p-sama7 looks out from behind a corner

It has been a while hasn't it? ...............

IM SO FREAK'IN SORRY!!! I planned to update before I left for Europe but that didn't happen and then I was going to type while I was in Texas but my disc broke and when I finally got back to NC school was starting and they were still working me 32 hours a week at my job!

Okay well enough of my excuses because I need to make an announcement,

THIS IS THE LAST CHAPTER!

Just kidding!

Growing Pains was given birth almost a year ago and I have finally made it to the last chapter. But don't you fret because there is a Epilogue that I will have out for ya soon! And I am sooooo sorry once again about how long it took to update this chapter!

Did anyone know that Microsoft Word expires? Well I didn't and then the day I was going to respond to all your reviews and then post it I click on Word and its like sorry your crappy software expires Aug. 31 go and waste your money and update me!

Ooh almost forgot the disclaimer.......... I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE NARUTO CHARACTERS!

Actually this was supposed to be the last chapter but after I replied to all the reviews and rereading it I decided I didn't liked how it was goig to end so now you have antoher chapter and an epilouge to rely on!

takes a breath

Okay so without anymore complications I give you chapter 23!

Enjoy.

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Chapter 23: There Once Was a Dirty Blonde Anbu

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A very young boy with dirty blonde hair smiled brightly as he was handed his hitai-ate leaf headband. At the young age of eight Obito had graduated from the ninja academy and was now going to get the chance to prove himself in the world of the shinobi.

"Yo, short stuff you graduated?" Obito glared at the rest of his graduating class.

"Hey guys the shrimp graduated!" Another boy called out to the classmate as a few of the girls snickered.

"Watch what you guys say cause I'm going to be tall when I get older!" Obito stated as he pouted a bit.

"Did your mom tell you that?" Obito blushed a bit and the class started laughing again causing the dirty blonde to sigh before he found his seat.

So what if he was short for his age, maybe being shorter than the girls just made him an obvious target for teasing but he would show them one day. He was going to be the tallest person here when he was older and then what would they say?

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"Yo shorty." Obito gave a toothy grin as he placed his elbow on his friend's head.

At 16 Obito already stood 6'3'' and still had room to grow. The now Anbu member had already gotten his revenge from his former classmates when he had graduated to chunin before them, and when he had grown at least five inches taller than them.

And when he became an Anbu before they even had the option.

And when he was already recognized as a talented member of the leaf at such a young age.

And how he had already been given several occasions to take the jounin exam even though he had declined in favor of the Anbu squad.

Yes, revenge was sweet for 'short stuff'.

"Obito stop being a jerk." The shinobi Obito was using as an arm rest coughed a bit causing the dirty blond to grin.

"Don't worry Hayate-kun. I'm sure you'll get to be taller when you're as old as me." Obito grinned at the young genin that would most likely make it to chunin in the up coming exam.

"Obito-senpai, is it true that Uchiha Heidaki is an Anbu squad leader?" Hayate coughed a bit as he watched his friend.

"Yeah, he's a cool guy too and from what I hear he has the youngest Anbu member on his squad." Obito smiled a bit as he thought about the other squad leaders. "Hopefully I'll get the next promotion to squad leader ne?"

"I hope not." Hayate coughed as he smirked at the dirty blonde Anbu. "We all know you would probably kill off your team on your first mission."

"Little smug brat!"

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"Something is coming!"

Obito heard a young voice cry out as he turned his head to see a red glow coming form the forest. The Anbu leader waited for the signal before he took off with his team.

The 18 year old dirty blond gaped at the sight before him. The beast howled with a piercing scream before it lunged itself at oncoming shinobi.

Obito and his squad took off towards the beast. They need to stop its movement somehow. Needed to kill the demon fox or else everything in Konoha......everything would be gone.

The battle seemed to last forever as only minute by minute went by. Obito felt someone grab his waist and pull him back as a tail swept by in the place where he used to be.

"Watch your back!" A young teen with a bowl cut yelled as he took off to help other people.

Obito quickly got to his feet as the fox lunged forward only to be pushed back. The Anbu was about to perform another jutsu when something caught his eye. The dirty blond noticed a small figure running towards the fox.

Obito's eyes widened as he realized it was just some kid genin. The dirty blond was about to do something when another tail came his way. Obito quickly dodged and when he looked back in the direction of the kid he realized the fox had moved in that direction.

The kid must have......

Obito growled a bit as he started performing another jutsu only to have it interrupted by the sight of a giant frog in the distance.

The fourth had finally come.

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"An Anbu squad leader at the age of 13! It's ridiculous!" Obito sighed as he sat back in his chair.

"You're just jealous." Hayate coughed a bit with a smirk.

"So what if I am!" Obito admitted truthfully.

"He's the heir to the Uchiha clan; of course he is going to be a prodigy." The chunin coughed a bit more before he sighed. "And it's not like......"

"Hello?" A young girl with short purple hair walked in the small meeting room and looked around before she looked at Obito and Hayate. "Hey there."

"Can we help you?" Obito yawned as she smiled at him.

"My name is Mitsuo; I am looking for......"

"Himoru Sayaka?" The girl turned around to see a young teenage with sharingan eyes looking at her. "You're on my team; I will be with you in a second."

"Thank you." Sayaka did a small bow before she turned around to see the two guys from earlier looking at her strangely.

"Why were you introducing yourself as Mitsuo, Sayaka-san?" Obito asked bluntly as she sweat dropped.

"That's none of your business." She looked over at the younger boy and smiled as he blushed a bit. "Well what are your names?"

"I'm Obito." Obito held out his hand for her to shake as she just gave it a glance before turning to Hayate.

"And what's your name?"

"I'm Hayate." The chunin coughed a bit before Itachi appeared again and Sayaka left with him.

Obito watched Hayate for a few seconds noticing the blush on the chunin's cheeks before he grinned. "You think she's cute?"

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Obito ran his hand through his shaggy dirty blonde hair. It had been awhile since he last cut it and he kind of liked the shaggy bed-head look so it didn't really matter.

The Anbu stared lazily at the clock he had next to his bed before yawning and turning over. Today was the only day he had off for another three weeks and he and he would be stupid if he didn't sleep in. Of course it wasn't until he heard someone enter his apartment that he realized he probably wouldn't be getting to sleep in today.

"Obito? Are you awake yet?" Obito groaned when he heard the intruder open his bed room door. In his mind he was mentally slaughtering his guest but before he could get to the good part he felt a sudden splash of cold water on his face.

"I don't like it when you smile when you sleep." Sayaka smirked as Obito glared at her. "Come on senpai, you promised to shop with me today."

Obito furrowed his eyebrows at her. "When would I ever be stupid enough to promise you something like that?"

Sayaka gave him a knowing smirk before she flipped her long purple hair and placed her other hand on her hip. "When you're stupid enough to get hammered in my presence then you are stupid enough to promise to spend your only day off with me."

With that Sayaka turned around and left his room giving Obito the chance to get ready for his 'eventful' day with her.

At least now Obito knew why his head hurt so much.

"Obito are you coming?" Sayaka yelled from the living room.

Oh how Obito regretted the day he met her.

"Hey where's Kakashi?" Sayaka questioned out loud as Obito entered the living room slipping on his shirt.

"What do you mean?" Obito yawned and reached for his coffee pot only to see the contents inside were a few weeks old.

"Ew, I hope you don't drink that. There's mold floating in it." Sayaka stated matter of a factly before she repeated her first question. "Where's the idiot? I thought Kakashi was-"

Sayaka stopped there and looked at the ground. Obito raised an eyebrow at her as she sighed and switched her balance to her other foot before she look at Obito again. "I heard rumors that a lot of his missions haven't been going smoothly so the Hokage put him on suspension."

Obito felt a bitter taste fill his mouth and as the taste suddenly registered he spewed it out of his mouth realizing he had just taken a sip of the coffee.

"Hey! Watch were you aim! This is the skirt I'm wearing for my date with Hayate tonight!" Sayaka checked over the white fabric and sighed thankfully when she saw nothing had gotten on it.

"Sorry........." Obito coughed as he rinsed his mouth out in the sink. "And no Kakashi hasn't been suspended.........at least that's what I know, he didn't get in until late last night and left earlier this morning."

"How suspicious. Why didn't you stop him?"

"Kakashi is, as far as I'm concerned, an adult and last time I checked I wasn't his keeper." Obito found a small bottle of sake and took a sip hoping to get the rotten taste out of his mouth.

"Well sorry for bringing it up then, now come on. We have to hurry before the holiday rush starts up. I don't know about you but I don't want to have to fight a few house wives just so I can buy Hayate a Christmas present." Sayaka grabbed her jacket and scarf and quickly put it on before she made her way out of the apartment being followed by a sullen Obito.

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Obito rubbed his hands together as he waited outside of the store for Sayaka to finish. Why did he have to be here? Wasn't Hayate her boyfriend? Was it Obito's fault that Hayate just happened to be lucky enough to be working today?

No! It wasn't Obito's fault! So then why was he out here in the cold with snow on the ground?

"Obito is that you?"

I'll tell you why he was out there. Because he wanted to have a good time last night that's why. Never ever go drinking with your friends! As Obito continued to berate himself for living life Iruka approached him again.

"Are you feeling okay Obito-san?"

"Huh?" Obito looked up and smiled at Iruka who seemed to be worried. "Hey Iruka! What brings you out here on such a cold day?"

Iruka smiled slowly before he placed his hands over his mouth as he tried to warm them up quick. It really was a cold day in Konoha but that didn't mean things were going to slow down for poor school teacher, in fact the reason that he was even out in the weather was that he had to run a few errands.

"I'm actually out here because I have to find a few people." The chunin stuff his hands in his pockets realizing that breathing on them wasn't providing enough heat.

Obito opened his mouth to say something when he noticed something off in the distance. Was it just him or was Kakashi in the alley on the other side of the street?

Iruka noticed this and was about to turn around when Obito got his attention again.

"So who you looking for?" Obito gave a toothy grin.

Iruka blushed a bit but Obito couldn't tell since Iruka's cheeks were already pink from the cold air.

"Actually I was looking for Kakashi." Iruka sighed a bit. It had been awhile since he had last seen the Copy Ninja, in fact when he heard Kakashi's name on the list of people to find the chunin practically volunteered for the job.

"Did he do something?" Obito asked trying not to glare at the figure in the alley way.

"Oh no, actually I needed to see you too." Iruka reached in his pack he had tied around his waist and pulled out a scroll. "I know this is your day off but we decided to go ahead and give you the instructions for your mission tomorrow."

"Is this the same reason you were looking for Kakashi?" Obito watched the figure in the alley way shift a bit and smirked knowing that Kakashi was listening to them.

"Well that was one of the reasons......" Iruka mumbled off not really paying much mind to Obito.

"You still like him don't you?"

"Of course I still like......" Iruka's eyes went wide as he turned around to Sayaka smirking at him.

Obito stared at the younger Anbu. Who would have thought that she knew and even if she knew who would have thought that she would ask Iruka that question straight out.

In the alley across the street there was a sudden thud and some noises that made it seem like someone just knocked over a few trash cans. Startling Iruka even further.

"I-i-i-i-i-i-i........." Iruka's face seemed terrified and confused for a second before he covered his mouth and quickly walked off.

"At least he finally realizes the truth." Sayaka sighed but before she could say anything Obito cut her off.

"Do you think he was ready for the truth?" Obito glared at Sayaka hoping she wasn't just trying to get a kick out of teasing Iruka.

"Too late to ask me that." Sayaka winked at Obito before she turned around. "Don't worry everything will work out."

Obito sighed as Sayaka walked into the next door. It wasn't until the Anbu remembered Kakashi was in the alley did he run over and look to see what had happened.

Kakashi laid on the ground staring at the sky with a serious expression on his face even though he was sprawled out on the ground and that it was obvious that he had hit his head on the trash cans.

"Kakashi-kun?" Obito was about to say something when Kakashi groaned.

"After all this time......" Kakashi closed his eyes. "I really don't deserve him."

"I know." Obito smirked. "But what are you going to do now?"

"I don't know."

There was a moment of silence before Obito growled. "Listen Kakashi! You finally realize that Iruka still has feelings for you, you need to do something. No more of this I-don't-deserve-anything crap okay! The fact is the longer you make him wait the more I lose respect for you."

"It isn't that simple......" Kakashi glared up at Obito.

"But that's what you're not getting Kakashi! It is that simple. Iruka isn't a complicated guy so stop trying to complicate your relationship with him."

"So you're saying I should just go up to the guy and go 'Hey Iruka I love you t......" Kakashi paused a bit and Obito smirked as he leaned over his younger friend.

"That's exactly what I am saying."

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Obito tapped his foot on the ground testing for any signs of suspicious behavior. He, his team (which now included Sayaka) and Kakashi were sent to investigate an area not to far off from the Hidden Stone Village. Normally shinobi from the other village would be doing this kind of work but it was said that they spotted missing leaf nins so the Hokage asked permission o take care of it and the Hidden Stone permitted.

"Everyone split up, if you spot something then say something in your speaker otherwise everyone is on there own. Be careful and follow your gut, I have a bad feeling about this place so just in case anything happens I want everyone to meet here in two hours." Obito nodded at his team and they dispersed leaving him by himself.

Obito quickly went towards the north as he heard everyone start to report their findings in their mics. Obito was about to jump onto the next tree limb in front of him when he heard Kakashi's voice come on.

"Chssssshhhhhhhh. Found what looks like an old ware house. Chssssshhhhhhhhh. Going to take a quick tour. Chssssshhhhhhhh."

Obito growled a bit, "Kakashi, wait for more back up."

There was no silence of the speakers for a few seconds causing Obito to turn around and head the direction Kakashi went.

Stupid idiot not taking the mission serious......Obito frowned and got on speaker. "Everyone head northwest in the direction Kakashi went. When you get there I want a report about where Kakashi is."

There were a few rogers and Obito sped up knowing that he would probably get there before everyone anyway. But to his Surprise as Obito jumped out into a very small opening he saw Sayaka waiting for him.

The building was very well hidden for what was supposed to be some warehouse. With vines growing up the sides and trees surrounding some of the walls it was obvious that this little warehouse wasn't meant to be seen by the normal eye. And if whoever was hiding this building that badly there would most likely be a few traps inside.

Meaning Kakashi just walked into a trap.

Obito growled to himself, it wasn't that he doubted Kakashi's abilities; it was that he really had a bad feeling about this.

"Kakashi is waiting for us inside; I believe his speaker doesn't work due to how the building is built." Sayaka stood in front of the door as more Anbu appeared behind her.

She always looks more serious on the job; Obito smirked at her under his Anbu mask.

Obito nodded before they entered the building, the dirty blonde Anbu captain in the lead as he held a kunai in front of him just in case.

The inside of the warehouse was surprising. The walls were covered in some sort of dirt and moss that made it look like they were underground instead of in a man made building. Water was dripping from the ceiling almost making the place seem as if it was far deeper in the ground than all the shinobi had originally thought.

But it wasn't an illusion.

Obito was about to take another step when he paused, all the Anbu readied themselves as they felt the vibrations on the floor board get stronger. Obito was about to give them a signal to hide when he felt the familiar chakra running towards them.

There was a loud hissing noise that filled the hallway just as Kakashi appeared. Obito gave him a nod before he noticed something that looked like a closed off shaft.

Good.

Obito was about to say continue as all the shinobi stood still even with the loud hissing noise screaming in their ears, and then he saw it.

A huge snake speeding towards them.

Kakashi was yelling something but Obito couldn't hear as the leader growled and was about to ready himself when he looked down and saw snakes. Millions of snake surrounding their feet.

Obito growled knowing they weren't there a second ago, someone was using a summoning no jutsu.

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The fight with the big snake had proved harder than expected; most of his team was wounded when the ceiling caved in on them, revealing that they had somehow made it underground. No one was dead yet and Obito planned to keep it that way.

The building started to quake causing Obito to look down the hallway realizing that there was a figure making its way towards them.

"Run!" The team was surprised by the angry and fearful look in Obito's eyes as he pointed in the direction of the shaft.

Obito noticed everyone hesitate realizing they hadn't noticed the figure yet he yelled again. This time Sayaka and the Anbu did as they were told but Obito glared at Kakashi before he realized the jounin was trembling with the building.

Kakashi had seen the figure.

Kakashi knew why Obito was making them run.

Kakashi couldn't move.

"Orochi-!"

"Kakashi, go now!" Obito cut off the jounin as Kakashi looked at him.

Obito was about to say something when he paused and placed his hand on Kakashi's chest. The jounin obviously wasn't paying attention as Obito smiled sadly and whispered in his ear.

"Don't waist this life."

Before the jounin knew what hit him, he was in the shaft with the rest of the Anbu and watched as Obito smirked at him and slammed the doors shut.

"Obito!" Kakashi yelled realizing he was on the floor and jumping up to bang on the door.

The shaft moved causing everyone in it the get on their knees as it felt like someone had flung it in the air only to come crashing down a few miles off from where it had last been.

But Obito wasn't around to see his friends get out with a few cuts.

Wasn't around to see Kakashi's and Sayaka's faces when they went back to the building only to see it wasn't there anymore.

It was a trap.

It was a trap.

And it was all Kakashi's fault......Obito wasn't there.

If he hadn't........

If he had.........

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No one had ever realized how important Obito truly was in their lives; the key to their happiness was lost, dead.

Gone.

Kakashi sat at the memorial stone out on the training field and stared at the newly carved name. It had only been a month and everything had changed so much.

Obito had been part of a family. Hayate and Sayaka were as much part of his life as he was theirs and when Sayaka realized that she could no longer be the same she once was she broke off her relationship with Hayate.

Hayate had taken the news the hardest everyone had decided.

Literally disappearing from the world altogether as he watched his and Sayaka's relationship go down the drain. At first he had blamed her, she was there after all, but he knew it wasn't true. He then disappeared.

And here Kakashi sat in the pouring rain just after he had completed another mission.

He should have gone and turned in the mission report.

Or at least gone to the hospital to get the gash on his back checked out.

But Kakashi had a promise to fulfill. He may have never said it out loud but he had promised Obito this.

And he had promised himself.

"Kakashi, shouldn't you get out of the rain?" A friendly yet worried voice came up behind him.

Kakashi turned a bit to the side and smiled under his mask as Iruka watched him back. The jounin slowly got up in a way not to make his back hurt and turned towards Iruka as his wet hair fell over his eyes.

"Iruka........."

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Time progresses.

Nothing ever stops.

People are born,

And people die.

But in the end we can only turn the page and read the next chapter.

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Okay! Well that was chapter 23!

(looks around) Well?

THIS CHAPTER WAS FULL OF SO MUCH BAD KARMA! My Word stopped working and when it did I would find something wrong or would be too busy or for the few weeks my internet got fried! It's amazing I even finished it really!

Again I am sorry but here you go! The replies to your greatly adored reviews!

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Jenn: Don't worry I already have an idea for a story I can do next but I'll probably take a break for a bit but in the mean time I have a story I already wrote a while back (like middle of Growing Pains time) so I will probably post that while I am on my little break. Hehehe I will have to get back to you on the lemon thing because even if I try to write one I don't like how it goes so it might take some more self confidence in my writing skills to go that far. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! See you next time.

Letta: Thanks smile.

Kaiyo No Hime: Yes yes it is an end to this stories angst anyway. But I will have to admit that it will probably be a while before I write a story without any angst so I hope you stay around and read the next one.

sabrea: my sister was mean to you! How dare she! goes into Lee-chan fighting stance I shall make her apologize! I hope you liked this chapter too and see you next time!

anime teen: That would be really cool! I'll be waiting for your email then. I hope you enjoy this chapter too even though it isn't as funny......well sort of......anyway yeah I hope you like it and can't wait to hear from you again.

Silver Neo: gasp Your dad is responsible??? That is creepy you should interrogate him for me. Hehehe Sasuke using your cloning machine laughs I always love your reviews! huggles Neo man I'm so sad that this story is ending cause that might mean.........dare I say it.........no more of your awesome reviews! cries I hope I can write another story just as good as this one if not better so that you can come and review that one too! See you next time and I hope you like this chapter.

usagi-hk: lol yeah sadly this will end someday......tear but Iruka really is an honorable character isn't he? sigh Thank you for reviewing and I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

ChibiRisu-chan: Yeah well the paperwork sucked big time but other than that .........yeah I know that was a bit harsh snickers I just really like writing scenes like that. Thank you for the review and I hope you like this chapter too and the next one also!!

TheTrueSilver: Do you need help? glances at the evil plushies attacking Silver I hope you liked this chapter too!

Hitokiri Kitsune: takes award I don't know what to say......I would like to think all the little people I had to step on to get this far......Really! Your way too kind but thanks for the compliments! I am so glad you like this fic that much and I hope you enjoyed this chapter too!

katana-hime: No it wasn't rude at all! Thanks I am so glad you like this fic and you don't to worry about grammar when it comes to my reviews because I am sure you all can tell that I am not that great with grammar either! laughs I hope you liked this chapter and have a nice week.

Riyo-sama: Thank you for such good compliments and I am sad that this is going to end to but like you said, everything has an ending. I'm glad summer school is over for you and I hope you enjoyed what was left of the summer!

Jecir: I originally was planning to get that far but as the story continues I'm thinking that everyone knows what has happened in Naruto manga or at least has an idea, so hopefully the prolog will make up for me not actually going through the manga. I hope you and your sister enjoy this chapter and thank you for the review.

Dream Fox: OMG! I can't believe no one has made a soap opera with ninja yet! That would be hilarious!! I hope my story is as.........corny as soap operas to say.........well I guess I can't say anything because I have never seen a soap opera. Hehehehe well I hope you like this chapter and thank you for the review.

shi-chan: If he had looked out the window then what? The story would be over and nothing. But the fact that he didn't look out made you feel all those things thus making the story a lot more interesting ne? hehehe you're the second person to mention me going into the soap opera business......maybe I should lol. Thanks and I hope you enjoy the next chapter!

Sailor-in-Pink57: (author laughs her butt off) OMG! I loved your review. Thnakyou so much for all the compliments and I am so glad that your BB recommended this fic to you! I am so glad you like this sotry but I'm not really that good! I'm so golad that you really like the characters and I'm happy you think I have kept them in character for the most part. Yeah the Heidaki and Obito thing kinda freaked me out but in the end it has worked out ne? Good luck trying to glomp the real characters because they are tricky lil'buggars! Hope you enjoyed this chapter too and can't wait to hear from you again.

SweetMoons: Thank you and I hope you enjoyed this chapter too! I'm trying to makethe KakaIru relationship come back together so see you next time!

Danyella Skyler Silverfire: I'm glad you like Gai now because he really is a great character! Hope you enjoy this fic and can't wait to hear from you next time.

Yuen-chan: I promise they will get together sometime so no worries alright! I'm trying to update as soon as possible but school and work is really getting in the way but no worries because I will do my best to bring out next chapter as soon as possible! And theres nothing wrong with being addicted hehehe.

Lupin-lover4-ever: Thankyou for the nice review and don't worry because what would a KakaIru fic be if they weren't together?

lemmings12: No your right most of my chapters I want to continue or I end up doing something that forces me to end it quickly other wise there wouldn't be anymore chapters to write. Don't worry cause they are getting together or are together already......either way you want to look at it.

cdkobasiuk: I'm sorry! Please don't attempt to hold your breath in waiting for my chapters to update cause we all know how that'll turn out and I will never get a review from you again and that would make me sad! (tries not to cry) please review again!

Assasin1369: Hehehe I like you name change and all! Woohoo! Here's another chapter and I hope you enjoy it but if you don't then hope you don't decide to be mean about it lol (pfffft. Like you could be mean!)

Renn: Thank you and hope you enjoyed this chapter too!

VertigoMesmerizer: (laughs) Hehehe well I tried my best on getting it out quicker and sorry about the sneak peak thing but seriously? Do you really want one? Poor Kakashi so misdirected all because of me and no worries because I do plan on having them get together! Until next time!

Kami Beverly: Yeah don't we all feel sorry for the jounin.........(im sooo mean to him!!! cries)

Elly Stormrage: lol Thank you for the review and you will know soon enough yeah? (evil laughter in the background)

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Please Review!

And have a great weekend!