Hey y'all! Sorry for the long wait for an update. I got a job! Unfortunately, that means slower updates so please try and be patient with me! I have no plans of abandoning this story, so don't worry. Thanks so much for your support! Best readers ever!

~ KAKASHI ~

The Leaf Village comes into view and I can't help but feel a tinge of excitement. It's been almost a month since I've seen her—since she told me she'd give us a chance and kissed me passionately in the Land of Waves before being summoned back to the village on some sort of urgent matter.

I'm usually not the type to get easily distracted but today, my mind wanders while I take a hostage to Interrogation. Luckily, the hostage doesn't resist and I'm free to bask in my unusual excitement.

No one but Ayame has ever been able to distract me like this. Even Rin, whom I cared deeply for, was always second on my mind to other things. But then again, I have changed a lot since back then.

I've been through hell and back, and Ayame has been my heaven.

It's watching her that gives me strength. Her passion and determination is unmatched. It makes me want to be a better person. Unbeknownst to her, she helped me out of a very dark place in my life.

I greet Ibiki in Interrogation and he takes the hostage from me. With a nod, I take my cue to leave. I don't want to spend more time down here than I need. It's darker and muskier than I remember it being; maybe that's just my perception, though. Back in the day, I used to bring hostages from ANBU missions down here all the time. I guess I never noticed the darkness of this place because my heart was even darker in comparison.

As I'm stepping for the door, Ibiki grunts. I turn and he looks like he wants to say something but doesn't quite know how. I raise an eyebrow, hands resting lazily in my pockets and expression probably matching. People tell me I have a permanent lazy look.

"Erm," Ibiki grumbles with eyes closed as he scratches his chin. I raise an eyebrow and he chuckles awkwardly. "Could you do me a favor?"

A favor? Why would someone like Ibiki Morino need a favor from someone like me?

"Ehh sure," I say, sighing as I walk back into the musky room, hands still resting comfortably in my pockets.

Another awkward pause—I guess asking for favors isn't Ibiki's strong-suit—and he finally asks in a low grumble, "There's a hostage I'd like you to take a look at. I've already run it by Hokage-Sama. We think your sharingan will be of use. She refuses to speak. She came in late last night," Ibiki explains with explanatory motions of his hands.

Again, I sigh and nod as I scratch the back of my head. I'd really like to just go home and take a nice, hot shower before seeing Ayame but I guess I have no choice, if it's already been discussed with Hokage-Sama.

"Right this way, Kakashi."

I follow down a dark hallway and pass many steel-enforced doors, the only windows are smaller than a human head and barred with thick iron rods. The groans of prisoners sends shivers down my spine. How did I deal with this stuff back in ANBU?

"It's been a while since you've been down here, Kakashi," Ibiki says, noticing my unease.

"Maa," I say, again scratching the back of my head because I don't know what else to do. "It's a lot darker down here than I ever remember."

"Hm," he responds as we make it to another type of prison wing. This one has full cells meant for long-term prisoners. "You grow accustomed to it after a while, you know? Same with you, you grew accustomed to your assassination missions. Killing was second nature, though I'm sure it isn't anymore, hm?"

It's like Ibiki reads my mind. It's no wonder he's head of Interrogation. I don't need to respond for him to know that I acknowledge his explanation. He hit the nail on the head and he knows it. Assassination missions are rare now as a Jonin instructor in charge of mere genin. In fact, fighting is rare on genin missions—the Land of Waves mission was an exception and rarity. More likely it was a B- or A-ranked mission. I was tremendously surprised when Hokage-Sama sent word back, allowing us to continue that mission under the circumstances.

Though, I guess having two ex-ANBU and Jonin level shinobi on one team aided the Hokage in that decision.

The thought of Ayame makes this basement seem much less dim; it fills me with wonderful thoughts and I feel myself smiling a little. I'm glad for the mask in situations like this, as Ibiki leads me to an Interrogation room. It hardly makes sense for me to be smiling like a gleeful child in this situation.

"Right in here. I'll be returning to the command room where I can watch and listen from the security cameras. You can report back to me in command after you're done."

"Hai, hai," I say, stepping into the brightly lit, white-walled room and hearing the door click shut behind me. This isn't a typical interrogation room. There are no windows or furniture of any kind. The hostage seems to be covered in bruises and is curled in a ball in the corner. The walls, floor, and ceiling are all padded.

"I won't speak, you're wasting your time," the woman says, not bothering to look up. I approach her and kneel down, lifting my headband and opening my left eye. Colors become inverted and I can easily see her chakra, though weak, swirling throughout her body. She appears to be in her mid-40s. In fact, she doesn't look like much of a threat at all.

"I'm not here to speak. I want to get out of here too, so let's make this snappy."

That is enough to intrigue the woman and she glances up for a second, eyes filling with shock when she sees my sharingan. But it's already too late, she's under my genjutsu. I don't feel like causing her any pain today, since she doesn't seem to be physically resisting, and take a calmer approach. I call it talk no jutsu. She answers my questions truthfully, dazed by my genjutsu. I don't look like myself to her, I look like some close friend of hers and her memory is morphed to believe she's simply talking with her friend.

I get enough information to report back to Ibiki. When I release the woman, I let her fall into a temporary deep sleep so that I don't have to deal with her panic upon waking. I just want to get home. I find myself wondering why someone from the Yamanaka clan wasn't summoned for something like this. They could have extracted the information much faster than I did.

Anyways, she seems completely harmless. She was found outside the village, spying. She has no valuable knowledge of the Leaf and was simply on an information gathering mission for a small village on the outskirts of the Land of Stone. I'd say she's genin or lower.

I'm sighing as I leave the padded room and heading towards the command room to disclose this information to Ibiki when I hear a tapping from one of the long-term cells. "Hey, you there!" When I turn, I'm surprised when I see a man, tapping on the thick bars to get my attention. I'm about to ignore him when he says something that catches my attention. "Please, let me speak to her. I need to speak to her."

Is he connected to the female hostage I was just speaking to?

I approach his cell, sharingan still showing, and narrow my eyes at the man while keeping my distance. Just out of reach of his long, skinny fingers.

"Her?" I ask.

"Yes, I need to see her! She didn't listen to me the first time. I messed up. I really need to see her," he begs, gold eyes gleaming. He doesn't seem a bit scared of my sharingan. He's completely distracted by his own thoughts. "Please, go get her for me! I can't go on without her. I'd rather die. I regret ever leaving her. I regret everything I said to make her hate me. I need her, please!" The man, who looks more like a boy, is almost in tears and I tilt my head in pure confusion. I should really walk away and leave this to Ibiki, it's not my place to get involved with prisoners anyways. I turn around and keep walking, heading towards command again.

But I stop in my tracks when he mentions her name.

"Ayame is everything to me. Please, go get her for me! I am begging you!"

For a moment, I don't turn around. It takes me a moment to process his words and put two and two together. This must be one of Ayame's ex-boyfriends. Now that I think of it, we've never discussed that sort of thing. The only thing she's ever mentioned of past relationships is that she once promised herself that she'd never fall in love again. Is this the one she made that promise about? A prisoner?

I return to the black haired boy and take in his features. The age checks out; he's probably my age or not far from it. His skin is pale as a ghost and eyes, despite their bright golden color, are drained of all light. There are bags under his eyes and his cheeks are sinking, making his jaw and cheekbones eerily prominent. How long has he been down here? Who is this man, anyways? I'd like to say I've never seen him in the Leaf Village, yet he looks strangely familiar. It's the eyes—they're strangely unique and hold a familiar tinge.

"P-please let me see her, tell her I need to see her. Tell her I'm sorry and that I am nothing without her. Tell her I love her." He's gripping the bars so hard his knuckles are turning blue, though it's not much of a contrast from his already pale and discolored skin. His wide, golden eyes are wide and pleading. Almost manically.

I shake my head, trying to clear my thoughts. "What's your name?"

"Raven Kohaku."

I know I shouldn't be talking to this prisoner. It's not my place at all. But curiosity gets the better of me, especially since this involves Ayame.

"Why have I never seen you in the village before?"

He sighs, slumping his shoulders as he grips the bars. He looks utterly exhausted.

"I was rogue for 12 years, I went back to my clan's village at the border of the Land of Fire and they hid me. But I couldn't take it anymore. She was all I thought about and it made me crazy. I had to come back here and tell her." Nothing in his story or voice makes me believe he'd be lying. He really is just a lovesick man.

"How long were you and Ayame together?" Now I'm really overstepping my boundaries. This is none of my business.

His face drops when I mention her. Subsequently, so does mine. It's strange, speaking to the man my girlfriend used to be in love with.

"We dated for a couple years, but we've been friends since childhood. She helped me when my parents died. She'd visit the KIA Stone with me every day and comfort me while I mourned. I'd be a dead man without her."

That jolt of recognition from earlier comes back full-swing as I glare into those golden eyes and finally realize where I've seen them before. I'd visit the KIA Stone between ANBU missions, to talk to Rin and Obito, and sometimes I had to leave and go directly to the graveyards to pay my respects because someone else was at the Stone. A black-haired boy. I paid him no mind and gave him his space, he was just another person mourning the dead. But Ayame was never with him when I'd visit.

He answers as if he reads my mind, "She stopped coming with me when she graduated from the Academy and joined with a genin team. Well, I stopped asking her. She got really busy with training and missions and I didn't want to distract her. She wanted to be an ANBU so bad and I wasn't about to hold her back."

I blink a few times as I take a deep breath. I should leave. I shouldn't be listening to him. This is none of my business. I'm sure Ayame and I will discuss it eventually, when she's ready.

"She cried when I left. She's the one who pushed me away in the first place, yet she was the one crying as I walked away from the Leaf Village. I was always the one chasing her. Since we were kids, she kept me strictly in the friend zone."

I look over my shoulder, considering the door for a moment. I really need to leave. But something keeps me. A curiosity much more powerful than my own common sense. I remain, feet glued to the cold, stone floor as I listen to this hurting man. It makes me hurt too, in a way. This seems a lot deeper than just an ex-boyfriend of hers. There's something more to it, I can tell as I listen to the struggle and strain in Raven's voice.

"And then, when we turned 16, she finally agreed to go out with me. I was the happiest kid on the planet, I swear. Things went south and soon enough, she stopped talking to me so I left. I couldn't take it, being here in the same village as her, seeing her every day and knowing I couldn't have her."

I barely notice my actions until I feel my fingernails pressing into my palms in the form of a hard fist. I hold it tight at my side as I look at the golden-eyed boy and can't help but feel some jealousy. The thought of another man loving the woman I'm in love with makes me jealous.

Raven is still talking, going on about how much he loves her, but I've tuned out. Eventually, I turn and walk away, ignoring his pleas from the cell behind me. The hallway door slams and I nonchalantly relay the information about the mid-40s woman to Ibiki before hastily leaving.

The air has turned cold and the moon is high in the sky. I don't even think. My feet carry me straight to Ayame's apartment. I'm already knocking firmly three times before I can even stop and think about what the hell I'm even going to say. All I want is to discuss it, I don't want to make her feel cornered or anything. I just want her to talk to me. I want her to tell me she's not still in love with this man.

The door swings open and a tired-looking girl—still beautiful as ever—comes into view in her pajamas. I realize now how late it must be and how sudden it is for me to be showing up at her door unexpected. Her expression changes when she sees me. I try to soften the hard look on my face but I know it shows, even though the mask, because she furrows her brows and frowns a bit.

"Kakashi," she says softly. Her voice is music to my ears, it's been almost a full month since I've heard it outside of my dreams.

"I-I'm sorry for showing up like this. I just want to talk."

She opens the door fully and I step into the apartment. There are still dishes in the sink and a half-eaten bowl of popcorn on the coffee table in the living area, along with throw pillows and blankets tossed on the ground and couch. The studio apartment looks well-lived in. It's clear she wasn't expecting visitors tonight.

~ AYAME ~

I open the door and let a troubled-looking man inside. I'm too confused and tired to worry about the state of my apartment. I know he notices it, but doesn't seem to care. He sits at the kitchen table and I turn the kettle on for some tea. When I pour the first cup, I offer it to him but he declines.

"What's the matter? You seem off..."

I try my best to keep my composure. It feels strange talking to him while Raven resides in the village. I didn't expect him to show up at my door unannounced like this. I thought I'd have more time to prepare what I'm going to say to him. So, for now, I keep silent. I will tell him, don't get me wrong, but the middle of the night when he already looks disgruntled doesn't feel like the right time.

He looks at me, searching my face and staring into my eyes with his single, grey eye. At this point, the confusion begins to set in. He's acting so strange... I've never seen Kakashi like this.

"Are you drunk?" I ask. I get closer and pull his mask down a bit to see if his cheeks are stained pink. It's the opposite, he's paler than a sheet of paper.

He fixes his mask back over his nose. "No, no. Maa, I just wanted to talk. It's been almost a month, you know." Kakashi's voice wavers in the slightest. I don't remember him ever being this awkward. I mean, he's not exactly the King of Social Situations, but he usually gets along just fine. Tonight is an exception, I guess.

I just nod, still confused by the situation. "Oh, I see. You know it's the middle of the night, right? Did you just get back from your mission?"

He nods, eyes still searching my face for something. I begin to feel sort of self-conscious.

"Hey, what's going on Kakashi?" My brows flinch in a furrow.

He turns the question on me, "I wanted to know if you're okay."

I put my hands up in mock-defense and laugh lightly, "Of course I'm okay. I'm just tired. Like I said, it's the middle of the night. You wouldn't be showing up at my door like this unless something was wrong. Come on, spill." I walk up to the pale man and put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

He stops wavering and his eye grows sad, brow furrowing slightly.

"I met Raven."

For whatever reason, the first thought in my head is that he knows. He knows about the abortion. He knows about everything that happened between me and Raven. My body reacts almost instantly, stepping away and placing my hand awkwardly at my side.

But after a moment of internal panic, I manage to calm myself and play it cool. Maybe he doesn't know. But if he didn't know, why would he be showing up at my door like this? I cross my arms, avoiding his eye.

~ KAKASHI ~

She pulls her hand off my shoulder and steps back. Her expression immediately changes. Her confusion turns to sadness and she crosses her arms, putting distance between us. I try to lock eyes with her to read her but she avoids my eye.

"What did he tell you?" she mutters, voice full of emotion I cannot place. She seems as equally stirring with thoughts as I am. I can feel the tension in the air and I hate it.

The words are rough, unrefined. I force them out and try to remain calm but jealousy peeks through into my voice. "That you used to date."

She seems to sigh in relief, falling into a kitchen chair. This confuses me more and the tension continues to rise. She still avoids my eye with her own, which are filled with concern. It's like she wants to say something but can't seem to get it out.

I crack my knuckles under the table, which disturbs the silence. I can't help but crack them when I'm nervous. I can see her leg tapping rapidly on the floor. "Hey, Ayame, what's going on?"

She stands suddenly, still avoiding my eye, and pushes me to the door. I'm outside the apartment, begging her to look at me but she quickly says, "I'm really tired, Kakashi. I need to go back to bed. Let's talk about this at a better time, yeah?"

"Wait-" I try to say but the door closes in my face. I hear her footsteps as she quickly heads back to her bed. I'm left to stare blankly at the door in the cold of the night.

Then it hits me. It's like a blow to the chest, making the cold night air feel warm compared to my heart.

She's not over him.