Naruto placed the pen above his lip and puckered, holding it in place against the bottom of his nose. His report was due in a few days and he had yet to finish. He let the pen fall and watched as it rolled away from him. When it finally stopped, it landed onto a folder that hadn't been there yesterday. Upon opening it, he found Sasuke's handwriting inside but it wasn't a mission report.

Iruka furrowed his brows together and tried his best to hide from the sun that was steadily rising. Normally, placing his arm over his eyes or burying his face by the wall would do the trick but when he scooted over, he bumped into something soft and prickly. He tried swatting the thing away from his face but it returned to its position almost immediately.

"Iruka, what are you doing?"

"Mnn, there's something in my face..." Iruka muttered, still seemingly asleep.

"That's my hair."

"Hair?"

Kakashi rolled over and faced Iruka, "Thanks."

Iruka made and face and huffed, "Ah, I hate the-" but stopped mid sentence when he opened his eyes to find Kakashi staring back at him. He stared back, recalling the previous night's events. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Kakashi rolled onto his back and closed his eyes, "Old wounds are hard to heal though."

Iruka did not know what to say. He didn't consider them to be friends but he couldn't call their relationship as mere acquaintances either. What transpired last night just made things more complicated. When Kakashi broke down, he had held him in his arms on impulse. It was something his mother often did when he cried as a child so it seemed like the natural thing to do but he worried what Kakashi would think. He rolled onto his back and looked up at the sky. Iruka was glad that clouds had drifted in and the sun was no longer an issue. He breathed in deeply, finding the cold air refreshing compared to the humid weather Konoha was used to getting. He exhaled through his mouth, entranced by the vapor that formed from his breath. A wind blew past the trees and the snow that was covering the branches fell softly on them.

"It's nice here." Kakashi whispered softly.

Iruka glanced over, wondering if that was directed towards him or if he was talking to himself. Kakashi seemed almost at peace, much different from the night before.

"Kakashi..."

"I'm fine."

"I know it might be painful and it's hard to admit when you're hurting. But sometimes... it's okay to lift some of that burden off your shoulders if you share it with someone." The words came out before he could stop himself. Being a teacher for so long had that affect on him. If anything was bothering his students, he always encouraged them to share it with him. Even if he couldn't help them, he knew having someone to listen to them was sometimes enough.

The outer corners of Kakashi's lips curved up just slightly, "I wouldn't want to lift the burden off just to make myself feel better." Kakashi turned his head away from Iruka, "Besides, if I shared it with you, wouldn't you then bear the weight of my problems as well?"

"It's okay."

Kakashi sighed, "Where do I even begin?" He thought about it briefly before he began, "I meant what I said yesterday when I said that there are blood on these hands." Kakashi paused, his voice constricting, "You're probably thinking that I made some mistake on a mission that cost the lives of my teammates. Oh, how I wish that were the case." He took in a deep breath, his chest sinking in as he breathed out. "Obito got in the way... and, I just didn't, I couldn't stop..."

Iruka expected Kakashi to go on but when he didn't he urged him to continue, "I don't get it."

Kakashi pushed himself off the ground and sat up. He placed his fingertips at the edge of his mask and slowly with each finger rolled his mask down. He promptly removed his vest and reached behind his shirt, pulling it over his head to reveal the seal on his shoulder.

"Is that?" Iruka shot up and moved closer to inspect it, "Is that the same as Sasuke's?"

"Let's just say Orochimaru has a knack for cultivating hate. While watching Sasuke fall into his trap, it was like I was like reliving my past. I keep wondering if Obito felt the same as I did when I couldn't do anything for Sasuke."

"But why would Orochimaru target you?" Iruka eyes flickered over Kakashi's face, stopping at the hitae-ate headband that was worn over his eye, "Your eye?"

"The sharingan?" Kakashi mused, laughing softly. His hand trembled as he brought it up to his forehead, "You mean this?" he asked, yanking the headband off. He leaned toward Iruka, leaving only a few inches between the two, "This is what he gave me!" Kakashi spat out. Iruka stumbled backwards landing him in the snow, his sudden outburst startling him. He wanted to help but now it seemed that it was much more than he bargained for.

"Orochimaru was ever the innovator and mad scientist of course. He implanted the sharingan in hopes that my body wouldn't reject it because of the Uchiha blood in me."

"Uchiha?" exclaimed Iruka.

Kakashi shrugged, "I have not idea whether that's true or not. My mother died right after I was born. I don't know my own past and I can no longer separate the lies from the truth. However, the mere fact that I'm still alive and can function it does make me wonder sometimes..."

Iruka regained his composure and got up, "But if he only targeted you for experiments, then why do you have that seal?"

The wind howled as it blew past them causing the snow on the ground and on the trees to swirl about, creating a momentary illusion of snowfall. "Although he started out with experiments, he knew that he would eventually accomplish his ultimate goal and then he would be able to control the bodies of those he sought after. What he sought after were those with advanced bloodlines. He wanted nothing more than to experience their power first hand."

Iruka was desperately trying to absorb everything Kakashi said but his mind was spinning, "Does that mean... you, have an advanced bloodline?"

"I was born in Lightning country.(1) My grandfather was once the Raikage; he was the man I had chased after for so long and when I finally caught him..." Kakashi's voice began to choke, "Nothing could stop me, not even Obito."

"Stop! I'm sorry that I made you tell me all this. I... I just can't... I'm sorry."

Kakashi got up and walked away, "I only told you because you said it was okay."

"Ah?! Why does it stop?" Naruto shuffled the pages around but found there to be no more.

"You know Naruto, patience is a virtue." Sasuke smirked as he waved around the papers in his hand.

"Is that?"

Sasuke nodded, "You owe me one."

"But how did you, when did you?"

"Remember we all went out to find Iruka-sensei and Kakashi-sensei, but then you and Sakura got lost?"

"I see..." Naruto rubbed his chin, immersed in his thoughts. "This is a side of Kakashi-sensei I never knew about."

"Hnn."

"Damn him! If he was so great, why didn't he teach me better?!" Naruto balled his hands into fists, crumpling Sasuke's work. "Advanced bloodline, Uchiha..." he muttered on.

"Baka. You're Hokage now, what difference does it make?"

Naruto smiled enthusiastically and leapt off his chair to point at Sasuke, "I got you! You finally called me Hokage!!"

Sasuke could feel the corners of his mouth tugging but he covered his mouth just in time. "I didn't call you Hokage. I just said you were."

"Sasuke!!" Naruto whined.
(1) In case you didn't know, (even I had to do some research on this part), Hidden Cloud village is in Lightning country.

Woo! If you're reading this, thanks for continuing to read! I swear I will finish this fic and not let it just die out!!! Oh, although I said I figured out the ending, this is really far from over... because I just can't figure out how to go from where I'm at right now to how it will wrap up... I need to connect the dots...

Hmm, wonder if I got sidetracked with Kakashi's past... I want to write a fic on that... but not sure... what do you guys think?

THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS!!! THANK YOU!! TT