Hey all. I'm sooooooooooo sorry for the late update. My school work has been killing me and then I got sick and on top of all of that, my computer got a bug. I'm also sorry for the chapter being so short again. I'll try to update more often in the future.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, even though I do wish Kakashi was mine (probably along with all the other rabid fan girls out there) But I do own Aiko, Kantaro and any other ppl that are not copy right-ed to Naruto.

Aiko used what little strength she had left to push herself to her feet and stagger over next to Naruto. She fell to her knees beside him and held her hand in front of his mouth. No Breath.

"C'mon kid, don't do this to me," Aiko said as she tilted his face towards the sky, making sure his breathing passage was clear. Then she drew in a deep breath, pressed her lips to his and breathed out, watching his chest rise as she breathed air into him. Then she pulled away, counting to three in her head and taking another deep breath.

Don't die, don't die, don't die... Aiko thought. He looks just like him, he looks just like Kantaro. I couldn't save him, but I have to save this kid, I have to fulfill the dream that Kantaro couldn't...

Aiko drew back again; she didn't know how long she had been doing this, but it seemed like an eternity. Suddenly, Naruto twitched; then his chest started to heave like he was trying to cough up something. Aiko quickly turned his head to the side and water spilled from his mouth. Aiko breathed a sigh of relief and she felt a smile creep across her lips. She looked and Kakashi to find he was staring back at her with an identical look of relief on his face.

"Aiko," he said, "You're crying."

Aiko looked surprised as she lifted her right hand and ran it underneath her eye. When she pulled her hand away she saw a small glistening tear; wavering in the wind until it slowly dripped down the length of her hand and into the sand.

"I couldn't bear the thought of him dying... again," Aiko said softly.

"He's the spitting image of Kantaro, isn't he?" Kakashi said. He was silent while Naruto drew in ragged breaths, and then he said: "You loved him, didn't you?"

Aiko turned her head away.

"It's written all over your face," Kakashi said.

"Those kids," Aiko finally said, changing the subject, "They remind me of our posse back in the day."

"Stop avoiding the subject," Kakashi said, "Is that why you gave up being a ninja, because Kantaro died? Because they all died?"

Aiko bit her lower lip, fighting back tears. For a while the only sounds were the waves crashing on the shore and Naruto's quiet breathing.

"I was never fast enough. I could never get there in time to help, only to hear their last words and Kantaro..." Aiko swallowed hard and took a deep breath, "I never got to tell him how I felt and his... his last words were... they were... 'Aiko, I love you'."

Aiko drew in one deep breath after another, every time she breathed out her shoulders shook and it sounded as though she were forcing air into lungs made of iron. Kakashi felt something inside of him twinge. He had no experience with lost relationships, but he did know what it was like to lose friends. Kakashi was about to say something when he spotted Sasuke and Sakura on the horizon with two lifeguards carrying a stretcher; Sakura was waving wildly.

"He's alright!" Aiko called towards them. She saw a look of relief spread across Sakura's face. In a moment Sakura, Sasuke, and the two lifeguards, a man and a woman, were beside them.

The two lifeguards laid the stretcher down in the sand and gingerly lifted Naruto onto the rough canvas between the two poles. Then they picked up the stretcher and began to carry Naruto down the beach to the lifeguard station. Aiko pushed herself to her feet. She swayed slightly and would have fallen if Kakashi hadn't been there to steady her.

"Think you can walk on your own?" he asked.

"Yeah," Aiko answered, "I can make it." And then she began to walk down the beach, albeit, at a slower pace than her usual sauntering strides.

At the lifeguard station Naruto was laid on a bed in a small room, and after a quick examination he was found to be in good condition for someone who had nearly drowned. That was thanks to Aiko's quick thinking and knowledge of mouth-to-mouth. Naruto was now conscious enough to speak and Sakura, Sasuke and Kakashi filled him in on what had happened. Though after a while Kakashi dropped out of the conversation as his attention shifted to the sliver of the main room that could be seen through the slightly opened door.

Aiko was standing with a blanket wrapped around her, talking to the two lifeguards.

"Aiko, what were you thinking?" the female lifeguard asked.

"You know September is almost over, the rip tides are getting stronger and ore frequent," the male lifeguard added.

"You recklessly endangered all of their lives," the female lifeguard continued, "You've lived around here as long as we have and you know the tide patters. I know you're torn up about your friends dying, but that is no excuse to-" She never got the chance to finish her sentence, for Aiko had thrown the blanket to her, rather hard actually and walked to the door. She pushed it open slightly and stuck her head in the room.

"I've got some place to stop by; you guys go on ahead when you're ready. I'll meet you back at my house. See ya there." And then she left.

The gang was had arrived back at Aiko's house about twenty minutes after she had left the lifeguard station. They had changed back into their usual clothes and now Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto were sitting on the couch, talking even more about what had just happened. However Kakashi was ignoring them. He was busy pacing back and forth restlessly. Finally he said: "I'm going to go out and look for Aiko, you wait here." And with that he left.

Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke watched him go in silence. A few moments after he had left Sasuke spoke.

"Something is strange here," he said, "I think Aiko is keeping some kind of secret." The others didn't reply, but only nodded.

Kakashi walked hurriedly down the street. He had a pretty good idea of where Aiko was at. Finally he stopped in front of two iron gates which were the only entrance in the imposing wall of stone. Kakashi stepped through the gate and into the graveyard. He began to walk through, past the thousands of burial sites, eyes sliding from one side of the graveyard to the other, looking for Aiko. He paused before two graves that he knew well. Before them each lay a single blue flower. Inscribed on the graves were the names of Aiko's father and her mother. He remembered well the day he had been there with everyone else to comfort Aiko as she said her final goodbye to her parents. But that was for another time, Kakashi had a more pressing matter to attend to, so he continued on until he finally found Aiko, kneeling on the ground before a small shrine. As he moved closer, he could see a small photograph in a simple wooden frame sitting on the shrine with a black ribbon wrapped around one corner.

Aiko heard Kakashi approaching and she stood up. Kakashi stopped about two feet from where she was and waited. It was a moment before she turned to face him. When she finally did, Kakashi could see that she was holding back even more tears.

"This is where I come to be alone," she said, not looking him in the eye. "It's the only place where I don't have to hide."

Kakashi understood what she meant. Aiko was quick to share her happiness with those around her, but she was just as quick to hide her sadness as well.

"You miss them?" Kakashi mentally reprimanded himself for such a stupid question, but he felt he had to say something.

"Almost more than I can bear," Aiko whispered.

Kakashi took a step closer to her, and then wrapped his arms around her, trying to be of some comfort. Aiko wrapped her arms over top of his and they stood like that as the damp wind threw the leave of the graveyard trees into the gray sky.