Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I do not own Legend of the Five Rings. No financial gain is made from this. This is for entertainment purposes only.

It was a bad disease. She actually felt feverish sometimes. Could your feelings make you sick? If it was true, she wanted no part of it. And yet, she sought it. The adrenaline was to blame, that sweet rush she felt when she was near him. It was addictive.

It was almost as if he was the last piece of the puzzle of her world. If that made any sense.

And the symptoms of this disease seemed to get worst with the seasons. Because as Sumi furthered her teenage years, as she started to grow into a young woman, she experienced a new affliction. Attraction. Physical attraction, a concept that still made her blush and giggle but that it turned really serious once she let her imagination grow wild.

And the fact that he was not only her childhood friend, but also her superior, it made it all the more complicated. For she had been assigned to his team, with other ANBU shinobi, and she still struggled with the new power relation. It would be a blatant lie to say they did not have their conflicts.

But the conclusion to draw from all of it was that she did not understand anymore a thing. How sometimes she hated him for not realizing her feelings, yet the next moment she wanted nothing more than to hide away, and then she could not envision a better plan that to be with him. It was a constant pull between this ying yang of emotions, a kind of Russian roulette.

He was to blame, she decided. For growing up into a young man. His body had lost the lankiness of childhood and the hours of training and missions were building sleek muscles and shapes. The hair, that striking grey color, were groomed nonchalantly, but what once had looked sloppy, now it was fitting. Sumi knew she was not the only girl to fantasize about what hid under the mask, under the tight-fitting shi-

"Did you listen a word I said?"

Sumi's eyes widened and she almost fell from the bench. She muttered a sorry.

Kakashi sighed. "You are unfocused lately. Are you sick or something?"

She shrugged. "I am sorry. It's just..." They were alone in the ANBU changing space. Now it was a good time as ever to tell him... "It's just that Haruki has not been back since two weeks. I start to worry."

He paused. "I am sure he is fine," he concluded. "Do not overthink it. Anyways, as I was saying, I will be leaving with the boys to the south for the mission we spoke about last meeting. I let you here with Yūgao. Should we need reinforcements, I would sent you a message, so be ready to leave at any time."

She nodded slowly. It was true that Haruki had been gone for longer than usual and then, there were those strange dreams... She shook her head; no, those were just a product of the stress and worry.

"He will be okay, Sumi," he repeated. "He has always come back. Maybe he got distracted on the way with something. A butterfly or some bug. That cat was never really bright to start with," he teased as he crossed the door.

She chuckled and ran after him to hit his arm playfully.

But another week passed and Kakashi left and Haruki was still nowhere to be seen and her nightmares drew purple bags under her eyes. And God she was worried. For despite Haruki's comings and goings, he had always been with the little girl that saved him from war and that he had protected since. And through this connection they built growing up, Sumi knew something was wrong.

"Did you hear what I said?" Kibo asked her over a mountain of papers.

Sumi shook her head to send away the bad vibes that ate at her gut. A few papers, a smaller pile, were in front of her. Since she became jōnin, Kibo had insisted that she help her out. Sumi was slowly discovering the responsibilities of a leader of clan, while providing to the best of her efforts her skills learnt at Konoha's center. As she grew older, her calligraphy started to resemble that of her father.

"I have overheard that the Hokage is really pleased with your work," Kibo said with a bright smile, her eyes still on the last bills. "Maybe you will be upgraded soon, is that not great?"

"It is," Sumi said with disinterest.

Kibo put down the paper and took a sip from her tea. She knew Sumi was heading into her teenage years and she had heard the other Matsu mothers complain about their daughters' gloomy moods. Kibo was not Sumi's mother, but she had bowed to help her through it. After all, she had been a teenager herself.

"Kakashi left town without you?" she asked putting down the purple mug. It had been Sumi's gift to her three months ago for her birthday. It was kept for private moments, for the drawn kittens playing with wool balls on it took away from her authority during meetings.

Sumi nodded. She did not have the strength right now to speak about Kakashi with Kibo, so instead she said, "Haruki has not been home since three weeks."

Kibo waved a dismissive hand. "I am sure he is okay. He is a tiger," she explained, "He has a solitary nature. I am sure he is off somewhere chasing rabbits or deer. God, I still need to send that apology gift to Shikaku for the deer Haruki ate!" She rushed to scribble a note that joined a score waiting under a stone. Kibo reached through the table and took Sumi's hand. "What I mean, Sumi, is that everything will be okay. Sooner than expected Haruki will reappear to growl at the Inuzuka dogs and scare kids."

Sumi's eyes traveled to Yoake, Kibo's lioness, which snoozed off quietly in a corner. She rarely left Kibo's side.

"Why don't you go to sleep? You look tired. You will feel better after a good night's rest," Kibo suggested.

Sumi agreed but as her consciousness drifted to wherever it is one goes when one sleeps, the same image bombarded her mind. She found herself in this strange forest of bamboos so tall the sky was made of their leaves. So big were these ones, that a person could easily use them as hammock. In the ground, tiny streams of water, merely shining threads, made her feet sink a bit each step. And she could barely move a few meters that she found herself in another place. A wall of rock with an opening, a dark cave. And two big eyes, of a red only defeated by the crimson of blood, suddenly lighted up, glowing.

She felt her breath hitch and she was paralyzed in fear. She had never experienced such a strong presence. She moved a foot back, wanting to escape.

And in a split second, she was somewhere else. This time, there was no more vegetation around an area, a circle of desolation. And something in the middle. She pushed some shoots to get there, to this crater testimony of a fierce fight. And when she saw Haruki laying there, she ran to the middle of the clearing. His heart was barely beating, his side coming up and down painfully slow. His fur was matted with blood and his eyes closed.

But before she could think what to do, she felt herself being pulled by an unstoppable force, and the scene blurred as tunnel-vision clouded her senses.

She woke up panting in her bed, but unlike before, her eyes were determined this time. She grabbed quickly a few items that she threw in her pouches with no particular order. Scrolls, explosive tags, kunais, shurikens... She strapped her tantō to her back, but did not done her ANBU mask. She did take the cloak.

"Where are you going?" a familiar voice called at her back as she tried to sneak by Konoha's doors.

Sumi turned slowly, with a sweet smile that did not reach her eyes. "Yūgao? What are you doing here?"

Yūgao, that was still shy around her, tried to look un-intimidated. "Kakashi told me you would try to leave."

Sumi rolled her eyes. "He sent you to spy me?"

"His words were: do not let her do anything stupid," Yūgao explained.

Sumi laughed bitterly, before to turn back. "Goodnight, Yūgao."

"Wait!" The other girl ran to her side. "You cannot leave!"

"Why?" Sumi asked, mid-way opening the doors.

"Kakashi said-"

"Well, I am leaving," Sumi said, already stepping out silently. "I will take the blame, don't worry." Yūgao stood there, flabbergasted. "If you are not coming, I suggest you go back inside," she heard Sumi say.

Uzuki Yūgao did not like the idea of breaking the rules, but the confidence with which the other girl marched and the inspiration of that night's full moon pushed her to take a bad decision.

She followed.