Note: Any member of the Hakano clan is my original thought. If anyone needs to use them, I would like a written request please. All characters that exist in Naruto's world, are not mine.

Sarina ran as far as she could from her father and brothers that day. She was determined to live on her own in the woods if she had to rather than be banished from the village that she loved so much. Her seven-year old legs could only carry her as far as the river. She flung herself upon the grassy banks and cried.

Kakashi was practicing his jitsus nearby. The 14 year-old boy stopped when he heard the sound of the crying girl. He recognized her as one of Jiachi Hakano's sisters. He and Jiachi had been friends growing up, but as of late that friendship had turned into a bitter rivalry. A rivalry on the part of Jiachi that is, because Kakashi's skills had developed at such a rapid rate in comparison to his own.

He tapped her on the shoulder, but she barely lifted her head in acknowledgement.

He asked softly, "Are you Ok?"

"Leave me alone," she screamed. Then she sat up. "Jiachi told Arielle that she was never to go anywhere with a boy alone, and I was here first, so you need to go!"

"If I were going to hurt you, you'd have never seen me coming." He said it with an air only an overconfident teenage boy could pull off. Then he softened his tone a little. "I just wanted to see if you were all right."

She looked at him and said sadly "I've been banished. The Hokage is sending me away, and my father told me I could never come back."

He puzzled at this. It couldn't be right.

She continued. "My father says I've shamed his family because I have yet to prove myself as having any Nin skills."

None of this made sense to Kakashi. Why would the Hokage send away a seven- year old girl for the simple reason she had done poorly on one of the Academy's elementary physical aptitude tests? Everyone in the village knew that those tests existed to measure each child's individual strengths and weaknesses. Kakashi himself had been given the job of administering some of those tests. No real decisions were made about any child until they were given the academy's graduation exam, and even then the decision wasn't always final.

He'd heard rumors at the Academy about a young girl who was gifted with amazing intelligence and insight for her age. She'd been through the series of intelligence tests given to all academy students, and she'd been one of the few over the years to score near perfect. The plan was to send her to a city, outside of the sheltered life of the Konoha Village. There she would study philosophy, art, literature, mathematics, and other subjects. The Hokage wanted to create a well-rounded scholar in hopes that the ninjas of the Konoha Village were given a solid academic curriculum to go along with their ninja training. He hoped that that would give them an advantage over their adversaries who focused solely on training the body.

Kakashi tried to find the right words to explain this to her. "Your father must be lying to you. The Hokage would never send a seven-year old girl away out of dishonor to her clan. I don't know what his plans are for you, but I do know that what you call exile is really an opportunity. From what I've heard you are talented, girl. Just because you possess a different skill from that which your father desires from you, it doesn't make your skills any less important. We each have our own successes and our own failures. That's what makes each of us unique."

"I don't want to be unique. I want to be a strong fighter."

He shook his head. She'd been influenced by her family too strongly to believe anything other than what they'd told her. At the end of the day, Sarina's greatest wish was her father's acceptance. Her three brothers, and even Arielle were always busy training, doing physical conditioning exercises that would prepare them to be the village's greatest ninjas. She felt separated from her siblings due to her lack of natural talent for the art.

"Come on," he said. "I'll walk you home. It's getting late. Your mother will be worried."

"I'm running away. You can come with me if you like."

"I can't come with you. I have duties here. You do too, though your destiny seems to lie outside this village for a time."

He walked her home, and then returned to the river. Her brother Sanaro approached.

"Kakashi, have you seen Sarina? She ran off hours ago."

" I walked her home. Your father lied to her, you know?"

"About what?"

"About the reason she is being sent away."

"I know that, but I was sworn to secrecy."

Sanaro returned home with a heavy heart. He knew that his sister was afraid of what lie ahead for her.

That afternoon was the first and last time that Sarina had spoken to Kakashi at any length before Saturday night. She'd spent almost 20 years away from the village, and once she came back she immediately became an academic instructor. She'd been offered more prestigious positions, but she preferred elementary level because it was the time when the children were treated with the most equality.

Where Sarina lacked skill, however, Kakashi was Ninjitsu incarnate. Of course, to be fair he had devoted almost thirty of his thirty-three years to its perfection. His family had always been very supportive. Anytime, had he wanted to, he could have given it all up and chosen any other path, but it was his dream, his only true love.

He hoped that as an instructor he could pass that love along to his new students. Saske had all the natural abilities, but he displayed way too much arrogance. Sakura was brilliant at memorizing facts, but she lacked the physical power she needed to advance at this point. Kakashi hoped that this would develop with time and further training, however, he feared that her obsession with Saske was hindering her progress. She cared more about Saske's opinion of her than she cared about reaching her own goals and striving for higher ideals. Naruto, well, Kakashi didn't really know where to begin with that one. He's overconfident, obnoxious, and pretty much misses the point of everything. Like Saske, he possesses great talent, but he focuses that talent on the wrong things. Winning is not the only reason to be a ninja. You have to sacrifice too much of yourself to be true to the art.

He entered the ramen restaurant at about 7:15. She wasn't there yet.

"At least she won't be angry." He pulled out the third book in the Paradise Series, Paradise on Holiday, and began reading. It might be a long wait.