Author's notes (Part 2):

This is a romance story (NOT yaoi/slash/lemons), which is the first one I've ever written in my entire life. It is an AU (alternate universe), please note that it doesn't really have anything to do with the main storyline of Naruto, but think of it as a small side story that you would find in an appendix section. BTW, this story is COMPLETE. I have no wish to bring it any further, coz it would just make it crappy, well to me anyway… But I wouldn't mind suggestions to make it better.

You may see that there are quite a few chapters to this, but it really is a short story. Some chapters are really just a few paragraphs, but I find a need to separate them, as they tend to go between the present and the past. I will be denoting chapters that are FlashBacks with a FB in front, before the chapter title. Chapter one has been combined into this page due to a new ruling from , though I must say that it is really not my style of things. O well, creativity within rules, I guess

OK! Now on with Chapter 2!

"Shut up Sasuke!" Naruto screamed at his teammate. "You're not going to beat me this time! I'm gonna make you take back all that you said about me!" Kakashi sighed, while Sakura tried to get Naruto to shut up and Sasuke tried to ignore him. It had been a while since they had gone on a mission, and all this training seems to be making Naruto and Sasuke compete with each other even more. It had been difficult to get them to pass the Chunin exam, but they had finally made it through, and although they have been promoted in terms of rank, it still didn't improve Naruto's attitude towards his teammate. Teamwork, it seems, was a little out of order lately.

"That's enough!" Kakashi said to his students and walked up to Naruto. "Standing here all day isn't going to prove that you're better than him, you know." Naruto looked at his sensei with a look that seemed to say "Hah?" "I would suggest that you get back to your training, ne?" That seemed to start another round from Naruto, but Kakashi wasn't really listening anymore. Someone was watching them. That someone had just got here, but why was this person spying on them, he had no idea. There was something familiar about this person though…

It took some more convincing and advising from Kakashi, but they had finally gone back to their training. Today's lesson was on intermediate Genjutsu skills, which Sakura seemed to be best at. Sasuke looked in his direction a couple of times, and seemed to indicate that he had noticed the extra presence as well. Naruto, on the other hand, seemed to carry on with his training in total ignorance of it. It was only sometime near dinner that Kakashi decided to call it quits for the day. Naruto was still determined to practice, but this time, Kakashi stopped him. He knew that Naruto was totally exhausted, and training some more could have long term health effects, if not fatal. Besides, he wanted to find out whom it was that was spying on them.

"Sakura, do you feel…like someone is following us?" Naruto whispered to her.

"Geez, don't tell me you didn't notice it up until now?!" Sakura told Naruto, who stared in disbelief that he might be the only one that didn't know about it.

"Sensei, what do you think?" Sasuke asked. "Why would anyone want to spy on us, especially since we are not on any missions?"

"I don't know, but it sure seems familiar," Kakashi said, but still didn't know who it was. "Why don't we split up? We might be able to find out who it is that this person is following?" All his three students looked at him like as if he had made an unheard of decision. "Split up and meet at the terrace in fifteen minutes. Sasuke, you take the North route, Sakura, east, Naruto, South. I'll go westward." In an instant, they split up, seemingly disappearing from view.

Kakashi felt the person follow him almost immediately, and realized that he was the target, but why? There was only one thing left to do, and he stopped, and simply confronted what seemed to be thin air.

"Aren't you tired of hiding? Show yourself!" Kakashi said, and it was almost a minute before whoever it was revealed herself. "Wha…?"

"Hi! Long time no see! I really didn't expect you to have become a Sensei! Sugoi!" the female who stood before him greeted with a smile, and Kakashi suddenly realized who it was.

"Rin?" He couldn't quite believe it. "You're back? When?"

"Probably when you first sensed my presence," Rin answered, and stuck her tongue out sheepishly. "Are you going to stand there all night or welcome me home?" Kakashi seemed to smile and come out of some trance or another. It was a moment that he had almost never expected to see. He took a moment to give her a proper greeting, before asking her one question.

"Have you found what you were looking for?" Rin's face didn't seem to have much expression. She thought about it for a while before answering him.

"More or less," Kakashi had wanted to continue the discussion but knew that he had students waiting for him, and that Rin would have to report to the Hokage before she would be allowed home.

"You'd better go and report in to Hokage," Kakashi advised. "We'll talk later, besides, I'm a sensei, I have to be responsible for my students, you know!"

"You? With that rubberized timing of yours, I'm very surprised you even got to become a Jounin!" Rin told him mischievously, while Kakashi put a hand over his forehead and just shook his head.

"Will you please go already?" Kakashi said, he was starting to remember those days when she was around.

"OK," Rin smiled and turned to go.

"Rin," Kakashi called out as she was about to leave. "Take the West route to the Hokage's quarters. Ibiki is stationed at the East wing." Rin froze when she heard that sentence. She didn't turn around to face him, only smiled a little bitterly to herself, and thanked him for the info, before taking off in the direction of the main hall.

There were some different buildings here and there, but the main structure of the streets of the Hidden Village of Konoha didn't seem much different from the village that she had left behind 2 years ago. She took Kakashi's advice and entered from the West. The guards didn't recognize her, but let her through after seeing her forehead protector. There was still activity going on here. It was run almost 24:7. There always seemed to be something to do. It was amazing that she still remembered how to get to the Main Hall, which was at the center of the headquarters. When she got there, she was stopped at the door, by one of the guards.

"Hatake Rin?" the guard asked her.

"Hai." Rin acknowledged.

"Hokage sama will speak with you in private. I will escort you to the private gardens." With that, he turned to walk in the direction of their destination, and Rin just followed. When they arrived, she found herself at a pavilion in the center of a garden. Hokage was waiting for her there. When her escort left, she greeted the Hokage.

"Okaeri nasai, Rin." Hokage answered. "Have some tea with me?"

""Thank you, Hokage sama," Rin said, as she took a seat. "I'm sure you knew of my return some time ago."

"Of course, nothing escapes my eye," he said, and took another sip of tea. "So, have you found what you were looking for?" He asked after a long while.

"Hmmm… I suppose I have," Rin replied. "But I don't know what I am supposed to do now."

"I think you already know." Hokage retorted. "I think there are some other issues here that make you wonder if you really should come back." Rin winced visibly from that remark, as she knew that he was right. "Rin, whatever your decision may be, I will support you on this. I know that it isn't easy to go out there and find out about a past that you didn't know you had, but whatever it is, just remember, no one knows about the true identity of the undead shinobi. It is still possible for you to have something here. I hope that you will consider that before making your decision."

"Thank you," Rin said, and took a careful sip of tea. "I really appreciate all that you've done for me. I really want to stay, but there are some things that I have to consider first."

"Mmmm" was the only comment that the Hokage made, and he took another sip of tea. There was another long pause before he spoke again. "I'm sure you have met Kakashi and his students."

"Yes, I have, isn't one of them the survivor of the Uchiha clan?" Rin asked, while the Hokage nodded.

"The other boy is the vessel for the Nine tailed fox, Naruto," Hokage said. "I think you must understand what it was like for him to grow up not knowing anyone."

"Well, not exactly, at least I was lucky enough to have a foster family," Rin replied. "But I do understand how it feels to be … different."

"So, is it another advanced bloodline?" Hokage asked, and she nodded.

"One of them was. The other ability, seems to be some kind of family trait." She explained.

"Meaning?" Hokage repeated. This was getting interesting.

"My father was a ninja, that had origins somewhere near the Village of Earth. My mother was from the country of Lightning." Rin said, starting to relate what she had found out. "I can't remember the Clan that he was from, but I only know that it was a clan that specialized in blood jutsu."

"Blood jutsu?" Hokage repeated, but didn't let on to what he was thinking.

"Hai. I learnt that it was a clan that was wiped out long ago, how my father survived, I don't know, but there doesn't seem to be any trace of him now." Rin said. "Someone actually said that he was dead, lost in battle, but his body was never recovered. Somehow, I don't believe them to be right."

"I thought as much. What about your mother?" Hokage pressed on.

"Vampire. She was a vampire." Rin said. "She was also supposed to be dead. I only managed to find out where she lives. Visiting the house only told me what her family was like. The only artifact I found was a diary that belonged one of my mother's relations."

"I see," Hokage said, finishing his tea. "I would suggest you take sometime to get reacquainted with all those that you left behind 2 years ago. I won't be sending you out on any missions till further notice. Dismissed." With that, Rin got up and left. She would probably head back to the apartment that she had shared with Kakashi. He had said that she could always bunk in with him and that was probably what she was going to do for now. She started to wonder what had happened to the rest of her teammates. She had heard that they had both made it to Jounin status, and was waiting for her to return to form a shinobi special ops team. She was looking forward to seeing them again, after all they were the ones who understood her situation and having worked together for so many years as a Gennin and then as Chunin, their teamwork was practically unbeatable. It wasn't long before she had reached Kakashi's place, and she had found her brother waiting for her. His apartment was neat and tidy, it was probably the cleanest place to her. She had known how much he hates a mess, and will keep things as tidy as possible.

"How'd it go?" he asked, the moment she walked through the door.

"It was alright," she said, as she took off her shoes and entered the apartment proper. He was sitting on the couch, doing some serious channel surfing, but she knew that he was actually more interested with her find. "Got anything to eat?"

"Table," was all he said. What she found was some bread and jam that was left there for her. It was blueberry jam, her favorite, so, he didn't forget after all.

"Thanks," Rin replied, and started to apply some jam to a piece of bread. She went to join him at the living room when she finished applying the jam on the bread and started nibbling on it. "So how is that you became a sensei anyway?" Kakashi rolled his eyes to the ceiling.

"Is it really that difficult to see me as a sensei?" he asked, and she just nodded. He sighed. "Well, let's just say that the team with the right attitude finally came along."

"Really?" Rin asked, half nibbling and still finding it hard to believe. "I heard about the 2 boys, but the girl?"

"She's the brightest in the class. I find that her analytical skills are the best out of the 3 of them. She also seems to be talented in the area of Genjutsu." He replied her, all the while flipping the channels looking for something interesting to watch.

"I see, how are the missions so far?" Rin asked, and Kakashi proceeded to tell her about their first few missions, even the one involving Tazuna, to the Chunin exam, till now. "So their Chunins now?"

"Ah," Kakashi replied, then he changed the subject. "So, how was your trip? Found anything useful?"

"I think I found out a little too much," Rin replied very honestly. "I don't even know if I should continue to stay or quit and leave the village."

"Why? You are a great help to the ninjas in this village and I'm sure your team will help the Hokage in defending the village." He told her.

"Would I?" Rin asked sulkily. "After what I found out, I don't think it is such a good idea. Maybe I should just leave and live alone somewhere."

"That would have been a waste to all the training and effort that you have put in for so long." He tried to reason with her.

"I know, but somehow, that might seem safer for everyone." Rin said, and started to tell him about what she had found out on her trip. She didn't expect that she would have inherited a bloodline long thought to be wiped out. The clan of shinobi that specialized in the blood jutsu were all killed because some of them had great ambitions to take over the world, and it had frightened the other countries so much, that their village was destroyed in a massive attack by the ninjas of the other countries, and all those that scattered were hunted down and killed.

"Blood jutsu?" Kakashi asked her and tried to remember all that he had learnt about the different types of jutsu. "Doesn't sound very familiar."

"I think because it was a very old and forbidden jutsu." Rin said. "I think it was during the time of the first Hokage. The only reason why it was a very terrifying jutsu was because it controlled the victims blood, and they could freeze it, mutate it, change it into another substance or even reverse the flow of blood in a person's circulatory system." Kakashi raised an uncovered eyebrow, and was wondering just how it was that such a jutsu had come into being in the first place. She had discovered only ruins of that old village and amazingly, there was even a small shed that was left standing. It was overgrown with weeds and vines, but she had barely managed to see an outline of it, and she went to find a small shed with some gardening tools, which were totally rusted and unusable. It was all that she could find, and she had camped there a couple of days to see if there was anything else in the area. Unfortunately, she didn't find anything else, but that changed when she had chanced upon a secret passageway that led away from the shed.

The passageway was small and very well hidden. It had taken her almost a week to explore what had seemed to be endless tunnels that led to rooms. It was so big that it had almost looked like an underground mansion. There were many questions going through her mind as she went round from one room to the next. There weren't much there, but she had seen what had seemed to be a distant past, a family had most probably lived here for a time. In fact, it was big enough for several families to live in it. She had found another exit, and when she used it, she found herself at a beach, that had a dock to it as well. It was probably another escape route, no doubt. Cliffs surrounded the beach, and the only way to get here was either by boat or by the exit she had just used. Whoever it was, that lived in the tunnels, might have been waiting for a boat to come in and ferry them to another land.

"That is very interesting, and I'm sure that there is more to this than what you had just told me," Kakashi said, and he got up, stretched and yawned. "But, it is getting late, and I have classes tomorrow. Shall we continue this tomorrow?"

"Ok," Rin agreed and realized that getting tired too, especially when a yawn escaped her lips. "So, will I be having my old room back?"

"Yup, kept it dust free for you too," Kakashi said in a lazy manner. "Oyasumi."

"Oyasumi," Rin said to him, and walked towards her room. It was actually just as she had left it 2 years ago. Kakashi didn't touch anything, except pack some of her things into a neat corner. She put her bag down in the corner and took out some clothes and a towel from the closet and proceeded to have a bath. It was good to be back, and after a long soak, she went to her room and had the most wonderful sleep she's had since she left the village 2 years ago.

Author's Glossary:

On language:

This piece has quite a few Japanese words ( those that I understand anyway) so for those of you who are not familiar with it, below are a glossary of terms that are used in this fic. Please refer to them if you are unsure about their meanings. The words in bold are in Japanese and the underlined words are their rough English equivalents. However, I would assume that you already know what a sensei, jutsu, kunai, shuriken and shinobi are, if not, are you sure you're in the right section?

Sugoi Amazing

Hai Yes/Right (as in correct not the direction)

Okaeri nasai Welcome back/ welcome home

Oyasumi good night

Hisashiburi it's been a long time/Long time no see

Itte Kimasu I'm leaving (the house) now

Oyako don stewed chicken on rice

Gomen sorry

Daijobu ka? Are you ok?

Daijobu I'm ok/fine

O ne chan big sister

Ano erm

Nani What

Doshite Why

So ka I see

O ni san big brother

Ya shou kun ohaiyo Hi everybody, good morning.

Yoroshiku nice to meet you

Morino san Roughly equivalent to Mr. Morino

Ja na! bye then!