Notes:

Helloooo!

So I wasn't planning on uploading this chapter today. But I sort of finished it early, so I figured: why not? I had nothing else to do with this heat wave going on, so you guys are lucky!

- This chapter hasn't been checked either. Me uploading it now is a spur of the moment kind of thing, so apologies once again for any and all mistakes you find.

- The next chapter will be a while, probably. This weekend I'll be celebrating my birthday (yay!) but because of that I'll be quite busy and won't be able to write as much.

That being said, I do hope you'll like the little surprise at the end. I wasn't planning on going into this direction at first, it was too cliche and all that. But I feel like this is something that I can work with, so I hope you'll enjoy!

Chapter 31: We all need someone to confide in

What the fuck had he been thinking? He actually gave her a kiss? It was on her cheek but, still. He had actually lowered his mask? Well, she did technically know what he looked like, thanks to that little brat of hers. But honestly, what had he been thinking? Well, she had kissed him on the cheek right? So, surely it was okay for him to do the same. Of course it wasn't okay for him to do that. What had he been thinking?!

He repeatedly hit his head against the door after he had closed it and had been certain the pair of them had left. His mind in a constant battle with itself, providing answers and arguments and truthfully it drove him insane. It all came back to that single question. And the scariest part was that he didn't know.

When she had given him the scarf, he didn't know what to think. The only other scarf he'd ever worn was his mother's. He wasn't sure why he told her he'd lost it. He had but there was a good chance it was somewhere in this house, or maybe his apartment, which he still needed to clear out, he reminded himself.

That would have to wait until he got back from his mission. Kakashi knew he hadn't worn it on a mission, so the only other explanation was that it was still around somewhere. Moving away from the door, he glanced at the clock. He should get some sleep. He was meeting his team early in the morning, to make good time.

Kakashi made his way to his bedroom. As he entered, he was once again confronted with his decision to take Hermione's old pillow from her room. Why it had calmed and comforted him as much as it had, he didn't know. Being as close to her as he had been yesterday, showed him that his senses went in overdrive. He could pick up every little thing. Her scent, her heartbeat.

Shaking his head, he undressed himself, walking to the bathroom to brush his teeth. After having done that, he left the bathroom, not sparing himself another glance, before crawling under the covers. Once again, he ignored the voice in his head telling him it wasn't all that normal that he buried his face in Hermione's pillow.

He needed a clear mind before he started analysing his thoughts. And his mind was anything but clear at the moment. So this, just like everything else, would just have to wait until he got back from the mission.

The next morning, he quickly got dressed in his Anbu gear. Strapping his tanto to his back, he left the bedroom. The scarf Hermione had given him hung over the back of one of the chairs in the kitchen. The moment it caught his eye, he paused. She had said that if he wore it, it would be concealed, hadn't she? No one would know, but him.

Kakashi wasn't sure he should believe that, but it couldn't hurt to try it out. If it turned out that his team would notice, he could just take it off again, claiming he brought it for the cold weather they were heading towards. With a shrug, he draped the scarf around his neck. It was surprisingly light and thin and didn't feel warm at the moment. Honestly, it didn't feel special at all.

Glancing at the clock, Kakashi decided it was about time to meet his team at the Anbu facility. He would have to speak to them regarding the change in their team, with Genma now off the team for the time being. He figured they knew something would happen, which would make it a bit easier to explain. While he hadn't heard anything from the Hokage yet, he assumed a new team member would be assigned soon. For now, they would have to do with just the four of them.

As he neared the facility, he changed direction towards one of the fields nearby. With a short pulse of his chakra, he alerted his team of his arrival. A short moment later, he sensed them follow his lead. Good.

"Captain," Yugao greeted, as she appeared in front of him.

"Rabbit." He said with a nod. A second later both Tenzou and Shisui appeared next to her.

"Good, you're all here." He started. "You've read the mission scroll?"

All three of them nodded, "okay, good. I'll get straight to business. Bear is, as of now, temporarily removed from this team. I'm not certain when or if he will ever return to this team. For now, it's just the four of us, so we'll go over new team formations in a bit. Any questions?"

"Does this mean we'll stay a four-man team?" Shisui asked.

"There is a chance someone else will be assigned to our team, but I won't know until we get back." Kakashi clarified. "Anything else? No? Good, let's go over the formations then."

Luckily his team was flexible enough and it took less than five minutes to go over the new formations. If anything changed during the travelling, they'd deal with it then. For now, this would be enough.

After running a quick check on their packs, they took off. The trip towards their destination would take about four days, if they were lucky. For now they were going towards Iron, but they might have to divert towards Waterfall. The communication between Fire and Iron was tense, the samurai never were a big fan of the shinobi. If they were to get caught there, it could be disastrous for Konoha. The last he heard was that their relation with Iron was pretty tense, especially since the war. While Iron took no part in it, they did have to deal with the aftermath.

Yeah, it was probably best to avoid Iron for now. Waterfall would be safer and easier to navigate. The boat trip they'd have to take would be quite a bit longer, but it would be easier to remain unseen there. And this mission relied solely on them not getting found out. Steering his team slightly to the left, he set course to Waterfall.

After running non-stop for a good ten hours, he signalled the team to stop for a short break. They were almost halfway towards the border of the Fire country. With the speed they were going, Kakashi expected they'd arrive there within twelve hours for sure.

Landing next to Tenzou, he ordered Shisui and Yugao to check their surroundings to make sure it was safe to stay there a little while. After finding nothing suspicious, they all sat down. Kakashi leaned against a tree, not feeling like sitting down. A good ten minutes later, he noticed Tenzou coming up to him, looking nervous.

"Senpai," Tenzou started, somewhat hesitant. "I- uh, how are you?"

He turned to his kohai in surprise, which luckily wasn't visible due to his Anbu-mask, cocking his head, "how am I?" He asked.

"W- yes, you know, because of- you know with Genma, and-"

"Cat," Kakashi started. "Seriously? I'm fine. It's fine." Did he not seem fine? Because he felt fine. More than fine. He was actually well rested for once. He couldn't remember the last time he had felt this rested before a mission.

From the way Tenzou held himself and the way he was staring at him, he didn't seem to believe Kakashi. Which was stupid, because he really was fine. With every minute that passed, he wondered how that was possible. Never having thought that a single talk could do something like this. Okay, stop it Kakashi. Focus on the mission, he told himself.

"Five more minutes," he then called out to his team.

They only have time for a short break. In the distance, he could see Yugao and Shisui hold up a hand in acknowledgement. It would be another day before they would have to change in something warmer, but admittedly he felt no discomfort at the moment. Usually around this time of year, it was still fairly warm in their country and running as long as they had, with the sun, was bound to create some discomfort. Thinking about it, he hadn't felt anything like that during their travels up until now. Interesting. He hadn't believed Hermione when she had said the scarf would be able to keep him comfortable. Now, it seemed, there was one more thing he would be thanking her for.

Every time she thought back to Kakashi kissing her cheek, she could feel a blush appear on her face. She was also certain that her heart was beating so fast, Inoichi was bound to hear it. Hermione just couldn't figure out why he had done that. What did this mean? Did this mean he would want more than just friendship? Was he messing with her? Was this just a joke? She didn't know anymore. Her mind was going around in circles, she'd have to talk to someone about this or she would burst.

Hermione knew Inoichi knew. Or, well, he knew something had happened. He kept looking at her with a smirk on his face, making her want to jinx him. A nice tickling charm would do the trick too, no doubt. She didn't think that would be a good idea, seeing as she was still on probation, obviously. Which reminded her; she had a meeting with the Hokage today. Which meant… she should probably get up now.

Sitting up, she noticed Teddy was still in bed, surprising her. She had thought it was quite a bit later, for sure. "Good morning, bub. Did you sleep well?" She softly asked as she noticed Teddy's eyes were open.

"Mama," he said with a yawn, causing her to stop in her tracks as she was getting dressed. This was new. She had barely gotten used to him calling her 'Mamai', but now it was 'Mama'? Her heart sped up again, but for a different reason than it had only five minutes ago. He called her 'Mama'.

"Mama," he said again, reaching out for her sleepily.

"Yes, yes, Mama is here." She said with a shaking voice. Do not cry, Hermione. Keep it together. "Let's get you dressed, okay? We can go get some breakfast then. We've got an important meeting with the Hokage after that," she said as she busied herself with getting him dressed.

Once downstairs, she found a note from Inoichi explaining that something had come up and that he wouldn't be able to take her to the Hokage's Tower. She knew the way, that wasn't the issue, but she knew she wasn't allowed to go out on her own, especially not after her getting kidnapped. Surely there would be an Anbu, right? It would probably be best to call out to the Anbu to make sure. Otherwise she'd just have to apparate to the Tower, but she could imagine them not being too happy about that.

After having breakfast, she stepped outside into the backyard. "Anbu-san?" She called out.

It took a while before she got a response, longer than it usually would. Hermione was about to go back inside, this time seriously considering apparating with Teddy, when she heard a soft, "Ma'am?"

She quickly turned around, noticing a small figure in front of her. Was this- Was this one still a child?! "D-did you- What?"

"You called out, yes?" A soft voice stated. This was definitely a child. But a boy, or a girl? She wasn't sure. The way he held himself, she suspected male, though."I- yes. Um, I- Sorry. I wasn't expecting-" She stammered. She didn't want to insult him or anything, but honestly, how was she supposed to deal with this?

He didn't respond to her, making her let out a sigh in relief. She really didn't want to insult him, and prayed that she hadn't. "Um, right. So, Inoichi-san isn't able to take me to the Hokage Tower and I'm not supposed to go alone," she started explaining.

"You know the way, yes?"

"Yes, I do."

"I'll be there. I'll make sure you'll get there safely." That was a relief as well. But his wording meant that he wasn't going to be walking with her.

"Okay, good to know. I'll go get ready then."

"Of course." Was all he said before he disappeared again.

She went back inside, making sure Teddy was ready to go as well. Looking at the clock, she had a good hour to get to the tower, knowing it was only about half an hour to get there. This was fine, really. Inoichi's wife had mentioned Teddy wanting to walk himself, so she took that into account as well. She just hoped that the Anbu wouldn't mind the slow trek to the Tower.

Walking out the front door, Teddy in tow, she made her way towards the Hokage Tower. She had to stop every step or two, making sure Teddy was following along without falling. "That's it, Teddy! Good job!" She cheered softly, making him squeal and clap his hands. "Come on, we don't want to be late, now do we?"

"Mama!" Teddy called out as he followed, almost falling down a few times. She was proud to see he found his balance quickly, especially thinking on how Tonks was always tripping. He definitely took after Remus in that case, she thought with a small smile.

When she arrived at the tower, she still had some time to spare, surprisingly. Picking Teddy up, she started climbing the stairs. Halfway to the office, the Anbu she had seen before appeared next to her. She looked at him in surprise, not expecting him to show himself. The others never did when she went in for her meeting with the Hokage.

Arriving at the door, the Anbu turned to her, "please wait here." He said before knocking and entering as he was called in, leaving Hermione and Teddy in the hallway.

"Well, alright then," Hermione huffed as she took a seat, placing Teddy in her lap. "We'll just wait out here, then." She said cooing, holding his hands in hers.

A few minutes later the door opened, showing the Anbu. "You can go in now." He said softly, as he held the door open for her.

"Thanks."

"Good morning, Hermione-san," The Sandaime smiled at her. "How are you doing today?"

Hermione sat down as she thought about his question. She didn't know how a simple question like that could mess up her mind. All the events of the past few days whirled around in her head and she didn't really know how to answer this question. A blush appeared on her cheeks again, which she immediately willed away, scared that the Hokage would notice. Which of course he did, she could see the twinkle in his eye as he waited for her to answer.

"I'm- I don't know." She ended up saying. Hermione really didn't know how she was. Confused, anxious, annoyed and so many other things.

The Hokage stayed quiet for a moment, yet she could feel his eyes on her. She was hoping he would start the conversation again. He didn't. Hermione bit her lip, should she mention it to the Hokage? Surely he already knows about what had happened at Kakashi's home, with Genma. But really, she needed someone to talk to and while she felt comfortable around Inoichi and his wife, she didn't know who to talk to about this.

"Kakashi kissed me." She blurted out. Shit, she had not meant to blurt that out. You're an idiot, Hermione, she thought.

The Hokage's eyebrows both went up considerably. "I'm sorry?"

"That came out wrong. I mean, he did. But- Just on the cheek, honestly. Not- Oh Merlin, I should've kept my mouth shut. Damn it." She buried her face in her hands, feeling embarrassed. She couldn't remember the last time she felt this embarrassed. Why was she spilling all of this? And to the Hokage of all people? She wished the ground would open up and swallow her whole. There was no way she could look at him now.

"Hermione-san?"

Hermione shook her head, face still in her hands. She felt a small poke on her hand. "Mama?" Teddy asked, causing her to peek down. Two big brown eyes looked up at her in wonder. "Mama hurt?"

"No! No, sweetie. I'm not hurt, just- It's nothing." She said smiling down at him. She took a deep breath before looking up at the Sandaime, who had a smile on his face, looking amused. Of course he did. "Look, sir. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-"

"Hush, child." He said, holding up his hand. "How about you start at the beginning, hm?"

Hermione opened her mouth, but closed it again. 'The beginning' was such a vague term when it came to this. "I guess... Well. After the incident with Genma-san," she started. "I talked to Kakashi. And well-"

"Kakashi, you say? Just Kakashi?" Hermione did not trust the glint in his eye. This man was enjoying this way more than he should.

"Yes?" She said slowly.

"Last time we spoke, he was still 'Kakashi-san' to you. Something changed?"

"I- yes." This time it was just one eyebrow that was raised. In question, instead of surprise. "After that incident, Kakashi told me about his past." She continued. "He told me about the things Genma-san had meant when he- Well, I'm sure you know." She said with a wave of her hand.

"Anyways, as a belated birthday gift, I made him a scarf, which I brought to him last night. It was then he said that I should drop the suffix." Hermione clarified. "It was also then that he- well, he was thanking me, he said. But I- Merlin, I'm just so confused." She groaned, again putting her face in her hands. "I'm so sorry for this. I usually have better control of myself."

"Don't apologise. I can tell this has been bothering you. You need someone to confide in."

"Yes. In any other situation, I'd talk to my friends about this. We both know I can't now. It's not that I don't have friends here, it's just-"

"It's not the same. I completely understand, Hermione-san."

"It's hard sometimes." Hermione confessed. "I miss them. I miss my friends. My home." It was one of the few things she missed. While she knew there was nothing either of them could do about it, not until they figured out how the Death Eaters had gotten her here to begin with.

"That's completely understandable. I'm sure this hasn't been easy for you."

"No it hasn't." She agreed. "Any news on how to get me back home?" It was a question she had asked every single time she had a meeting with the Hokage, but up until now there wasn't anything they could use. She had offered to help check it out but, understandably, they were hesitant in letting her do so.

"Not yet, I'm afraid. Although, I did come up with a possible solution for you to check in on your friends." As the Hokage said this, Hermione said up straight, her attention completely focused on him.

"To check in on my friends? How?"

She watched as the older man opened a drawer in his desk and put a ball on his desk, on a cushion. He was joking, right? She had to hold back a groan at the sight of it. A crystal ball? There was a reason she had dropped Divination when she could. You needed a natural ability to use it. One she did not possess. Hermione knew there were seers and that what they could do was quite exceptional. But it wasn't something one can learn.

Surely he didn't expect her to predict the future, right? She sure as hell didn't hope so. "You look sceptical." The Sandaime commented, as if reading her mind.

"I'm not sceptical." She said slowly. "I just don't think it's something just anyone can use. Especially not me."

"Oh? And why is that?"

"Using a crystal ball to tell the future- it's not that simple. It's not something that can be taught. Either you can or you can't and that's it, really. And I can't."

The man chuckled. "Fair enough," he said. "Although I think this might be a different kind of crystal ball. This one doesn't show me the future. It shows me the present."

Hermione frowned at that. Why would he use something like this to show the present? "That doesn't make any sense." She said.

"No?" He said, cocking his head. "I think it makes perfect sense. It's a very handy thing to have. Especially if you like to keep tabs on your village. Make sure there are no disturbances and all that, don't you agree?"

Well, explaining it like that made it more logical to use something like this. She didn't really know what to say though, so she settled on a shrug, causing him to smile in return.

"Now, I know how to use this. I'm not entirely sure if you will be able to, since you don't possess chakra. I'm willing to give it a shot, if you are?"

"How would that work?"

"How do you use your wand? You put your magic through it, correct?" Hermione nodded at the assumption. "I want you to try and do the same with the ball."

That didn't seem so hard, did it? She moved forward, putting Teddy on the ground as he started squirming as well, getting impatient with just sitting on her lap. Hermione moved her hand towards the ball. "So I- do I just touch it? And then what?"

"Focus on the people you want to find. Think of them when you're concentrating your magic."

She did as he described, placing her hand on the ball, and closed her eyes as she focused her magic like she would her wand. She felt her magic come to life and opened her eyes expectantly. But she didn't see anything. She looked up at the Hokage, who looked at the ball as well. He hummed in thought, but didn't say anything else.

Hermione tried it again, frustrated that it didn't work the first time. This time she focused even more magic through her touch, scrunching her eyebrows. Then… "Merlin's beard!" She called out. Something was showing. She moved closer to the ball, trying to get a better look, barely noticing the Hokage do the same. As soon as she got a better look of the image, she flinched, moving back as if her hand was burned.

"Hermione-san?" He asked, concerned. "Are you alright? Do you know that man?"

"I- this can't be right." She said. She then turned to the Sandaime. "You said it only shows the present. But he- It's not possible." Hermione shook her head. "It's not possible. I watched him- No. This can't be right."

"Hermione-san, please calm down." He urged her. "You're not making any sense."

"That man," she said, pointing at the ball, unable to find the words she would need to properly explain all of this.

"You know him."

"Yes. Yes, I know him. But this can't be right, Hokage-sama. It's not possible for him to be there. He's- He died. Years ago, he died. He's supposed to be dead, so how? I don't get it."

"What's his name?"

"Sirius. His name is Sirius Black."

End of chapter notes:

Yes, I did do it. I brought him back! The how and when and all that will be explained in later chapters, so don't worry!

Please leave a comment to let me know what you guys think.

Until next time! 3