Chapter 1

Hatake Kakashi ran through the forest with speed and agility accessible only to one of the best trained shinobi. He was in a hurry, and found the ability to run like a velvet footed beast, showing no sign of fatigue or weariness, very advantageous.

As he ran, he checked his watch. 3:55. Well, two hours late wasn't that bad.

" Hi guys! Sorry I'm late! I had to destroy a colony of chipmunks from Hell so they wouldn't take over the world and ruin civilization as we know it." Kakashi lied, knowing how ridiculous the excuse sounded. However, he liked it much better than the real reason. He was late because of her. He'd gone to visit her this morning.

Actually, he visited her every morning. He always visited her in the mornings. Always had. It was the way things were.

He used to bring her gifts. She'd stare at him in that perplexed way of hers, as if she were going to give it back. But she always disappeared into her room, and when she returned, the gift was gone. Probably put in that special little box of hers, the one no one went into. It had a lock on it, covered in seals. Only she could open it, others who tried woke up tied to a tree out in the forest of death. She had no compassion.

However, Kakashi knew that she would watch over them as they tried to escape for their lives from the dreaded place. She would let animals get close to them, scare them, let them fight, but she would never let them be killed. Never. It was as if she loved them, regardless of how they treated her.

But now, now she didn't disappear into her room. She didn't take the gifts he brought her. She stayed in her tomb, her coffin prison, six feet under. Where he couldn't reach her, he couldn't see her.

" Sensei, sensei are you okay?" Naruto asked in his loud, intrusive voice which was, at the moment, tinged with worry.

" Hm? Oh, hello Naruto, how are you?" Kakashi answered as he realized that his student was standing directly in front of him. It displeased him that the boy could get this close with ought his knowing, however, if he were able to cover his emotion at the loss of his love, he could pretend to have known the yellow haired teen hadn't caught him off guard.

" Kakashi sensei, are you feeling well?" Sakura asked, concern for her teacher covering her features.

" What? Me? OH! Yes! I remember! You all have a mission!" Kakashi said triumphantly. Of course, he knew they had a mission, however, he liked to keep his young charges on their feet...

" A mission! Really! What is it this time! Does Hokage need us to protect some high up aristocrat type person from impending doom! OH! Or are we going to be fighting against a bunch of thugs! or"

" Actually, you were going to be helping another team with their mission. They are to protect a man named Kino Kadomaru from a group that calls themselves the Kuro Kuro Mura. They are a notorious group of thieves and renegade shinobi in that particular area." Kakashi said in a fairly impressed voice.

" R-Really?" Naruto asked, on the brim of joyous tears. " Oh, sensei! Thankyouthankyouthankyou!"

" Well, that sounds like fun." Sakura said, outwardly scorning Naruto's behavior, but on the inside she was just as excited.

" Why did you say, 'going'?" Sasuke, the ever observant one asked in his special way that gave off a clear message to any to dare oppose the question. Kakashi inwardly shivered. So much like Kei.

Except, Kei bore a small amount of humor in those eyes of hers, while Sasuke, he permitted himself to be completely consumed by the hate he felt. It truly was sad.

" Well?" The black haired shinobi asked, not truly angry, though equally unpleased.

" Why do you ask stupid questions, Sasuke!" Naruto sneered, obviously expecting Kakashi to enter into the conversation and confirm that they were, infact, going to be helping the other team. Poor Naruto, no such help was to be given.

" Because, your late. They said they were leaving promptly at 2:14. As you can see, it is now 4:10. You came all this way for nothing." Kakashi said in a matter-of-fact voice that only aided to make the event even more strenuous.

" What? LATE! WHY!" Naruto yelled, the tears now turning to those of utter sorrow.

" It just goes to show you, if your going to be late, you shouldn't bother to come at all." Kakashi said, silently reveling in getting a rise out of the boy. He knew, he should be helping him to learn to control his anger, and, in general, his emotions. But this was too much fun!

Also, he had wanted to say those words for a very long time. He was going to tell Kei that. She was late for their meeting and he had wanted to make her eyes dance with pleasure at the joke. She never laughed. However, he never got the chance. Itachi killed her that night. That's why she was late. She was dead. He couldn't hold it against her. Death is a good reason to not show up. But he wished she had come to meet him. She wouldn't have died then.

Besides, she hadn't really helped her family at all. They died, regardless of her attempts at saving them. Sometime he wondered if he had killed her first, or last. Or perhaps he merely happened upon her and killed her then. He knew who could answer the question, but he dared not bring up such painful memories. He had to live with the thought that she had died while he, ignorant of the massacre taking place, had sat on the bridge, staring down at his reflection and rehearsing what to say.

He knew the boy relieved those moments every hour of his life. He could see it in his eyes. But he seemed to have forgotten about Kei, it probably hurt too much to know that the one he persecuted and laughed at, was the only one who stood even the remotest of chances at defeating his greatest enemy. His brother. That she had tried to save them, or at least avenge them, and had died in the process. She bore no loyalties to their family, so it could not be comprehended that she would wish their enemy to die.

" Sensei, your doing it again." Sakura whispered, worry creasing her brow. Naruto was still whining about not being able to go on, as he put it, 'The mission to end all missions.'

'You'll eat those words someday you narrow minded brat.' Kei would have said. She wasn't the biggest fans of the renowned 'famous last words.'

" I'm going home. I really don't need to put up with dead lasts complaints." Sasuke said in a partially amused, partially annoyed voice.

" Stop calling me dead last, jerk!"

" Idiot."

" bastard."

" I know! Let's have a picnic! We can have it at Sasuke's house! It'll be so wonderful!" Sakura exclaimed. She'd never been inside Sasuke's house and wasn't about to let the opportunity pass her by. In an instant she forgot about her worries for her teacher and was lost in a world of how this 'utterly perfect picnic' would turn out. Sasuke would declare his undying love to her, Naruto would accept it and give up on her, Kakashi sensei would laugh and say something witty! It would be perfect.

"What? No! We will jot be having a picnic at my house." Sasuke said indignantly. However, Sakura would not take no for an answer and ended up dragging Sasuke, who disagreed with the entire thing, and Kakashi, who really didn't want to go. Naruto followed willingly with the promise of food.

Authors Note:

Okay, short, blunt, and to the point. The story will begin to progress now tht we've gotten the formalities out of the way. Anyway, I'd like to thank me one reviewer for reviewing! Thank you! cries for lack of reviewers

Anyway, once i think of a better summary I'll change it. I was just feeling very poetic at the time and I just let my fingers do there thing.

Disclaimer:

Don't own. But now I can pay you 2.10. Whoopee for me!