Prologue

The grass crunched under my soles and my chest hurt from panting. Blood spattered on my skin burned and I could feel it etching trails down my arms, face, and chest. Again I ran this familiar route as a tragedy so close to my heart unfolded. I was weak and I couldn't escape that fact. No matter how fast I ran, eventually it would catch me.

Lights froms homes in the village sparked on and spilled into the stone street. My voice echoed as I screamed and the sound startled me. I felt so far away, but here I was. If only I could keep running, but my legs trembled and my knees gave way. Concrete bit into my shins and palms. Fresh blood welled in the wounds, but I was numb.

Collapsing into the gutter, I felt foreign and separate from the world. I was alone now. Completely alone. I had no family or friends. That past life was at an end. For the second time, as people emerged from their homes, I fell unconscious on the pavement, covered in the blood of loved ones.

oOoOoOo

Nightmares

Sweat making her night shirt damp, she bolted up in the narrow cot. Throwing off the sheet, she swung her feet to the cold hardwood floors. Her studio apartment was all she had needed in her five year ascension to the rank of jonin in Kirigakure. Ripping open the drawer on her right side night stand, she dumped the empty drawer and its false bottom clattered on the floor. Falling to her knees, she retrieved the photo that fluttered down.

Panting, she frowned at the three smiling faces. The picture was the only connection she kept to a life smoldering in her heart. That last day in Konoha with them was so precious and so difficult to hold. That night had blindsided her; she could hardly remember what they had done leading up to it.

Aster swept her red hair back and her blue eyes closed. The dream was an obvious sign. The memories would never leave her. Aster would not stop until she had closure. She didn't spare another thought as dressed with the sunrise.

Opening her door into the fresh morning, Aster stretched her arms and took a greedy breath. Kirigakure was not the place it once had been. Gato's reign was over and the village was bustling as she trekked through it. Fear had once filled the air and news of Kakashi's genin's triumph had freed them all.

Nervous, she wondered if they were still in town. However, she was careful to hide her anxiety. She had failed to assimilate to the village and even the townsfolk seemed to know she didn't belong. Aster kept her shoulders squared, her mouth a grim line, and her fists clenched. She may only have been a small sixteen year old girl, but she was not about to let the world trample her.

She did not bother to hide her face. Kakashi would never recognize the woman she was becoming. The sweet, soft child was gone. Konoha had buried an empty casket five years ago and put a stone with her name on it in the dirt above it. If Sasuke still remembered her, he would not know who she was anymore. Her existence in the Leaf Village had faded to obscurity.

A new wave of malice came over her. It was Kakashi's actions that night that had put her here, rather than where ever he had gone. If Kakashi had let her go, everything would be different. By intervening, he had inadvertently damned her.

Vision a black background for regret and blood stained recollections, she kept moving. Suddenly, pain erupted in her forehead. The world spun and she tumbled backwards, catching herself on stiff wrists.

"Are you alright?" A man's familiar voice broke the spell.

Blinking blood from her eyes, she felt the ache in her arms. Vision still blurry, she wondered if it was another bad dream. Rubbing her face and putting pressure on the wound, she looked up at the pole she had run into.

"Hey," Kakashi knelt down in front of her. "Can you understand what I'm saying to you?"

Heart in her throat, she nodded, trying to keep a straight face. Embarrassed and angry, she wondered how she had not seen him on the busy street. Her emotions must have gotten the better of her, dulling her perceptiveness.

"I'm fine," she muttered.

Her face was familiar to him, but he could not place her. "Can you tell me your name?"

"I'm not anyone important," She replied, skillfully dodging the question. "I recognize you though. Hatake Kakashi, the copy ninja. You and your team of genin saved this village and completed the bridge."

Satisfied with her cognitive ability, he did not press for her identity. "Yes," he nodded. Extending a hand, he waited for her to accept his help. Instead, she stood and ignored him.

Suddenly conversational, she asked quickly, "I heard Uchiha Sasuke is one of the genin under you. Is that true?"

The crinkle of the corner of his eye gave away his proud smile. "Yes. Why do you ask?"

"The tragedy of his last name is known even across borders." She pulled a small wad of gauze from her pack, wiping blood and patting her wound. "I know what it's like to be alone young too."

"I'm so sorry," genuine sympathy was in his voice.

Chewing the corner of her lip, she brushed off his empathy. "I heard also some rogue ninja gave you trouble… Were you here to take them to the Mizukage?"

Kakashi shook his head. "No, I'm just on my way to explain to the Mizukage why I had to kill two of your nin, even if they were rogue."

Her face went slack before she could gain her composure. "Haku is dead?"

Narrowing his eyes, he replied slowly. "Yes. Did you know him?"

"Oh, no," she swallowed hard. It was true. She had not known him. But the same cursed blood ran in their veins. "Just relieved that he's no longer a threat."

"I see." Putting his hands on his hips, Kakashi looked at her wound. "Will you need help to get to a medic?"

Aster shook her head. "No, the bleeding has stopped already. Head wounds - even shallow ones- bleed a lot."

"I know," his frown was audible. "Well, if you won't let me help you, I need to get to this meeting. My genin are waiting back home."

Nodding, she turned away, her heart hammering her rib cage. Struggling for air, she ducked into the nearest alley. Stucco scraped against her shoulder blades and she let the wall cradle her. The bustle of the crowd would have hidden Kakashi from an average person's sight.

But Yuki Aster was a jonin of Kirigakure with hypoten release running in her veins. She spotted him easily when she peered around the corner. Slamming herself back to the wall, her wild heartbeat did not slow. Trying to shake off the feeling boiling in her stomach, she wished she had not been so polite to him. She pictured herself knifing him in the stomach instead of quietly conversing with him on the street corner. But it would have caused too much commotion. She had bigger plans than rotting in a cell in the Mist Village.

However, it was possible, she had not missed her chance. The chill of the nightmare bled into the heat of pain and hate in her stomach. Against her better judgement, she glanced into the street again. Kakashi's form stood out to her once more. Slipping into the steady stream of foot traffic, she began to follow him. He entered a building. Without pausing to examine where she was, Aster slipped in soon after him.

PlEaSe R&R

"Sweet Little Lies" by bülow