone's life depended on it, I was keeping my mouth shut for the time being.

During the next few days, I didn't see much of Kakashi, as he was lending his own skills to other efforts. But I felt as though, since the Hokage's funeral, that we had grown a lot closer and were really starting to create a friendship. It seemed that we were finally taking steps in the right direction, despite the fact that I had only truly told him half the story. A part of me wanted to give in and tell him every last detail, but the Hokage's words had been absolute, as had mine. And even if Kakashi realized that there was more I wasn't telling him (no doubt he did as perceptive as he was), I had a feeling that he wouldn't pressure me on it. As opposed to being a matter between us and our superiors, everything I chose to share with him was a matter between the two of us and the two of us alone. If he knew that I had more to tell him, he would let me come to it on my own time. But… although I respected it, I feared his potential reaction upon finding out the whole truth. And the last thing I wanted was for him to find out the wrong way.

But I had to let it go for now. I had more important matters to worry about.

I noticed that, with so many injured Shinobi in the hospital, the medical staff was struggling to keep up. So, I did my part by offering my services to them after my own wounds had healed and my chakra was replenished. Generally, I disliked working in the hospital, but under such dire conditions, I was willing to make an exception. I certainly didn't have the same medical training that most of the doctors and nurses had, but at the very least I was able to lend them my Deep Cooling Jutsu and my first aid skills. I think they were willing to take just about whatever help they could get at that point.

But otherwise, the village was fairly quiet and most of the people went about their usual business. And after a very long and exhausting morning shift at the hospital, I walked home with a slouch and a drag in my step. Rarely ever did I use Deep Cooling so much over the course of such a short period of time. It wasn't even noon yet, and I was already looking forward to going to bed tonight.

In fact, I was so out of it that, as I rounded a corner, I failed to notice Kakashi walking in the opposite direction. He was in another world altogether, and didn't look up or realize my existence until my face was pressed into the cover of his book. Stupid Make Out Paradise… Surprised, Kakashi lifted the book away and smiled down at me casually.

"Oh, hey," he said. "I didn't see you there."

"Neither did I," I replied, stepping back so that I could look at him more directly. I frowned, puzzled by his presence here when I expected him to be busy helping replace damaged property or something. "Shouldn't you be somewhere else?" I asked. "Like helping rebuild the village?"

"Well… something important… came up," he told me, looking down as if he had something pressing on his mind. But then he eyed me curiously and cocked his head. "Are you feeling okay?"

I nodded, blinking rapidly. "Yeah, I'm fine—just tired. Deep Cooling uses a lot of chakra."

"Seems like you've been running yourself ragged for the medics these last few days," he murmured thoughtfully. "Maybe you should take some time to relax."

I shook my head. "I just need a short break. I'll be fine. I can't rest too much while the Leaf Village is in this state. The only way that we can fix this is if everyone works together."

He leaned forward and raised an eyebrow. "But you can't work if you're tired enough to pass out in the street. Go home and sleep as much as you need to. Your skills will be most useful if you're fully alert, anyway. Go on. The medics can handle it on their own, at least for the rest of the day."

"Well…" I said reluctantly. "You're right, but…"

"Of course I'm right," he said confidently. Then, reaching around and placing a hand on the small of my back, he pushed me toward the direction of my house. "Now go home and sleep for a while. The village will still be here when you wake up."

I scoffed. "You say that like it's a joke."

"Just go," he said, and without another word, he sprang away, full ninja style as opposed to his usual lazy exits.

Rolling my eyes, I headed back to my grandmother's house. As I slipped my shoes off and went inside, I made a mental note that I wouldn't sleep for more than a few hours. Despite what Kakashi said, I still wanted to do everything I could to help this village recover. I guess it was also my way of repaying this place for all the trouble I caused. I would just give myself some time to refresh, and then it was back to work.

But as my head hit my pillow, the only thing on my mind was the odd feeling that Kakashi hadn't quite been acting like his normal self when we last met.

When I woke up, I jolted into a sitting position and looked at the clock. 2:34. I'd slept for over three hours.

Rubbing my eyes sleepily, I forced myself out of bed. It had been a peaceful nap, and I would have gladly stayed in bed for the rest of the day, but I'd already slept for too long, and there was still so much to be done. Either I had to head back to the hospital right away, or at the very least find someone else in need of assistance, whatever type of assistance that might be.

Since I had fallen asleep in my clothes, I felt gross upon getting out of bed and decided to slip on a different outfit. And after eating a quick snack, I made my way out the door.

It really was a lovely day; the sun was so nice and warm on my arms, and there was a slight breeze with hardly a cloud in the sky. If only our village hadn't been in such a sorry state of appearance, it would have been a wonderful lazy day for me.

As I walked slowly but purposefully along the dirt road, I felt my breath quicken as a rush of air whooshed past me at incredible speed. Amazed, I spun around, and saw the back of a young boy running in the opposite direction I had been walking. But with his jet black hair and blue shirt clearly visible, I recognized the boy as Kakashi's grumpiest pupil, Sasuke.

What in the world…?

Wondering why Sasuke could have been in such a hurry, I forgot about everything else, started in his direction, and broke into a run after him.

"Sasuke!" I called. "Where are you going?"

Sasuke either didn't hear me, or was in such a hurry that he didn't care enough to stop. But the only reason I knew for a Shinobi to feel the need to run that fast was if he was running for his life, or if he was chasing someone else. And if Sasuke was in some kind of trouble, I had to figure out what was going on immediately.

I took off full speed after the incredibly quick and agile Genin. And I knew right away that I was going to struggle to keep up with him, as he was remarkably fast for his age, and even more so since he had begun training on the Chidori with Kakashi. I, whose strength did not necessarily lie in her speed, was barely able to keep eyes on him. And even as I called out to him repeatedly, he neglected to slow his pace in the slightest.

When our chase continued on past the village gates, my suspicion grew. Where in the world did this kid think he was going?

"Sasuke!" I yelled, almost breathlessly. "Stop and tell me where you're going! You can't just…"

But as we entered the thickness of the forest surrounding the village and started springing from branch to branch as opposed to running on the ground, it became increasingly difficult for me to follow him. Growling in frustration from fatigue after exerting my body so much all at once, my pace slowed, and I lost sight of him.

Briefly coming to a stop, I pressed my fist against a tree trunk.

Thoughts of Orochimaru plagued my mind. Had Sasuke given in to the temptation and decided to follow Orochimaru, after all? But there had been no warning. That couldn't have been the case. There had to be some other explanation. But what?

Wait… wasn't there another town in this direction? Normally, no one in the Leaf Village took this route unless they were headed there.

But what reason could he have for going this way?

There was only one way to find out. I had to go to that town and just hope that I would find Sasuke there. Just hope that he would be all right.

So, after taking a quick breather, I got up and started making my way toward the closest small town. And for once, I felt like it was a good thing that I had visited so many places in my lifetime and knew my geography.

I entered the town, hoping that I wouldn't appear too urgent or suspicious, and began asking around. When I asked about a twelve-year-old boy about this tall with black hair, the first few people I talked to had no idea who I was going on about. However, eventually I got lucky.

"Yeah, I saw him, just a little bit ago, actually. I think he was looking for some other kid and a big, white haired guy."

A kid and a white-haired guy…?

That sounded a lot like Naruto and Jiraiya. So they were here, too?

This was exactly why I shouldn't have gone home.

"Do you know where this kid and white haired guy might be?" I asked, hoping I sounded somewhat polite.

The man shrugged. "I would guess they're at one of the hotels. There are a few in town, so I'm not sure which one it would be."

After thanking the man graciously, I took off through town, stopping in every hotel I passed and asking if anyone had seen the people I was looking for. Only, none of them seemed to be the right place. I was starting to think that perhaps the man I'd spoken with had been wrong… until I heard a huge explosion somewhere in the distance.

People around me immediately started panicking, and I took off in the direction from which I'd heard the noise. By the sound of it, I gauged that it must have been at least a few blocks away, but I had to get there as soon as I could. I felt it in my gut; it must have had something to do with Sasuke or Naruto… and if anything were to happen to them… I didn't even want to consider it. Several minutes passed in between the time I'd heard the explosion to the moment I actually reached the building. Even jumping from rooftop to rooftop, it still took me more time than I would have liked.

But it was unmistakable. Once it was in view, I knew right away that I had the right building. The window that I saw while standing on one of the town's rooftops was completely sealed over by some kind of pink substance. I realized almost immediately that it had to been Jiraiya's doing. He must have had someone trapped inside his Toad Mouth Bind Jutsu… which meant that he was in the middle of some sort of battle.

Unfortunately for me, there was nothing that I could do as long as I was out here and they were inside. No jutsu I knew of could break through the stomach of the toad.

Except one, apparently.

My heart skipped a beat when another explosion occurred before my eyes. The pink fleshy substance over the window dissolved as a volume of black flames enveloped it; the window glass shattered. As the flames dispersed, two men ejected themselves from the building, soaring across the sky like majestic wild beasts.

I began to back away as soon as I realized who these men were. It didn't occur to me to question why they were here, or how… all that mattered was that they were in plain sight, and that I wanted to run as far away from them as possible.

One of them was a former Shinobi of the Leaf Village itself, with dark hair and blazing Sharingan eyes that had far more power than those of Sasuke, or even Kakashi, proven to me just a moment ago as he created the destructive black flames of Amaterasu. It was unmistakably the infamous Itachi Uchiha. The other was an abnormally tall man with pale blue skin and the face of a shark, with a headband that identified him as a former member of the Hidden Mist.

I didn't recognize the second man I spotted. But I immediately recognized the cloaks they wore. The long, black garment with a single red cloud stamped on the middle was an obvious symbol of a dangerous group: The Akatsuki.

Frozen in place by shock, I watched the two highly dangerous rogue Shinobi break through Jiraiya's jutsu with Amaterasu and make their smooth escape from the hotel building.

Somehow, I had to will my legs to move. If I didn't take action this very second, I would be directly within their line of sight. And if they spotted me, I was done for.

Cursing in frustration at my uncooperative lower limbs, I made a split second decision. I knew that it would be faster to slide down than to try to run. So I allowed my knees to give out, and I skidded off the slanted rooftop, landing on the hard ground and just barely catching myself with my feet. Safely within the shadows of the surrounding buildings, I peered around the nearest wall and glanced at the two Akatsuki members.

Why in the world are they here?

Now it made sense why Sasuke had been in such a rush, if he knew that Itachi was nearby. The question was, how did he find out? And what did Itachi and this other Akatsuki want?

My mind shifted to Jiraiya and Naruto. Itachi and Shark-face had appeared in this town for a reason, and somehow they happened to end up at the same place as those two. Coincidence?

Probably not.

Luckily, it seemed that despite whatever it was they were after, Jiraiya had already driven them away for the time being. But I was at a serious disadvantage as long as Shark-face and Itachi were around, for, Itachi was the freaking scariest ninja I'd ever met, other than probably Orochimaru. I wasn't sure about the other guy, but if I was caught by that Uchiha it would all be over.

Once I was out of their range, I emerged from behind the building and climbed up the wall of the hotel, into the hole that Shark-face and Itachi had created. By now, the Toad Mouth Bind had receded, and all I saw when I peered through the hole were my three friends.

"Master Jiraiya!" I called, running toward them.

Jiraiya turned in surprise. "Kanata? What in the world are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same question," I said, coming to a stop in front of Naruto. And before the young boy had a chance to say a word, I grabbed his shoulders, paying no heed to the danger I posed to both of us by touching him in such a frenzied state. "Naruto, are you okay?" I demanded, staring directly into his eyes.

Naruto, appearing slightly dumbfounded, either by the current situation or my forward gesture, nodded. "Uh—yeah… but, Sasuke…"

I glanced down at the little Uchiha lying beside Naruto, beaten and battered—thoroughly unconscious by the looks of it. Gritting my teeth in anger, I turned to Jiraiya. "What happened? Did… the Akatsuki do this?"

Jiraiya's eyes widened. "The Akatsuki…? What do you know about them?"

"The Akatsuki?" Naruto snapped. "Who are they? Why'd they do this to Sasuke?"

Jiraiya shook his head, letting out a sigh of annoyance. "Look… the most important thing now is to get Sasuke to the hospital. He's in bad shape."

Right as Jiraiya uttered those last words, a figure zipped past my head. There was no time for me to so much as react, before Jiraiya was on the ground with a certain Jounin standing over him.

"Guy!?" I gasped in horror.

As if just realizing that he had made a huge mistake, Might Guy backed away awkwardly. "Oh, man… uh…"

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Jiraiya snarled as he pulled himself to his feet.

"It was a simple mistake, really…" Guy explained, laughing nervously. "I—just saw you guys with the reflection on my headband. And I thought you looked suspicious."

Letting out another aggravated sigh, Jiraiya said, "Never mind… we have to get Sasuke to the hospital now. That's most important. His arm's broken and he was knocked out by whatever Genjutsu Itachi used on him."

Tsukuyomi…

"Is Sasuke going to be okay?" Naruto insisted.

"He will be," I said gravely. "But he's also just been the victim of a powerful Genjutsu. Who knows what'll happen when he wakes up."

Clenching his fists, Naruto murmured, "What did he do to deserve this…? It's me they wanted, right? Fine, then. Those guys scared me before, but I'm not going to run away. If they're after me, I'll give them what they want."

"I don't think so," Jiraiya said immediately. "Sorry, kid, but you wouldn't stand a chance against them. What if I hadn't shown up when I did? It took everything I had just to chase them off."

Naruto growled in frustration. "Well, what do you think we should do!? Just sit back and do nothing? What kind of sad strategy is that?"

"Shut up!" Jiraiya snapped. "You haven't earned the right."

As Naruto's spirit shut down and he lowered his head, I placed my hand back on his shoulder from behind. "You can't fight them, Naruto," I whispered gently. "Even I don't have what it takes to go up against them. I'm sorry this happened."

I glared subtly at Jiraiya, irritated that he would yell at Naruto. The poor kid was upset because he'd just watched his friend fall before his eyes. Sometimes, especially for young ninja, all reason flew out the window when someone they loved got hurt. I understood the feeling.

As Naruto trembled quietly under my touch, Jiraiya continued. "I'm sorry about this, Guy. I wanted to let Sasuke fight his own battle, but clearly I should have intervened sooner."

Guy's eyebrows furrowed. "This must be the same jutsu they got Kakashi with. We don't know when he'll come out of it."

It took a second for those words to register in my mind. "Kakashi? What happened?"

Guy turned his head toward me briefly. "You didn't know?"

My mouth suddenly felt dry. "No, I didn't."

"He and Kurenai and Asuma fought against those two men early this afternoon," he explained. "But when Kakashi was beaten, I had to step in. He's been unconscious all day."

I looked away and focused solely on not allowing myself to have a breakdown in front of Naruto. Early this afternoon, Guy had said. Which meant, during that time I had probably been sleeping in bed. The weight of the guilt and the anger came crashing down on me, as I tried to formulate in my head if this was really happening. Kakashi succumbed to the Tsukuyomi. Itachi… hurt him.

"What we need," Guy said, although his voice sounded oddly far away. "Is a supreme medical specialist and a master of the healing arts."

With a nod, Jiraiya said, "You're right, and the person you're talking about is the one Naruto and I are looking for."

My head shot up as I realized what Jiraiya was talking about. "Wait a minute. You guys are actually…?"

Jiraiya grinned. "That's right. The one and only master of gambling and elixirs, Tsunade!"

It had been years since I'd seen Tsunade, or even heard her name. So that's what Naruto and Jiraiya were in this strange town for… but what in the world brought this on? I was really, really starting to regret taking that nap. As they say, you snooze, you lose…

"The village needs a new Hokage, right?" Jiraiya said with a wink. "Anyway, I figured I'd bring Naruto with me for some training. I already got Kakashi's consent, of course."

Even I couldn't argue with the logic that the best candidate for Hokage was one of the legendary Sannin. My guess was that Jiraiya could have easily taken the title, but simply didn't want it. Jiraiya wasn't the type of guy to stay in one place for very long. Although, neither was Tsunade. Unless the high-strung Legendary Sannin had changed significantly in the last decade or so since I'd seen her, she wasn't about to go along quietly with whatever Jiraiya asked her to do on a whim. But knowing Jiraiya, and knowing Naruto for that matter, they'd find a way. They had to, because it seemed at this point that Tsunade was Kakashi's and Sasuke's only chance.

"Okay," Jiraiya said as we stood at the edge of town. "Kanata, you and Guy can take Sasuke back to the village. Naruto and I have to get going. Wanna get back as soon as we can, of course!"

I moved from Guy's side and stood face-to-face with Jiraiya, despite that he was so much taller than I was. Glaring at him seriously, I said, "You take care of him, you understand me? Kakashi may have given you the okay, but he's my teammate too. If anything happens to him, you'll be answering to me."

Jiraiya let out a laugh. "Hey, no worries! As long as he's with me, he'll be in safe hands. We'll be back before you know it."

"I'm counting on that," I said. Then, turning to Naruto, I added, "You be careful, okay? Don't go doing anything stupid."

Naruto pointed at me and snarled, "Who are you calling stupid?"

"I said don't do anything stupid. There's a difference."

He scoffed. "Don't underestimate me!"

Walking away from Jiraiya, I faced Naruto. He was nearly as tall as I was. "I just mean… come back safely, okay?" I said with a smile. "I'll worry."

At my words, Naruto cooled down a little. With a grin and a thumbs-up, he shouted, "Believe it!"

"Let's go, Kanata!" Guy exclaimed, holding Sasuke on his back and jogging in place. "I'm all set and ready to go!"

I nodded and waved my last goodbye to Jiraiya and Naruto, and just like that, we went our separate ways.

Convince Tsunade… we need her. We need a leader.

"Hey, Kanata?" Guy said as we took off through the forest. "Wanna race me? See who gets to the Leaf Village gate faster?"

Dragging my feet slightly as I bounded from tree to tree, I shook my head. "I'm sorry, Guy… my heart isn't in it, today." I couldn't focus on anything except for getting Sasuke to the hospital and seeing Kakashi.

"You worried?" Guy asked.

Letting out a sigh, I murmured, "Yeah… I guess I am."

"Hey, don't sweat it!" he said. "Kakashi's my rival. He'll bounce back real quick. And this kid will, too. I've seen him fight. He's got the spirit of youth in him!" When I didn't reply, he continued, "Anyway, I'm sorry I dropped that on you so suddenly. I didn't realize you didn't know yet."

I laughed bitterly. "I was in bed sleeping the day away while you guys were fighting the Akatsuki. Kakashi convinced me to go rest because I was so worn out after helping out at the hospital. And I ended up missing everything."

"There's no shame in needing some rest!" Guy said. "Everyone needs it. I have the mindset that I can rest all I want, but then I have to work twice, no, three times as hard the next day to make up for it! So… you rested today. Tomorrow, just put in even more effort!"

"But what I needed was to put that effort toward today's events… I couldn't have known that this morning, but that's no excuse. And tomorrow, if nothing horrible happens, it won't make a difference no matter how hard I work."

"That's not true at all!" he insisted. "If you work hard, even on days when there's no one to fight, you'll be better prepared for the days when there is someone to fight! Today was a bad day… no use beating yourself up about it, now. So all you can do is start preparing for the next one."

He's wiser than he looks.

I felt the corner of my mouth turn up into a smile. "I guess you're right. I'm sorry for sounding like such a downer. I'm a mess, I know. I… tend to get easily discouraged."

"Well, I know first-hand what it's like to have friends get hurt," Guy said honestly. "Sometimes it's easy to let yourself get that way. You've just gotta talk yourself out of it, or find someone to do it for you, because it doesn't do you or anyone else a good in the world to be depressed!"

"I know…" I said. "I… but when I think about Kakashi-"

"Well, that's how it is when you love someone, right?"

I snapped my head toward Guy, almost choking on my unfinished sentence. He shot me a quick, apologetic grin. "Sorry. Not really my business, is it?"

We both jumped to the ground as we arrived at the village gate. I stopped briefly and looked at the ground. "Is it that obvious?"

"Not really," Guy said. "It's more like his feelings that are obvious. After all, he treats you differently than he treats anyone else. It's been that way since we were just kids. I never used to get it. But now it makes more sense, in a way. Still, you guys sure have a weird relationship."

Weird…?

I shook it off and continued with Guy through the village gates and to the hospital, where we immediately checked Sasuke into a room. And after I was sure he would be all right, I had Guy take me to Kakashi's room.

When I stepped through the door, I was stricken by the sight before me, of the sleeping Kakashi. His hair was a wild mess from the battle with Itachi, and although he was unconscious, his face was tense, as if he was facing a terrifying demon within his own mind. I approached him slowly, stood at the side of his bed and touched his hand, which was at about its normal temperature. But I could tell that he was suffering from significant chakra loss, and because he was in such a deep coma, his body wasn't replenishing it as quickly as it normally would.

"Tsunade…" I whispered. "We just have to wait for Lady Tsunade, right?"

"Right," Guy said cheerfully. "As soon as she gets here with Naruto and Master Jiraiya, she'll be able to heal both Kakashi and Sasuke, I'm sure."

I nodded. "Hey, Guy…? Do you think I could have a minute alone with him?"

Guy seemed hesitant to leave at first, but then agreed with a "sure" and exited the room through the door.

The instant the door closed, I snapped, "You jerk!"

Furiously, I began pacing back and forth in the room in front of Kakashi's bed. "I mean… I don't even know what to say other than. You are. A freaking. Jerk." Running a hand through my hair, I demanded, "Why would you put me through this, Kakashi? Honestly, I… I get it. I do, but…"

"Well… something important… came up."

"Something important," I hissed. "I don't know why I was stupid enough not to see it. But you knew, didn't you? You knew I wouldn't see through you because I was so exhausted. So you told me to go and rest so that I wouldn't have to get involved." I laughed angrily. "I don't—why didn't you just tell me? Okay, maybe I wouldn't have been any help in my condition… but I… I'd rather be where you are right now. It would be so much easier."

I stopped pacing and walked over to the bed. Sitting down and burying my face in my hand, I muttered, "I need you, Kakashi… You can't do this to me." I looked up reluctantly and stared at his sleeping face. Shaking slightly, I placed my hands on either side of him on the bed mattress and leaned down until my forehead rested on top of his. For a moment, I just concentrated on the sound of his slow, shallow breaths, and the warmth coming off his skin. "You have to come back to me," I whispered. "Okay? I can't make this work without you. You have to come back to me… I-"

I was about to say, "I love you," but promptly stopped myself. As much as I felt it in my heart, I couldn't possibly say it. Not to him. Not even while he was unconscious and probably couldn't hear me. It had taken me years to be able to admit it to myself, and then even longer to admit it to another human being. Guy was the first. I'd never told anyone before, not even Tatsu, how strong my feelings were for the Jounin I'd left behind in the Leaf Village. And to Kakashi himself, especially, I just couldn't say it. I'd only just gotten him back, just accepted him finally as friend again. I wasn't ready to take that step, yet.

Pulling away from him, I regretted my inability to stop this from happening. More so, I regretted my inability to help him now while he was incapacitated. For the first time in my life, I wished that I was a medical ninja and that had accepted Shizune's offer all those years ago to train under Tsunade. If only I had more than first-aid and the ability to stop bleeding wounds… even just a little bit of medical ninjutsu, maybe I would be able to be of some use.

I could save you myself…

I left the hospital angry and fatigued, almost reluctant to go home for fear of missing the next great catastrophe. But truthfully, I had nowhere else to go. I was disinterested in the thought of interacting with anyone, and the thought of eating made me feel nauseated. There was no place to go but back to my grandmother's house.

I walked home as the sun began to set, breathing deeply to try to cool down from all the stress and the drama. As tired as I was, I wondered if I'd even be able to sleep tonight after everything that happened. All I really wanted… what I needed was Kakashi to be beside me right now, to make me feel safe and assure me that everything would somehow be okay. But as long as Kakashi was unconscious in the hospital, nothing was "okay".

As my house appeared in the distance, I squinted in confusion, as a strange figure stood on my porch step. As I came closer, I was able to make out a tall man with bandages over his face that, to my horror, I recognized. The less noble half of me would have gladly turned and started walking in the opposite direction and found some other place to spend the night. But instead, I continued walking toward my house until I was close enough to speak to the man.

Letting out a small laugh, I said, "And as if I thought this day couldn't get any worse." I exhaled from exhaustion. "Get off my porch, Danzo."