After I succumbed to the drugs again, everything was fuzzy, fading in and out. I remembered Sensei's bloody form ripping through Gato's men like a predator through a pack of pigs, sparks jumping off his hand. I remembered the air becoming oh so very cold. I remembered smirking as I saw the look on my captor's face as he realized what a horrible mistake he made. I remembered Sasuke slinging me over his back, trying to carry me to safety.

Everything else was blank.

I woke up in what I assumed to be Tazuna's house, wrapped in what I expertly deduced to be a sea of blankets attempting to drown me. More than happy to help with that goal, I snuggled deeper and silently thanked whoever was up there that I wasn't claustrophobic. The weight of the blankets felt so good, and I was so warm, and - ow. Pain. Pain. Not fun. Ouch.

"Inoko-san?" I peered over the edge of my blankets to see Haku opening the sliding door. Not sure what he was doing here, considering I could sense Sensei and Sasuke downstairs, and Naruto not too far outside the house. He wasn't hiding his chakra either. Huh. I'd have to get that story out of one of them later. "I thought I heard you stirring."

"Haku," I smiled, watching a blush creep over his cheeks as he turned his head away. "Not that I'm unhappy to see you, but what are you doing here?"

"Hatake-san was kind enough to let me stay and continue to care for you," Haku explained after a moment's hesitation. "Naruto-kun vouched for me as well."

"I'm glad you've stuck around," I said with a slight nod, then joked, "I know I wouldn't want Naruto to be trusted with my wounds." His mouth twitched upwards as he tried not to laugh at one of his new friends. At least that worked.

"I let your body flush out the drugs you had been given," Haku continued. "It was nothing that you couldn't sleep off."

I nodded, stomach rumbling abruptly. "Seems legit. Hey, do me a favor and help me to the kitchen; I'm starving."

Haku smiled and helped me out of the mess of blankets. He very gently wrapped my arm around his neck before guiding me to the stairs. My legs nearly gave out underneath me. Freaking drugs. I wish I could kick whoever drugged me in the freaking face.

"Are you alright, Inoko-san?" Haku asked, supporting more of my weight on his shoulder.

"My legs have the tinglies," I explained, rubbing my thigh and curling my toes.

Of course, getting down the stairs without breaking my neck was a feat in of itself, one that I couldn't have done without Haku's help.

"Inokoooooo!" Naruto wailed, bursting through the back door as Haku and I entered the kitchen. Sasuke was sitting at the table, sharpening his kunai. "You're awake, dattebayo!"

"Unfortunately," I sighed, plopping myself down on a seat. "Eternal sleep would be a blessing. Thanks, Haku."

"Idiot," Sasuke said, reaching over to flick me in the forehead.

I pouted at him. Honestly! "Jerk. Abusing your injured teammate. Rude."

"So you're awake," Tazuna said as he entered the room. "I honestly thought you were dead when Gato's man took you."

"It'll take a lot more than a crime lord to get rid of me," I said. Then I gave a sly grin. "I'm like an STD. Easy to pick up and impossible to get rid of."

Naruto groaned loudly and Sasuke did the Uchiha equivalent, which was closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.

"Why you feel the need to compare yourself to an infection is beyond me," Sensei said, flopping into a chair with his nose stuck in a book. He glanced over the top to look me over.

Something told me that I was going to be fussed over a lot.

Suddenly feeling stifled, I abruptly stood. "I'm going to get some air," I announced, already making my way to the back door. Haku took my elbow, supporting my unsteady gait, as he helped me out the door. I collapsed against a post and sank very slowly to the porch. My hands were shaking. My breathing grew harsher, harder to inhale, everything crushing around me.

It had been a very long week, and I had no doubt I was probably traumatised. I could feel it even now. The shakes had spread across my entire body. I wasn't ready to talk to my team. I wanted to scream, I wanted to sob, I wanted to go home.

Before we left Konoha, I had thought that I knew what I had gotten myself into. I thought I had fully understood the danger that came with being a shinobi. I thought I could do this, become someone powerful enough to change the future. I snorted to myself.

Ha. As if.

I was weak. Pathetically so. I had only changed a couple things, and I really couldn't say they were for the best. Haku was alive. He was now an unpredictable variable. Sasuke didn't have his Sharingan. Major problem.

I… had failed. Bile rose up in my throat as I realized this. So horribly that it wasn't even funny. I had deprived my teammates of experiences that would define their lives, that would help them so much because I got cocky. I thought that I could make things better and I couldn't, I was just making things worse. I was a pathetic thief who didn't deserve her place.

I gasped for air. Tears were steadily welling up. Despite rapidly blinking my burning eyes, they just kept coming. Haku gently touched my cheek, wiping away a tear that escaped.

"'m sorry," I whispered, scrubbing at my eyes. "I just-" I broke off and stared sullenly at a bush a few meters away, trying to get my breathing under control. I was used to shoving my emotions down to a place where they couldn't be found - so used to it that I barely recognized that I was doing it. Most days, I almost believed in the mask I wore.

Taking a few deep breaths of the warm afternoon air, I could feel the tension bleeding out of my muscles. "Sorry," I repeated, voice beginning to steady. "I'm not… at my best right now."

"It's alright," he said softly. "It's not your fault."

I burst into tears again at that simple reassurance. His hand hesitantly fell on my shoulder and gently began to rub my back.

"It's not your fault," Haku said again, more firmly this time. I leaned into his touch, trying my best to not get my tears all over his shirt. I apologized a few more times until I finally managed to get my tears and emotions under control. He was awkward if not sincere in his comfort.

"I think I might be more upset by everything that happened than I thought," I said, my words muffled against him.

"Perhaps a little, Inoko-san."

I choked on a laugh. 'A little' seemed to be a massive understatement.

We ended up sitting together on the porch for a long time, resting comfortably against each other. How strange it is, I thought idly, watching the waves lap against the shore, that not too long ago we were enemies, and here we are. Decidedly… not enemies. I wasn't really sure what we were now. Friends? Somewhere close to that, I thought.

"Hey, Inoko, do you want to - hey!" Naruto hollered. Sasuke was out of the house like a bolt of lightning. "No mushy stuff allowed!"

Sasuke looked practically green at the thought of "mushy stuff." Haku mainly looked confused. "Wha-"

"It's not like that!" I shouted. I could feel my face turning red as I jumped to my feet. "Stop being gross!"

Sasuke and Naruto both picked me up and hauled me back into the house despite my protests.

"Sensei!"

Haku and I ended up staying at the house with Sensei the next day. The boys went with Tazuna, more than capable of dealing with any thugs that might want revenge for Gato's death. Unlikely, but between the two of them, they should be able to handle anything that would pop up.

"Inoko-san," Haku murmured in the late afternoon. "May I speak with you?"

I glanced at Sensei. I didn't exactly need his permission, but I would like his approval. He just flipped a page in his book, so I guessed that was a yes.

"Yeah, what's up?" I asked, following him outside onto the porch. He pat the seat next to him.

"I wanted to say goodbye to you before I left," Haku explained as I sat down. My eyes widened.

"You're leaving?"

He nodded. I blew my bangs up before brushing them out of my eyes. "That's… wow. What will you do?"

"I'm not sure," he admitted. "For so long, my life was devoted to Zabuza-sama, and now…" Haku paused before giving me a smile, resting his fingertips on the back of my hand. "I felt lost before I got to know you. Inoko-san, you gave my life a purpose again. Thank you."

I was rendered completely speechless. On one hand, this was what my goal had been during my captivity, and I had achieved it quite well. On the other hand, quite literally in this case. Cute boy. Touching my hand.

Curse you, puberty.

Shoving hormonal thoughts aside, I nodded and smiled at him. "You do you, Haku. Just… if you're in the area, look me up, ok?"

"I will, Inoko-san. Thank you." And then he was gone. I leaned my head against the post and inhaled deeply. I felt more calm than I had before. More settled.

Yeah, I had screwed some things up. I mean, it wasn't like Sasuke needed his Sharingan in the next couple months. What, were we going to face off against one of the Sann-

… I just jinxed myself, didn't I?

"I really need to stop doing that."

Kakashi woke up with a rolling storm of bile in his gut. He slowly shifted on his sleeping mat and glanced at his students. Sasuke was curled up in his blankets, Naruto was half in and half out, snoring softly, and Inoko -

He frowned and sat up. Inoko was not in her blanket cocoon. One of the blankets was missing as well. Judging by the coolness of her bed, too, she hadn't been in there for a while. Reassuring himself that she had probably just stepped outside for some air and fell asleep or something, he began to prowl around the house looking for her.

Inoko's scent was stale around here for one, not to mention he couldn't sense her anywhere in the house. Or in the immediate area around the house. Stepping outside, he pulled down his mask and inhaled deeply.

There. She had gone off into the woods. Sleepwalking? Probably not. Going by the scent of spices in the air, she was upset.

Kakashi traced her further into the woods. She had run into a low hanging branch here - he could only imagine the plethora of swearing that happened there - and left a strand of her hair. He pulled the white gold strand free, studying it for a moment.

Her scent was being overwhelmed by the intense smell of flowers from the clearing up ahead. If Kakashi had to guess, Inoko had spent a good deal of time here, maybe half an hour, before leaving from the other side of the clearing, the smell of spices being dampened by the flowers' perfume.

What was she even doing in there? he wondered. The forest floor inside the clearing was coated with night blooming flowers. Well. She was a Yamanaka. Kakashi gave a final glance at the carpet of white morning glories before following his student's trail again. He was slightly concerned by the fact that he still couldn't sense Inoko anywhere around him.

He wasn't a sensor by any means, but still. Problem.

As Kakashi approached the sea, he could hear - singing. The faint sound of someone singing. There she is, he thought with a sigh of relief. It wouldn't look good on his record to lose the same student twice on the same mission.

Inoko was sitting on the beach with a blanket wrapped around her, watching the sea as waves danced up the shore less than a meter away. She absently wove flowers into a crown of twisted young branches. The same morning glories from the clearing earlier. Kakashi slowly came closer, wary of surprising her.

"Cold, dark sea," she sang softly, "your waves are rocking me. I close my eyes and fall asleep. All eyes on me, your eyes on me."

Inoko closed her eyes and inhaled deeply as Kakashi narrowed his eyes. Her chakra signature was held so tightly within her that it was almost as if she were dead. Kakashi sat down next to her, taking in her appearance with a glance. The contrast between her pale skin and the dark circles under her eyes made him worry, but he didn't really know what to do. She looked exhausted and tense. What could he do? Suggest a bath and a nap?

"Being out by myself has always calmed me," Inoko said after a moment. "Sometimes people just become a little too much and I just need to -" She cut herself off and took a deep, shuddering breath. Slowly, he began to feel the slightest spark of chakra, carefully blossoming back to life.

"Hm, maybe so, but you shouldn't wander off so far next time," he scolded lightly, because he knew there was always going to be a next time. As much as he didn't like it, there would always be a next time. "You could get hurt."

Inoko snorted, her fingers pulling and tying flower stems without looking at her work. He wondered how many she'd made before. "I'm a shinobi now, I'm always going to get hurt."

Kakashi waited, feeling that there was something else that she was wrestling with and wasn't telling him. He wasn't good with emotions at all, so if it was that sort of thing he wouldn't be able to help her. But something told him that it was something to do with her time as a captive. If he was right, then it was his duty as Inoko's sensei to help her. Ish. Regardless, he would sit with her and listen.

"Ever since I woke up this morning, I've been asking myself why. Why did I antagonize Gato so much, why did I think I had enough luck to get through this alive, why did I think I was special?" Inoko spat the final word out, disgust evident in her tone. "I'm weak. I need to become stronger. And I'm such an idiot for thinking I was special enough, that I had some sort of… plot armor, to use a book term."

The angry look on her face faded. "I think… to an extent, I didn't truly think I was going to get out of there alive. I think that a part of me wanted to die back there."

Oookay, not what he was expecting. Also incredibly concerning and kind of relatable. He wished he knew what to say in this sort of situation.

Inoko gave a soft 'what can you do' laugh, rubbing the bandage on her cheek. "Sorry. I talk about stupid things after a certain hour."

She glanced at her flower crown and must have deemed it good enough, as she got to her knees and set it on Kakashi's head. He blinked in surprise. Inoko burst out laughing.

"Oh, god, I wish I had a camera. You look lovely, Sensei." She began to braid the remaining flowers into her hair, her grin never leaving her face. "I needed that. I'll be back in the house later. Not tired right now."

"You need to sleep some time," Kakashi said, raising an eyebrow. She waved it away, returning her attention to the ocean.

"I slept for a good four hours earlier," she replied dismissively, pulling the blanket around her a bit closer. "I'm good."

Kakashi sensed that unless he either outright ordered her inside or carried her there, she wasn't going to go. Why did he have to get the stubborn ones?

"Ok then, but I don't want to hear any complaints later~"

"Psh, as if."

Kakashi hesitated for a moment before awkwardly pulling her into a one-armed hug. Inoko froze, hands falling from her braid into her lap. He almost dropped his arm and pulled away when she leaned into it a little, like she was afraid she wasn't allowed. He rubbed her arm a little as her hands came up to grab his jacket. Very quietly, he heard her begin to cry.

He really didn't know what to do with crying children, never had, so he just stayed there, watching the moonlight dance on the ocean as she cried into his flak jacket. She apologized a couple times for crying on him, but it was kind of ruined by the fact that she kept crying on him. We probably make a sight to see, don't we?

It didn't take too long for her to cry herself out, slumped against him in exhaustion. "Good talk," Kakashi said softly before he scooped Inoko up in his arms and carried her back to the house. She didn't wake up when he wrapped her back up in the cocoon of blankets, merely sighing softly in her sleep.

Brat, he thought. He wasn't fond of his genin. He wasn't.

Over the course of the next three weeks, I had to endure Naruto and Tsunami's fussing. Tazuna's daughter reminded me of Yoshino to the point where I jumped to whatever she asked me to do. Sasuke was better about fussing - which was for the best; if he didn't I would probably have stabbed someone - but his annoying habit of just happening to be around doing the same thing I was whenever I went out of sight of the house was driving me crazy. Part of my face was still bandaged because as it turned out, cane handles to the face messed up said face. Who would have guessed? The good news was that it was merely a hairline fracture along with some bruising, but it still hurt. A lot.

I was tired. I wanted to go home.

The bridge was finished on time, more villagers pitching in since the news of Gato's death had spread. It was a sight to be sure, watching these people laughing and joking and starting to look well fed after Gato's warehouses were raided. The children were playing and running around like kids were supposed to do.

It was… nice. I liked Wave.

The bridge wasn't named after Naruto this time, instead being dubbed 'The Freedom Bridge'. Interesting turn of events.

I was fine with it though.

After my conversation on the beach with Sensei, I didn't leave the house after nightmares. Thankfully, the boys didn't question me when I cuddled a bit closer during the night.

I was still glad when we packed up to go home. Inari, Tazuna's grandson, was watching me as I folded the sheets we had been using. I ignored him for the most part, instead enjoying the breeze from the open window across from me.

I kept folding as I listened to Tsunami kindly making us one final meal before we left. I was really looking forward to travelling; it was a beautiful day.

The floorboards creaked as Inari shifted his weight. I continued to ignore him, focusing on folding the sheets.

"I don't get it," he said finally. I stacked the folded sheet on the pile before turning to face him. I raised an eyebrow and gestured for him to continue, leaning on the bedpost. He had been watching me from around corners ever since I had recovered enough to get around the house on my own. I didn't like it, but I wasn't going to snap at a kid for no reason. "How did you get away?"

"I had a friend in there," I replied. I had a feeling I knew where this was going to go. "Look, kid. I know where you're going with this."

Inari stiffened. "You don't know anything," he whispered.

"I know enough," I said flatly. "I'm sorry about your dad, kid, I really am. But Gato was a psychopath, and your dad antagonized him in the wrong way." The boy glared at me. I crouched in front of him, removing the patch on my face and pointing at the yellow and green bruise from where Gato hit me. "See this? I got this because I antagonized him the first time. This is a hairline fracture. As in Gato literally broke my face. The only reason I'm still alive was because he thought he could make a profit off me. I knew that, so I pushed him. He had the ever living daylights beaten out of me for it. I was lucky; luckier than I had reason to be."

I met Inari's eyes, staring impassively until he began to squirm and looked away. I felt for him, I really did. But that didn't excuse his behavior at all.

"Kid. Inari. I know losing your dad hurts. Believe me, I know. But the people at fault for that are dead." I chucked him under the chin and smiled softly. "Chin up. Your mom and grandpa are still here, and they love you very much."

He stared at me for a moment before fleeing. I sighed.

I really sucked with kids.