Disclaimer - I do not own Naruto. Though I do own the characters I make up to fill up space.

Author's Note - Making it longer than I expected to. :D Update times will be extended since I will be writing a few parts each day, or when I find time to really sit down and concentrate. I will also go back and re-read a few chapters and edit them before finishing. So probably before chapter twelve is uploaded I will go through the first nine and edit them. Chapter ten is the first one I edited before uploading, I might re-upload it again for the sake of uploading.Edited parts of the story will be marked, so if you don't wish to read the entire chapter, you don't have to.

Thank you once again for reading and reviewing. I like all feedback, and I'm surprised I've received no flames.

bows

Clarification -

---------------- Scene changes mostly.

Thoughts

Whatever else

(inner Sakura)

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Chapter Eleven - An Enlightening Experience Part Two

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Everyone sat around the fire in silence after eating. Everyone was silent, either looking down at the ground, or into the dancing flames. Naruto dozed off after eating Rica's portion of the meal with Luca beside him, her head on his shoulder. Sakura was doodling with a twig in the sand, while Sasuke had his attention up towards the star-filled sky above them. Kakashi was staring into the fire, for once ignoring his book, which laid opened on his lap.

He felt guilty for leaving Rica on her own, especially in her condition. He knew he should have brought her back to camp despite her constant protesting. But he just reached his limit for some reason.

"Sensei, do you think she's going to be alright?" Sakura said, snapping Kakashi out of his train of thought.

"She should be fine in a day or two." He said as he strained to look at her over the glow of the fire.

Sakura nodded as she scraped her twig along the sand in a circular pattern.

"I really hope so."

"No worries." He said with a faint smile. "I'm going to check on her before going to bed.

With that he got up, leaving his book behind and walked into the tent in which Rica was resting fitfully.

Her ankle was no longer swollen, but a bruise was in its place. No serious damage was done, so she should be able to walk normally within a few days. The only problem was that she hadn't woken up since they arrived back at camp. Her fever would come and go, and from the looks of it her fever had not broken yet.

Kakashi sat down beside her and felt her head. Her fever had not gone down, but seemed to increase. He took a small towel and dipped it into the cold water bucket by the entrance of the tent and placed it on her forehead again. Rica moved slightly when he placed the compress on her forehead.

"It hurts…" Rica mumbled faintly in her sleep.

Rica moved around slightly as if to defend herself, she was dreaming. Kakashi looked at her and placed her hands back at her sides and watched her for a while.

"Forgot my book…" He whispered as he watched Rica twist around in her sleep. It didn't matter though.

Sighing, Kakashi got up to go to his own tent.

"Please don't leave me alone…not again…please stay…" Murmured Rica in her sleep.

Kakashi stood there frozen for a few seconds.

Surely she wasn't talking to me. She must be dreaming…

He shook his head and started to leave again.

"…not again…" Rica murmured.

Feeling slightly obligated to stay he turned around and sat back down.

----------------------

Dream Format

A 12 year old Rica was sitting in her living room as her parents hurriedly got ready for work. None of them noticed their daughter sitting there shouting for them to at least say goodbye.

Her mother and father ran up to her, kissed her on each cheek as if it was a part of every morning and left the house without even saying "have a good day at school." She just sat there staring at the front door as the school bus rolled up to the front of her house and honked twice.

--

12 year old Rica ran up the front steps of her house after getting off the school bus and ran inside her house. Not even her brother was home, since he was rarely at home too. She was tired of being alone, and tired of her parents never even acknowledging her presence.

--

Another morning, but this time a 19 year old Rica stood eye to eye with her parents and pleaded for them to just stay for a while. Her mother kept looking to her watch and tapping her foot impatiently. She looked annoyed, but sorry as well for not being able to spend some time with her only daughter. Her father just gave her a quick hug and a ten dollar bill and left for work.

"Maybe this weekend we'll do something."

"I don't want to be alone anymore mom"

"Don't you have your friends?" her mother asked.

"Yes, but I miss you mom. You're never around anymore."

"I'm a very busy woman. There are just some things I can't put on hold."

"Even if it costs your family?" Rica said with tears in her eyes.

"My family will always be there. But this job might be gone tomorrow." her mother said as she walked to the door. "Have a good day dear." She smiled and left.

"…Your job will always be there, but perhaps tomorrow I won't be." she said the tears flowing freely.

"…Please don't leave me alone…not again…please stay…" Rica said to the closed door.

She was tired of being alone, and ignored by her own family.

Little did she know that she was going to be leaving her world that day.

-------------------------------

Kakashi sighed and felt Rica's forehead again.

"Still hot." He said tiredly.

"Sensei, are you in there?" Sakura said through the closed flap of the tent.

"Yes."

She peeked her head in and tossed Kakashi his book.

"I put dirt on the fire and got the others to turn in, you should too. Goodnight sensei." Sakura said and quickly pulled her head out of the tent to go back to hers.

"Goodnight." he said as she walked off.

Kakashi stretched out beside Rica, who was still sleeping fitfully and opened his book. He couldn't concentrate on the book for very long and put it aside. He had a long day. He turned his head to check on Rica once again and fell asleep.

---------------------

Luca stood outside Rica's tent and blinked. Sakura saw her standing there and without a word she dragged Luca into her tent.

"Problem solved." She said as she closed the flap.

"Yeah." Luca replied blinking in confusion.

"Here, take this." Sakura said as she threw Luca an extra blanket. "Get some sleep."

Sakura got into her sleeping bag and went to sleep. Luca was still sitting there, even more confused.

If there are two people in Rica's tent…he wouldn't…

she thought as she laid back on the hard ground.

Shrugging it off, Luca shut her eyes and went to sleep as well.

---------------------

The sun peeked over the trees bathing the campsite in a golden glow. It was a clear and perfect day, or at least the start of one. Luca rolled over and opened one eye. She got up and crawled out of the tent. All her muscles were sore due to sleeping on the hard ground. Groaning she stretched and yawned and surveyed the surrounding area. The entire area had a serene feel to it, only the sounds of nature could be heard.

Walking stiffly, Luca made her way to the cliff's end and stared off into the distance. Being out in the wilderness subdued her somewhat, for it brought back memories of earlier years.

Several minutes later Luca turned her back on the great expanse of forest and walked back to the tents. Curious, she walked over to Rica's tent to see if Kakashi actually slept with her.

Luca opened the flap and to her surprise lay Kakashi and Rica. This time Rica being the one clinging to Kakashi as if he was some sort of giant stuffed animal. Luca's left eye twitched as she bit back the urge to point and shout like she did last time. She managed to stand there for several minutes in a volatile state, if anyone disturbed her, she would surely be pointing and shouting and carrying on like last time.

Eventually Luca shut the flap and walked back to Sakura's tent. Half way there she saw Sasuke get out of his tent stretching and yawing. Smiling, Luca got an idea.

"Mornin', can I use your fishing gear?" Luca asked cheerfully, perhaps a little too cheerfully.

"Mmm…yeah." Sasuke pointed to the tent and yawned.

Luca ducked into his tent and emerged with the gear. She was careful not to disturb Naruto who had taken up most of the space without Sasuke in the tent. Luca hummed happily as she walked briskly through the forest to find her spot where she had fished the day before.

---------------------

Kakashi tried rolling over in his sleep only to find out that it was damn near impossible to do with Rica clinging to him. He opened one eye to find her clinging to him like a little child.

Ok…this is new…

he thought as he tried to get out of her grip, this too seemed pretty damn impossible.

He tried poking her with his semi free hand, which yielded no results. Sighing he bent his head down so he could be closer to her ear.

"Wake up." he whispered.

He laid there for several seconds without her moving.

"…I don't want to." she murmured in her sleep.

Damn girl is having dreams again…must get her off…

Kakashi resumed his poking, which still did nothing but make Rica squeak ever so often.

"Rica, time to wake up." he said in a normal voice right next to her ear.

"Five more minutes dammit…" Rica said tightening her grip.

Blinking, Kakashi sat up, taking Rica with him. Only then did she wake up. She sat there confused and clinging to Kakashi, which made her even more confused.

"What the hell is going on?" She said looking around.

"That I'd like to know too."

"Why are you here? Why am I holding onto you? And again why are you here?" her eyes narrowed at him, she didn't forget how he left her yesterday.

"I fell asleep here watching you. You held on to me in your sleep. And you seem to have forgotten what happened to you yesterday." he said casually.

"Like I'd forget you leaving me." she said annoyed.

"Only because you were so determined to make it back on your own. You passed out about two miles from camp. You're lucky that I decided to go out there and look for you, otherwise you'd be stuck there all night, and who knows who or what could have found you." he said raising his voice a little.

Rica's expression softened as she let go of him and looked down at her hands.

"I know." she said feeling slightly ashamed.

Without thinking Kakashi gave her a quick hug, which made Rica's head shoot back up again.

"What was that for?" she asked with a cock eyed expression.

"I'm just happy you're alright. It would be a shame if anything happened."

Rica nodded and touched her ankle.

"Its still a little sore. But I think I can walk on it a little later." Rica said as she applied a little pressure on her foot. "Better yet, I can probably walk now."

"I wouldn't try it just yet." Kakashi said looking at her bruised ankle.

"Well, I'm going to." without waiting for Kakashi to say anything, Rica crawled out of the tent and stood up. It didn't hurt to walk on it, just really sore. She limped slightly around the tent and crawled back inside.

"See, I'm fine. I just can't run." she said as she got in a comfortable position.

"Good. Now I am going to see to breakfast." Kakashi said as he exited the tent.

Breakfast was a good idea, but what was there. Fish? Again. Who knows. Kakashi walked up to Sasuke who was standing in the same place Luca was previously and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Where's the fishing gear I borrowed from you yesterday?" he asked.

"Luca has it." he said staring off into the distance.

Smiling Kakashi walked off into the forest to see where the other one had run off to.

------------------

Luca was humming happily as she unhooked her 15th fish. She flung it onto a pile of squirming fish as she cast off another hook and waited, still humming.

Kakashi watched her for several minutes from a high branch just above where Luca was sitting. Smiling he jumped down from the branch and appeared next to Luca, who jumped in surprise.

"W-what are you doing here?" Luca asked, startled.

"Just seeing where the fishing gear ran off to." his gaze turned to the growing pile of fish "Looks like you've been busy."

Luca smiled as another fish bit the line, she quickly reeled it in and placed it with the rest.

"You know what, I'll just take what you have now and come back later." Kakashi said as he picked up the fish, struggling to keep a hold of them all.

Luca just nodded as she paid attention to what she was doing. Kakashi disappeared, and reappeared with the fish back at the site.

He prepared another fire and cleaned the fish. He hastily put the fish on sticks and stuck them over the flames. There was more than enough for everyone, so Naruto could eat his fill without taking someone else's meal.

Rica walked out of her tent and joined Kakashi as he was watching the fish cook.

"Perhaps we should set some out to dry if we can't eat it all." Rica said as she sat down next to him.

"Mmhmm." was all Kakashi said

Sakura emerged from her tent with a yawn as she waved to Rica.

"Good to see that you're alright." Sakura said smiling.

Rica nodded as she was too watching the fish.

"That's a lot of fish." Sakura said staring at the as well.

"Thanks to Luca. She's still down there with another big pile by now." Kakashi said getting up. "I'm going to bring her back before she fishes all the fish out of the stream." with that he disappeared once again.

Kakashi reappeared next to Luca, making her jump.

"Stop doing that." she said as she fumbled for her rod.

"Sorry." Kakashi said scratching the back of his head. "Its time to head back to camp."

"who says?" Luca said without looking at him. "I'm having fun."

"You want food don't you?" Kakashi said looking down at her.

"Yes…"

"Then lets go. Bring what you've caught." Kakashi said as he picked up some fish.

Luca grabbed the rest and started walking back to camp.

"What are you waiting for. Lets go?" she called back at him.

Kakashi sighed and disappeared.

-------------------

Kakashi appeared back at camp a short while later with another arm full of fish. He blinked a few times as Naruto sat by the fire picking his teeth with one of the fish bones. All the fish had disappeared while he was gone.

"Did you eat them all?" Kakashi said looking at Naruto in disbelief.

"Not all, Sakura, Sasuke, and Rica managed to get a few out of my hands." he said with a sad expression.

"Well it looks like you've eaten your fill. Now you clean and prepare these fish, and the fish Luca is coming back with. There are other people that would like to eat too you know." Kakashi said as he dumped the pile of fish on Naruto, who only looked up at him with sad eyes.

"B-but."

"No buts. You do me a favor." Kakashi said as he walked off.

Naruto grunted and went about preparing the fish with a sour expression on his face.

----------------------

Everyone but Naruto ate their fill once all the fish had been cooked. Naruto's hunger sticken expression only gained the sympathy of Luca who secretly handed him a smaller fish.

"You know, I can't wait to get some real food." Luca said feeling a little sick from eating only fish.

"Yeah, I know." Kakashi said as he got up. "But right now, I feel the urge to nap." he waved to everyone and disappeared into his own tent.

"Looks like he's finally going back to his own tent." Luca said with a smirk.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Sasuke said looking up at Luca.

"Oh, Kakashi slept in Rica's tent and I found Rica clinging to him like a stuffed animal in the morning." Luca said, unable to hide her smile.

"W-what?" Rica said looking right at Luca. "What in the hell are you talking about. I wasn't clinging to him."

"Oh, just like he wasn't clinging to you the other day." Luca said smugly.

"Kakashi-sensei slept with Rica?" Sakura asked.

"I don't know, honest." Rica said still staring at Luca.

"Well, when I went to check up on you this morning he was in your tent, and you were clinging to him."

"I was out since yesterday afternoon. I never knew he was there. He must have decided to stay on his own, since I never told him to stay." Rica said defiantly.

"Interesting." Sasuke said as he watched the two girls fight over who slept with who and for what reason.

"I know. Pretty strange don't you think." Sakura said turning to Sasuke.

"I've got to agree with you there, Sakura." Sasuke said standing up. "Lets get away from those two."

"With pleasure Sasuke-kun" the Inner Sakura was bouncing with glee at the invitation.

"Naruto, want to join us?" Sasuke said before he went on any further.

"Sure!" he said getting up and running up to Sasuke.
(Goddamnit. My plans have been foiled again!) Inner Sakura shouted.

The three wandered off into the forest leaving the two girls to their argument.

-------------

"See, he must really like you Rica!" Luca said pointing at her.

"For the thousandth time that's complete and utter bullshit." Rica said folding her arms across her chest.

"Not from what I'm seeing." Luca replied.

"Well, to hell with what you think. Who cares if he does or if he doesn't."

"Wow, you really don't like the guy do you?" Luca said putting her hand down.

"He's a perfect gentleman."

Luca burst out in laughter rolling around in the dirt.

"Not by the books he reads, that's for damn sure."

Rica snorted and looked as if she was pouting.

"Oh cheer up Rica. Who cares if a pervert digs you."

"He's not a complete pervert…and I doubt he "digs" me."

"Eh, its not like it would work out anyway. We have to go home at some point." Luca added.

Rica nodded and stood up.

"Luca, want to help me get to the stream?" she said as she applied a little more pressure to her injured foot.

"Sure."

"I can walk alright, but if I need help, help me." Rica said as she walked off in the direction of the stream. Luca nodded and followed her.

-----------------------

Kakashi sat up in his tent, having heard everything the two girls talked about. He laughed at Luca's wild accusations and shook his head. Good thing she was wrong. Well, she was part right about the pervert accusation as he tossed his book aside, otherwise she was all wrong. He felt it wrong to have any sort of feeling for a girl of Rica's age. Yawning he stretched out on the floor of his tent and took a nap.

--------

A few hours later, everyone assembled back to where they were earlier in the day. Naruto and Sasuke were covered in dirt and leaves while Sakura looked at them shaking her head. Luca and Rica wandered back a few minutes after the three had arrived and took their seats.

"So what did you guys do?" Sakura said looking at Rica and Luca.

"Oh, Luca helped me to the stream where I swam around while she watched." Rica said as she squeezed some water out of her shirt.

"Yeah, she swims like a frog." Luca chimed in as Rica punched her arm. "Ow, you didn't have to do that."

"Well you didn't have to say I swim like a frog." Rica snapped.

"Its true." Luca replied.

Sighing Rica looked at the two boys and blinked.

"What'd you guys do?" she asked.

"Oh they tested out their new techniques on each other." Sakura said.

Rica and Luca nodded as they looked at the two boys.

"You know, you should clean off. There's a hot spring not too far from here." Rica said as she pointed to where the hot spring lay.

"Good idea." Sasuke mumbled as he got up to get stuff from his tent as Naruto followed.

"That does sound like a good idea." Sakura said smiling. "Lets all go."

The three girls nodded and retreated to their tents to get the stuff they needed and chased after Sasuke and Naruto how were already ahead of them.

---------------

By the time Sakura, Rica and Luca arrived at the hot spring, Naruto and Sasuke were already in it, swimming around. Well, Naruto was splashing around making a ruckus while Sasuke was staying in one spot relaxing.

The hot spring wasn't very large. About the size of a public swimming pool with a large rock in the middle providing a natural divider if needed.

"Well, we'll take the other side." Sakura said as she walked around the spring to the other side.

The three got undressed and slipped in without being seen by the other two. The water was at perfect temperature, just enough to relax the muscles.

"This is nice." Rica said as she waded around a little.

"It is." Sakura said leaning against the rock.

Luca nodded as she waded around the entire area. The three sat in silence as they heard Sasuke yelling at Naruto on the other side. From the sound of it, he was splashing Sasuke a little too much.

Sakura, Rica and Luca all sighed in unison as they heard a few punches hitting their mark. All was silent for a few minutes until Naruto's loud voice filled the area once again.

"Why'd the hell did you hit me!" Naruto shouted.

"I told you to stop, baka." Sasuke said unclenching his fist.

Naruto shrugged and swam around to where the girls were. A shriek rang out as a fist made contact with Naruto's head. A defeated Naruto swam back to where he previously was with a gigantic bump on the top of his head.

"I just wanted to say hi." he said shaking his head.

Sasuke sighed as she ducked his head underwater.

"That damn Naruto, why does he have to be so insensitive?" Sakura fumed as she unclenched her fist and hit the water with her open palm.

"I don't think he was trying to pull anything." Luca said looking to where the boys should be.

Sakura growled as she hit the water a few times and stood up.

"Lets get going." she said simply as she got out and wrapped her towel around herself.

Rica and Luca nodded to each other and got out as well. The three walked past Naruto and Sasuke as they made their way back. Sakura shot Naruto a death glare while Rica and Luca waved to the two boys who just sat there staring for a few minutes as they left.

"Girls…" Naruto said rubbing the bump on his head.

"Troublesome if you ask me." Sasuke replied.

"Turning into Shikamaru eh?" Naruto said as he winced.

Sasuke shrugged and waded to where his stuff lay.

I'm gonna go. You can stay if you like." he said as he got out.

Naruto nodded as he swam around the entire area a few times before getting out and heading back to camp as well.

---------------

The rest of the day went by without incident as everyone went about their own business. Luca had found Kakashi's book and took it and kept herself in her tent for most of the day. She didn't even come out as everyone else ate dinner, claiming she wasn't hungry. Rica believed it since Luca could go a long time without eating if she found something she really liked.

After dinner everyone went their separate ways. Naruto wandering off into the forest while Sasuke sat by the cliff's edge to look up at the stars. Sakura decided to turn in early since she didn't feel like staying up.

Kakashi sat by the fire just gazing at it since he lost his book to Luca, who was still in her tent reading it. Rica sat directly across from him doing the same thing. She found it calming to just sit in front of the fire doing nothing but staring into it's depths. Kakashi yawned and stretched as he stood up. He waved to Rica who absentmindedly waved back and went to his tent to retrieve something from within it. He reappeared seconds later and wandered off into the forest, leaving Rica the only one out side.

She didn't notice anything until a half an hour later. Looking up she looked around the entire area to find that everyone was either out, or inside their tent. She got up and stretched. Her muscles still hurt from the other day, so she went and retrieved her towel and a change of clothes and wandered off in the direction of the hot spring for another good soak.

-----------------

After walking as carefully as she could, Rica made it to the hot spring and sighed happily. It was nice to be alone and in a peaceful place. The hot spring looked especially inviting since the steam rose from its waters as moonlight covered the entire area. Making it look quite spooky, yet peaceful at the same time. A normal person would find it too spooky and leave, but Rica wasn't a normal person by any means and found it perfectly inviting.

She slipped in silently after folding her clothes neatly at the edge of the spring. She sat there in silence taking in all the night time sounds as she heard someone on the other side. Holding her breath she sat there motionless, her heart racing. Who was on the other side, a friend or a foe? Most likely a foe since she knew few people.

She released her breath silently as she slowly moved along the rock to try and find out who was on the other side. She peeked her head around some plants only to find what looked like to be a ghost. She ducked her head as quickly as she peeked around to see who it was. She sat there in silence, her heart still racing.

Did she see a ghost? She wasn't sure. Rica slowly peeked again to take a longer look, and to her relief it was only Kakashi leaning against the rock with his eyes closed.

Rica blinked a few times before she withdrew her head and leaned against the rock as well.

At least it wasn't someone I didn't know…but why him? God fucking damnit, what if he knows I'm here?

Rica thought as she held her hand over her heart in a feeble attempt to slow it down.

She drew out another silent breath as she started to relax. Just as soon as she started to relax she heard Kakashi move around on the other side.

"I knew you were there the entire time. There's no reason for you to be afraid or uncomfortable." Kakashi said aloud as Rica ducked her head under water really quickly.

She wasn't used to being around members of the opposite sex in situations like this. Even though either person couldn't see anything of significance she still felt weird. Rica reemerged as she let out a loud sigh.

"You can come around to this end if you feel lonely." Kakashi said lazily as Rica blinked a few times.

"A-alright." was all she managed to say as she submerged herself completely spare her head as she waded to the other side.

Rica felt a little better as she stayed close to the edge of the rock separating the two sides. She looked at him and smiled.

"You look like a ghost." she said trying to hide her laughter. He indeed looked like a ghost the last time she saw him at night.

"Eh?" Kakashi said as he turned his head to look at her. Rica ducked a little lower into the water as his gaze met hers.

"Nothing, nothing. Why do you still keep that bloody mask on, isn't it annoying?" Rica asked changing the subject.

"I had it off until I heard you got in." he said casually.

"So you knew I was here the entire time?"

"Yes. I heard you walking up and getting in." he said.

"Wow. You must have excellent hearing then." Rica said blinking in amazement. "I didn't realize you were here until I heard you moving around."

"I did that on purpose." Kakashi said smiling a little.

"Why'd you do that?"

"Didn't want to scare you when I walked by you upon leaving." he said lazily.

"Well you scared the hell out of me regardless." Rica said a little cross.

"Better this way than the other way."

Rica nodded in agreement as she looked around. The two sat in silence for a few minutes, each passing minute growing more uncomfortable than the next.

"Why do you wear that mask?" Rica asked suddenly causing Kakashi to turn and face her.

"I've been wearing it for so long that its just second nature. I'd feel "naked" without it." he said simply.

"Then can I see you without it?" she asked cocking her head to one side to get a better look at his face.

"I don't know…" he sat there for a minute thinking. "My students have asked me the same thing several times before, they've even tried to pull down the mask as I slept sometimes…so…"

He sat there for a few seconds contemplating whether or not he should show her. It wasn't like there was anything wrong with him, he just felt odd letting someone see him without his mask. Sighing, he lowered his mask and turned to Rica, who just sat there with her mouth open.

Hot damn…

she thought as Kakashi reached over and shut her mouth for her.

"What?" he asked as he saw Rica just sitting there and blinking.

"N-nothing at all. I just wasn't expecting you to be so…so…"

"Normal?" he finished her sentence. "You expected some sort of deformity?"

"N-no, not at all." she said feeling slightly relieved that he finished her sentence. She wasn't planning to say normal, but handsome. But that would have sounded weird coming from her.

Kakashi decided to keep the mask off for a while since it felt nice. He sighed and stared up at the stars as Rica made a great effort not to stare at him for too long. She felt even more uncomfortable around him now without his mask. She didn't know why either, and chose not to dwell on it. Since bad things happen when she would dwell on matters for too long.

Having enough of the stars, Kakashi turned his head and looked at Rica for a moment. She ducked her head underwater and stayed for as long as she could handle. She rushed up for air as Kakashi turned his head away. Rica's face turned tomato red as she covered herself with her arms.

"I didn't see anything, don't be so uncomfortable. We're both old enough not to care." he shrugged as he turned to face her.

"Well, maybe you are. I've never been around a guy in this situation before." she said quickly. "Besides, you're a guy, and probably been in many situations like this before." she said regaining some of her normal courage.

"Actually, I haven't. You've seen one body, you've seen 'em all." he shrugged.

Rica blushed a little at the comment and moved around the spring feeling more confident than she did before. She turned to sit across from him and sighed.

"Where'd you get all those scars from?" she said moving a little closer to get a better look.

"Oh, missions, Gai, and some events I'd rather not talk about." he said pointing to a few on his arms and chest.

Rica nodded as a mental image of Gai and Kakashi doing something stupid came to mind. She laughed to herself as she moved back again.

"What?" he asked.

"Nothing of importance." she replied still laughing to herself.

Kakashi blinked in confusion and shook his head.

"Thanks for coming." he said after a moment of silence.

"I didn't know you were here, I just came to be by myself for a little while until I heard you." Rica replied.

"Ah, I see. But regardless, its nice having someone to talk to." he said

"Oh course, its always nice to have someone just to have a random conversation with." Rica nodded as she moved back to where she previously was.

"So, yeah thanks." he said as he put an arm around Rica's shoulder and pulled her close for a half hug. He suddenly pulled away remembering how uncomfortable she had been.

Rica blinked a few times, but didn't feel uncomfortable at all.

"Sorry." he said quickly.

"Eh, no big deal. You seen one you've seen 'em all." she repeated his words from earlier.

Kakashi smiled as he stretched.

"We should get going, go get changed." he said

"Good idea." she said as she disappeared to the other side.

Rica quickly swam to where her towel and clothes lay folded neatly. She got out and quickly wrapped the towel around herself.

"Alright, I'm decent." she said aloud as Kakashi appeared a few seconds later fully clothed.

"Decent?" he said looking at her

"And you put your mask back on." she said sounding a little sad.

Kakashi shrugged as he walked past her. Rica followed close behind until they reached the site. Someone had put out the fire as snores could be heard from Naruto and Sasuke's tent.

Kakashi waved to Rica silently as she slipped into her tent and felt her way to her sleeping bag and slipped into it. She was too tired to change her clothes. Luca had fallen asleep with Kakashi's book on her face. Rica smiled as she removed the book from her friend's face and placed it next to her.

Kakashi too felt his way around his tent getting ready to go to bed. He was tired as well.

"Tomorrow we'll go back to the village. I could use a good shower." he said aloud as he got into his sleeping bag.

Outside a slight breeze swept over the camp site as everyone slept peacefully. A short time later clouds began to come in from the east, covering the moon and most of the stars.

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End of Chapter Eleven

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Well, took me long enough. XD Worked on a little bit of it each day. Chapter twelve should be out soon enough. After I finish making the proper edits to the previous chapters and a possible update to my other story.

Review Responses

Krows Scared - Don't worry about me rushing anything. I'll take my time.

Usagibud - Thank you very much!

Taskei - Thank you, and I will!

Naruto Fan - Thank you for reading :3

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Thank you all for reading and reviewing!