Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto Masashi, contents of the following text only serve entertainment purposes.

AN: This chapter has been re-edited.

This chapter: Life could get easier if one stops forcing one's self... right?

Chapter: One Step Back

The Hokage had just finished telling her the full account of what had happened the day Yuki was found. As well as an account of what she had done. What she had done as a mere child. The Hokage told her that it was she that had, ultimately, saved Konoha from the Kyuubi.

At age three, the Sandaime had singled her out to be an anbu. She was separated from Naruto and was trained rigorously by himself. She was kept hidden from the rest of Konoha, by his own orders. It was a necessary function to help his ambitious mind. Yuki was to train at a young age, at a quicker speed than her childhood companion, Naruto. The function was so she could act as reinforcement whenever the Kyuubi decided to act up inside Naruto again, whenever its reappearance became a huge probability. Knowing both how to protect herself and Naruto, they would both be safe from any danger. The Sandaime had planned for her to be the perfect bodyguard. Thankfully, the day never came, but Yuki adamantly refused to be let off from training. In some way, both the Sandaime and Kakashi were disappointed at her decision.

She became an anbu at the age of 9 - skipping the genin, chuunin and jounin stages. Naruto was still studying at the academy then. She and Kakashi were singled out to be the next anbu leaders after the previous one had betrayed them - Uchiha Itachi. She refused. Since her elder brother, Kakashi, had also refused that position, she followed suit. No one had become an official leader since. Rumors came out about her double-bloodline, but were doused as no one had any proof. At least, no had had ever lived to tell anything. No one but her brother and the Hokages had ever seen her face. Now, age 19, she allowed three chuunins, a missing-nin and a fellow anbu see her in her 'normal' form. Life was getting difficult.

"Yuki-san, we don't know much about who your parents are but..." Tsunade seemed to hesitate. "There were reports... I wasn't around the village at that time - it was about two years before you were born, that an Uchiha and a Hyuuga were banished from their respective clans. Kakashi seems to believe so as well. That's all the information I could gather of your background without causing any suspicion."

"Do... do they know about me?" It was all a shock to her, but she vaguely knew that something like that was coming. The part about having forced the Kyuubi back into Naruto's body and reinforcing the seal was a little hard to believe though. Her big brother had a hand to her shoulder. It was a comforting gesture. She wondered if he did it on purpose. She turned her attention back to Tsunade and looked at her in the eye. She nearly flinched.

"Most probably not. Your existence has been kept secret since your arrival to the Hokage's home, a little more than 18 years ago. Even your adoption to the Hatake household was kept a strict secret between only the Sandaime, Kakashi and yourself. And now me." Tsunade looked at her with troubled eyes. "If you wish to pursue an investigation into either Uchiha or Hyuuga household, you have my permission. However-"

"As long as I am still an anbu, such an investigation is impossible." she continued for her. The pressure of Kakashi's hand on her shoulder increased. Kakashi gave the Hokage a silent request.

"I'll leave you two alone. I'll be just outside." The Hokage nodded in Kakash's direction before closing the door.

"What do you think?" he asked as he leaned on the Hokage's desk, finally being able to face her. She had a troubled expression on her face.

"I think that I want to know more about my lineage." Yuki took in a deep breath and looked up at him. "Since I can't go any further, might as well look back, right?"

"If that's what you want."

"B-but, Sakura-chan and Naruto-kun would be devastated, right? Knowing that I practically lied to their faces, and then appearing before the council to announce myself..." Kakashi noticed her deliberate omission of Sasuke.

"Do you know why I wanted you to know about this, now of all times?" Yuki shook her head and looked up at her brother with a puzzled expression on her face. "Because I saw the way you were looking at Sasuke-kun." Yuki turned a bright red. "I realized you knew bits of your past so I didn't think it was necessary to tell you sooner than needed. I'm sorry."

"It's alright," she choked out, her mind still on Sasuke. Kakashi noticed this and chuckled.

"When you just arrived at Konoha, looking all tired and sleepy in your blanket, I knew. I just knew that you would be someone special. I visited you all the time. I know you don't remember. I wanted to take care of you so I stopped being an anbu and settled on being a jounin."

"W-what are you trying to tell me?"

"I had enough of that life anyway," he said gently. "I didn't want to come home to a kid sister, looking all bloody. Maybe one day I would've had something serious happen to me. Maybe one day, I wouldn't go home at all. So I stopped. Life as anbu was getting too uncomfortable to raise a child, even if the Sandaime was the one spending the most time with you."

"You're saying that I might've just found someone... someone s-spe-cial...?" she choked on the last word. "And when that happened to you, you stopped being an anbu."

"That was my choice. I don't regret it. Now you have to choose your own path." Kakashi knew what she would pick. He was silently hoping that she would pick his path. He didn't want an emotionally unstable sister. Being simply a jounin was... more liberating. Once his students got over the fact that she was a leaf-jounin and that she was his sister, they would become friends. Kakashi thought that Yuki could be much happier like that. Much much happier.

"Being a jounin's not so bad... I guess..." she said shyly. Kakashi felt a little victory. "Right, Kakashi-niichan?"

"So..." Kakashi fought back a relieved laugh. "I'll call in Tsunade-sama."

Tsunade felt relieved as well. Arrangements were made to transfer her between the two sections. It would take a few days, and then she'd have to appear in front of the other jounins in the village. Once the jounins recognized her, she would be introduced to the chuunins. Tsunade made sure that no missions came to either person during the course of that week. Better to let the siblings catch up, right?

"Kakashi-niichan!" Yuki hollered from the living room of their apartment. Kakashi stepped in it looking puzzled. "Could I- uh... could I-" Kakashi almost smiled to himself. What was it that she wanted? They had to leave soon. Yuki went over and whispered her request to his ear and he started laughing. "Stop laughing!" she cried out, blushing bright red.

"You sure about that?" he asked, almost stepping back to his room. Yuki nodded. "Alright."

Minutes later, Kakashi stepped outside his apartment and greeted the sunshine with a smile. Yuki stood still right at the shadows of the doorway. He could only see her feet. He waited, knowing that it was an important moment for her. It would be the first time she would step out of the apartment through the front door. It would be the first time she left their home without anbu gear. Kakashi saw her take in a deep breath and take one step out. And another step. And then slowly down the stairs.

"Alright?" he asked gently. She nodded in calm resolution. Hecouldn't helpbut feel a little worry sinceearlier she'd asked toto use one of his face-masks. It almost seemed like she couldn't bear to go out without something covering her face. But it was a big step. His own masks only came up to the bridge of the nose. Even that was enough to get her to fidget in awkwardness. It didn't bother her during her previous mission that she went without it because she was partly in genjutsu anyway. It was enough to keep her feeling safely 'concealed'. Besides that she was sporting her usual vest and shorts with a piece of cloth tied on her right arm. That was where the mark of the anbu was stamped. It would always be there and since she never liked wearing shirts with sleeves, that was the best she could do to cover it up without wasting her chakra. "Big day today..."

"Yup," she chirped as she fell into his pace beside him. "But all I am going to do is stand up beside Tsunade-sama while she introduces me... Such a big fuss for a little thing." Kakashi patted her head fondly, seeing trough her facade. She sure was nervous. She couldn't stop twitching her fingers, and she didn't even realize it.

At once, Kakashi was struck at how much she had grown. He suddenly felt like one of those sniffy parents that teared up to see their 'baby' all 'grown up'. He was exceedingly fond of the girl, now she was going to join him in his world, among those of the same ranks.

The jounins took an interesting look at their new comrade. The Hokage said that she was Kakashi's sister, but she was hardly anything like him though she had the same tall and lanky structure, but her hair was purple and her eyes were maroon. They shone red when put against the light at a certain angle. It looked almost like blood. She was also wearing the same face mask, though she had an alert expression on her face, as opposed to Kakashi's sleepy one.

"Nice to meet you all," she said to the group as the Hokage left them. It was silent for a moment.

"Wow! My greatest rival, Kakashi!" That was Gai. "I didn't know you had a sister!" All the jounins noticed the cloth wrapping part of her arm and most came to the same conclusion - that she had been an anbu. "She's joined us at quite an early age! Although you entered our ranks when you even younger that she is now... my rival couldn't have even better relations!" He ended it with a teeth-flashing smile and a pose. While the other jounins congratulated her brother, Kurenai approached Yuki.

"Congratulations, Yuki-san," she said, giving her a little friendly smile.

"Thank you, Kurenai-san," Yuki said. She saw the surprised expression on the older woman's face. Yuki only smiled back. Kurenai was wondering how she knew her... but she was an anbu, so Yuki probably had even more surprises on her than just knowing her name.

"Why don't we go out for a drink while they're still bombarding your brother?"

"Sounds like a nice idea." It was a little while anyway, before all the jounins and the chuunins would be put together. The academy was about to have its graduation exam and jounins needed to be posted as instructors. Might as well get herself introduced there. Kurenai was such a nice person.

That afternoon came and she was filled with dread. After having congratulated Kakashi, the other jounins had turned their attention to her and had accepted her with open arms. Would it be the same in the case of the chuunins?

Tsunade began the meeting with the usual round of announcements to the crowd that had gathered and was now ticking off a number of jounins to become instructors. The names were put down by recommendation. Yuki was one of them.

"Hatake-" Sasuke's ears perked up. So did his two team mates. Would their sensei be taken away from them? Sonna... "Fuyu Yuki." Their dread was replaced with shock. Yuki! Yuki!

Yuki had stepped forward among the other jounin that had been recommended. Her heart was fluttering nervously. She was thinking anxiously, "Did Sasuke-kun hear my name being called up? Were Naruto-kun and Sakura-chan there too? Were they angry? Why was I nominated to become an instructor? I'd only got this job today..." Replacing her anxiety was her irritation. "Nevermind," she told herself. The crowd had been noisy once her name was called up but it was dying down as Tsunade told the instructors-to-be the last of her announcements. She dismissed them all.

All but Kakashi and the rest of his squad left.

"Kakashi-niichan?" she croaked when she saw the faces being made by the people that she had just made her friends only days ago. She had run away from them. She never told them who she was and yet they were still willing to give her protection, though Yuki knew that she was able to protect herself.

"You three," Kakashi said, drawing his students' attention to him as he put a hand on Yuki's head. "Meet my sister."

"I am Hatake Fuyu Yuki. Nice to meet you all," she said, amazingly without choking.

"No way!" Naruto was the first one to react. "Kakashi-sensei! Why didn't you tell us she was your sister? Why didn't you tell us you had any other relations at all! Yu-ki--chan."

"I'm sorry," she whispered. Naruto felt bad for yelling but he couldn't help feeling betrayed either.

"Well, Naruto-kun. Anbus weren't allowed to reveal themselves after all." Yuki blushed a little and gave them the same sheepish grin that Kakashi was given them. Naruto held it in as long as he could, but he couldn't stop from bursting out laughing. Yuki was like mini-female-Kakashi.

"Yuki-chan!" Naruto exclaimed as he rushed forward and gave her a slap on the back that nearly made her fall if Kakashi wasn't holding on to her. "You should've told us you were a leaf-nin! Else I wouldn't have gone all worried these past few days."

"I'm sorry, Naruto-kun," she apologized again.

"And you!" he said mock-angrily, pointing an accusing finger towards his sensei. "How could you left us in the dark! 'She'll be fine,' you said. 'There are other things protecting the wildlife around Konoha,' you said. But not once - not once! - did you say 'she's my kid sister so she'll be alright.' or even 'she's a jounin.' or -nothing!" Naruto continued to vent out on Kakashi as Yuki moved her attention towards his other two team mates. But Sasuke was nowhere in sight. Sakura was smiling shyly at her. They'd never really gotten close enough anyway, so Sakura took the situation fairly lightly. Yuki was more worried about Sasuke.

"Yuki-chan..."

"I'm sorry, Sakura-chan," said Yuki.

"Don't worry about it, Yuki-chan. But it's great, isn't it? You look about our age and yet you're already a jounin." Her smile was a little forced towards the end. Sakura knew what it took to become jounin. You had to learn how to kill. "In any case, now that the meetings over I have to go meet Ino. She wanted to go shopping."

"Have fun," said Yuki, smiling a little at her, though she knew that it was wasted since they could barely see the rest of her face with her mask on.

"Yuki-chan... It's nice seeing you again," Sakura said with a final wave before she left them. At least everything was alright with Naruto-kun and Sakura-chan. How was Sasuke doing?

Sasuke was back at the training grounds, doing furious kicks and punches to the air.

"How dare she..." he thought angrily. "How dare she deceive me!" His rational side knew that it was useless getting angry. Like Kakashi said, anbus weren't normally allowed to reveal themselves, after all. But he felt so emotional inside. He was torn between relief at her safety and anger at her deceit. It was more rational to be relieved than to be angry over some rule that had been in place long before he was born, and perhaps would continue till long after he was dead, too. But for all that, even the sight of her managed to stir up emotions inside him. He resented that.

Even after revealing herself, he knew. He just knew that there was something else that she was hiding from them. From everyone. It was her eyes. He knew that there was something different. He just didn't know what.

In all his years at Konoha he had never felt so angry as to rival his own stirred up emotions about his comatose brother. It wasn't anger about the deceit. No, it wasn't. Not any longer. He was angry because no one had ever made him feel so much since the death of his family.