Alright, since the author's note was WAY TOO LONG last chapter, there really isn't going to be much here.

All I have to say for this chapter is that I believed that Kakashi didn't make enough of a big appearance in the last chapter, so I'm going to fix that!

Oh, and Happy Reeaaaallllllyy Belated Easter everyone! I hope you all got to have enormous belly-aches from eating one pound chocolate bunnies, I DID!

Disclaimer- With the wave of my hand, I shall own Naruto! …DAMMIT!

Quote- "If you live to be 100, I want to live to be 100 minus one day, so I will never have to live without you."

Chapter Eight

The Sun and the Star

She slowly slid down the side of the building with a crumpled letter clenched in her hand. Eyes of the storm unleashed their fury and poured raindrops over her cheeks. Crying was for the weak, but her hand refused to unravel from her fist. Again and again she pounded the wall behind her before she crumpled to the floor. The sky had darkened and ever so slowly the sun drifted from its position above the clouds. Its color bled onto the land, soaking it in a beautiful orange. The hustle and bustle of the townsfolk died down into nothing and the streets were left empty.

How could he have done that to her? He knew the whole time and yet not a word was spoken to her! She was left in the dark and what had his actions accomplished! His Death! He had died! He left her alone to fend for herself and he knew the whole damn time!

H-how could anyone stare into the face of death and laugh? Hoshi had done it. The man had practically taken up a stick and provoked it until it lashed out with its deadly fury. A chuckle bubbled past her lips, salty tears running into her mouth and dropping onto her tongue. That sounded just like him. He would do anything do get a laugh out of her, but did he have to make her cry?

Taking a deep breath and letting it out all at once, Amaya carefully unclenched her fingers and pulled at the sides of the letter so that she could read the messy scrawl that partly resembled letters once again.

Dear Little Daisy,

Damn, I'm no good at writing things. I don't even know why people bother with these Kami be damned things! Someone should just invent a jutsu that could do these things for us and be done with it! Well, that's not how I wanted to start this out, but I'm sure that it caught your attention.

So Quit Crying!

Yes, I know that is what you're probably doing right now, so I'm telling you to stop it or I'll pin you to a tree again! Oh, don't think that I won't because I'll find a way to do just that!

I know that I'm getting off track a bit, but I guess that I can't tell you in person that I love you. From the first moment that you broke my nose, I knew that you were something special if not a little short-tempered. I don't think that I've told you this, but you practically became my daughter in that short month that we knew each other. There could be no one else that I would rather pass down my knowledge to (even though it wasn't much). I know that I wasn't much of a teacher and at times maybe I could have done something different, but we don't get second chances.

But if Kami allowed it, I would start all over again.

Yes, I knew about the ninjas following us. Yes, I kept it a secret. And yes, I knew a battle would soon come, and that I probably wouldn't make it. Yeah, kiddo, I'm not that strong but I sure as hell will put up a fight if to just protect you. Apparently if you are reading this, then I must have done a pretty good job of it.

Now, I've got a couple of favors to ask.

Number One: Stop moping about! I'm dead so get over it!

Number Two: Make sure to whack that secretary guy a couple of times, I never liked him. Make it look like an accident.

Number Three: Give the Hokage the rest of the junk in the envelope. That stuff doesn't have anything to do with you and is only meant for his eyes. Don't worry about it.

Number Four: This is my last one and the most important! START A NEW LIFE! Maybe I'm not there to be with you, but that doesn't mean you can't do it on your own.

Live life to the fullest because it's the only one that you've got, and Kami has given you the second chance that many of us don't get. Don't think of your amnesia as a curse. It's a blessing. Maybe you cannot see it clearly now, but someday you will.

You serve a greater purpose and you have a destiny still unfulfilled.

Your loving father,

Nashitaka, Hoshi

P.S. The other sheets of paper connected to this one have the keys to my old house and my bank account which I give full access to you, Amaya 'Night Rain' Nashitaka. But you shall always be my little Daisy.

P.S.S. There is a small case of Mold in the hallway bathroom; you might want to get that taken care of.

That idiot. But sure enough, folded carefully in blank pieces of paper were two metal keys, worn with age and an account slip with a PIN number written on it. On another scrap of paper was an address that had to lead to the house. He really was looking out for her. In the matter of seconds, she had everything she could need to start over. She had a place to live, money to support her, and the assurance that Hoshi's…death was not a wasted one. He had accomplished his mission for Konoha and had secretly switched mission scrolls to keep his collected information a secret. The paper that the attacking ninjas had torn up had been a complete fake. The man could be smart at times. Other times…not so much.

Well time to do what he said, Amaya thought to herself. Stop moping about like a little girl. Immediately, her tears stopped as her hand flicked them away. Her place in the dirt was left abandoned and was brushed off her ass. The keys that were promised in the letter were pocketed in her kunai holster for easy access and she uplifted her much lighter pack back on her shoulder. The clothes that she had been found in, stitched by the way, had been put back on and rested lightly against her sunburned skin. Sweatshirt and jeans felt comfortable and natural. To tell the truth, wearing ninja things didn't feel right when she wasn't even one yet. Her head felt much lighter without the Hitai-ate, but Amaya was sure that would be soon replaced when she became a ninja. That was her goal before and it would still be.

As she turned the corner, Amaya nearly fell flat on her face as her foot caught on something. Her mouth opened to curse and to kick the offending object out of her way, but all that came out was an empty gasp of air. She recognized the bundle on the ground. Naruto. What was the kid doing out this late? Faint snores reached her ears as the girl bent down to pick up the munchkin. He didn't seem to protest the movement, in fact his body instinctively curled up to the nearest source of warmth. Loving arms surrounded his body as Amaya held him close to her chest. Naruto's hands circled her neck and held her as tight as his little body could.

A soft touch glided across the skin of her neck and made a shiver course down her spine. She looked over her shoulder and saw a crushed daisy clutched tightly in his small fist. Had he been waiting all this time for her to come out? Amaya shuffled the boy around a bit until he rested comfortably on her hip with his head right below her chin where his golden spikes tickled her nose. His soft breathing signaled that she hadn't woken him up. Well, at least she would have company for her first night in Konohagakure.

Blindly picking a road to follow, the ninja-in-training stepped randomly in a direction in hopes of finding her new home. However, she didn't get far before a familiar silver-haired ninja popped up right in front of her causing her to yelp.

"I see that we meet again, my lovely little-"

"What the hell! Normal people don't jump out of nowhere," she whispered loudly in the ANBU's face as to not wake her sunshine up from his slumber.

"Well, I really wouldn't count myself as 'normal'."

She snorted, "I could have told you that."

"Ah, you wound me with your harsh words."

"Give me a minute and I'll kill you."

The ANBU withdrew a finger and pressed it against his chin in a mock thinking manner. Amaya took the time to look this strange man over. It had to be the same guy from earlier; there was no mistaking that hair and cocky attitude. The Dog symbol was gone, but a Hitai-ate covered his left eye and a mask erased any facial features below the nose, so there really wasn't much of a difference from before, though one eye was left open for her to read. His obsidian orb gazed lazily at her giving off nothing but a mischievous twinkle that reminded her of her own. There was nothing there…it was as if it was empty, he was empty. What could have happened to make him turn out the way he did.

Maybe she wasn't the only one with lost loved ones.

Before the ninja could open his mouth, Amaya pushed past him with her hands holding Naruto securely to her. The kid must be severely tired to continue sleeping through all of this.

But right after she had maybe gone a foot, there he was again.

"Can I ask a question?"

She ignored him and continued to walk away, "You just did."

"Ha, ha, hilarious. Seriously, though," he said while keeping pace with the girl, two years his junior.

She sighed, "If you must."

He stepped right in front of her, blocking her path. "Who are you?"

That was a good question. And one of the many that Amaya didn't know the answer to. Who was this stranger to be asking her of her personal business? He didn't know her. He had no right to pry into her life.

"Are you asking for my name or my history?"

A cheeky smile came across his face or what she could tell if it was a grin or not. "Whatever you're willing to give me I suppose."

"What if I believe that neither applies?"

"Then I guess this conversation was pointless."

The corner of her lip twitched upwards in a grin and a laugh bubbled in her throat. She hid her smile in the sunshine of the munchkin's hair. How could he make her happy so easily? This day wasn't a complete mess after all.

"Nashitaka, Amaya."

"Huh?"

"Well, you asked who I was." She cocked her head at the roadblock. "So do I have to ask about you? Because I heard that it's common courtesy to so."

"I was never really taught manners," he mocked from what she had said only hours before. Amaya shook her head in exasperation but was surprised when a half-gloved hand appeared before her line of sight. "Let's start over. I am Hatake, Kakashi of Konohagakure."

Without hesitation, Amaya shifted her bundle to free her arm to clasp Kakashi's hand in a firm grip.

"And I am Nashitaka, Amaya, ninja in training and I am one who never believed in first impressions anyhow."

It was silent for a moment as neither of them knew what to say next. A soft whisper of wind, however, snapped her out of her daze as she realized that Naruto was waking up. Amaya released Kakashi's hand and steadied the boy against her so that he wouldn't fall. Head of sunshine tickled her nose as he lifted it up to gaze into her cerulean eyes. For a moment, the orphan seemed confused but a bright smile that could rival the gleam of diamonds, formed on his face as he recognized his angel that he had met earlier today. Naruto yawned sleepily and rubbed his fist across his eyes to rub away his sleepiness.

He seemed to notice that he was in Amaya's arms and presented to her one of his treasures that he had come across. The daisy by now was crumpled and had been picked hastily so that a clump of roots still stuck to the end of the mutilated flower. However, it was still beautiful.

"Is this for me, kiddo," Amaya asked as she grasped the green stem between her fingers to take a look at it.

He nodded vigorously, "Yup! I finded it and wanted to give it to you, Ama-chan! But you were talking to the old man, so I waited for you to come out!"

How could anyone look at this boy and not see an angel?

"Thank you, kind sir," her voice dripping with drama.

Nevertheless, Amaya kept up her act, momentarily forgetting the ANBU, and brought the wildflower up to her nose, smelling it delicately before tickling Naruto's nose with its silk like petals. He giggled but was stopped when a yawn forced his jaws apart.

It was time to head home, for the both of them.

"Alright Naruto, its getting dark." After tucking the disgruntled flower behind her ear, she turned to the ninja beside her. His gaze was fixed on the boy who Amaya was holding and if she didn't know any better, she could have sworn that he was smiling underneath that mask of his. "Do you think I can ask you a favor, Kakashi?"

"Hm?"

Shuffling Naruto a bit more in her arms as she refused to put him down, besides the fact that he had a death grip on her neck, Amaya pulled out the small slip of paper that had her new address written sloppily on it. She put it up close to his face.

"Can you take me here?"

The ANBU looked over it for a second and blanked out for a second, thinking of where it was. Suddenly, he nodded and plucked it delicately out of her fingers and waved it about.

"H-hey! Don't lose that! I have no idea where I'm going!"

"Don't worry, Ama-hime, I know exactly where this is!"

Ama-hime…what the hell did that mean? She knew it had something to do with her name, so she asked Naruto who was giggling like mad at what Kakashi had said to her.

"He called you a princess!"

A streak of red flushed her cheeks.

"I-I'm not a princess," Amaya spluttered as she tried to cover up her blush.

"Whatever you say, Ama-hime," he sauntered with a wink.

"Shut up! Stop giving me names you moron! I've given you the real one already!"

"Oooohhh, Ama-chan said a baaaaad word!"

"I did not! I was just using a descriptive adjective!"

"Oh, I don't know about that, Ama-hime."

"He's right!"

Amaya looked down at Naruto with a raised eyebrow.

"You don't even know what an adjective is, do you?"

"Yuh-huh!"

"Really…so if I said that Cyclops here was an annoying jackass that should stuff his nicknames up a certain anatomical place that would cause rectal malfunction, would be classified as an adjective?"

"…Yup!"

"You know what? I get the feeling that we're going to be best friends, kiddo." Amaya turned to the shocked ninja and gestured with her head that he should keep moving. "So are you going to show me where that place is or am I going to have to expand my vocabulary even more?"

"I think we're going to be best friends, Ama-hime."

She glowered, "I hate you."

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

The walk was filled with barbed insults from all parties and only the more vulgar ones were given when Naruto had fallen asleep once more with his head cradled between the junction of Amaya's shoulder and neck. The comebacks were all in good fun and took the girl's mind off everything that had been bothering her for at least a time. It was actually quite amusing what one could come up with in the heat of the moment. And the both of them were quite sure that what words had been exchanged had no meaning behind them at all.

Still, Kakashi had not given up her new name and Amaya hated it with a passion.

"Here we are."

And indeed they were. Amaya looked up and looked at her new home with a critical eye. It wasn't big, but neither was it small. There were two levels to the house and two windows on the second floor and two at the bottom. Many shingles had been swept off the roof and the white paint that covered the wood had begun to chip off little by little. A small garden was placed beneath each windowsill, but had died off a while ago. Small flowers had been chocked with the invasion of weeds. This was her father's home.

And now it was hers.

This was the place where new beginnings started. Hoshi had told her in his letter that he wanted this for her. And Amaya would be damned if she would disobey him.

The route that they had taken to get here had many twist and turns and shops with their peeling signs only added to her confusion. Everything was unfamiliar to her and not a face bore a friendly smile as the day ended when she passed by. Amaya could only be thankful that Naruto was asleep; less she showed the villagers what she thought of their opinions. However, during her and Kakashi's game, the ninja-in-training made sure that every crude word uttered from her mouth was projected loudly towards the offending people.

The ANBU didn't say a thing. Not even did he ask questions about who she was or why her attire appeared to be very different from before. He was satisfied with only her name and her company. It was all she could give at the moment, and the silver haired ninja accepted that.

Maybe if he stuck around, that horrifying name that he had been gladly calling her wouldn't be so bad after all.

"I don't know how to thank you for your kindness."

Truly, she didn't. The only time she had been treated with respect had been with her sensai. This was all very new to her, but by no means was it an unwelcome feeling.

"Oh, I can think of a way, Ama-hime," he grinned mischievously. He pointed to his right cheek with an uncovered finger. "All I ask for in return is a kiss upon thy cheek from thou fair lips, princess."

Her hand froze from its position on the door handle. The keys stilled in her hands as the words left his mouth. Why that cheeky little bastard!

"I'm afraid that my date for the night has fallen asleep and is in desperate need for a warm bed. But I'll tell you what…"

Amaya stepped back from her porch and approached the ANBU with a swing in her hips. She got up within an inch of his face and gazed into his lone cobalt eye.

"…If you ever manage to get a kiss from me, I'll throw in an extra one."

She yanked his Hitai-ate down over his face and kicked open the now unlocked door before disappearing inside the house. Kakashi stood there on the abandoned street with a twinkle in his eye after he fixed the straight headband into its lopsided position.

"I'll be banking on that promise, Amaya Nashitaka," he whispered into the night as he slipped away without a sound to betray his existence.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

It took a few tries before Amaya found a bedroom that wasn't caked in the dust that threatened to swallow the both of them alive and she finally found one at the end of the hall on the second floor. The walls were bare and had certainly seen better days. Only a dresser, nightstand, and twin sized bed occupied the room. Dirt stained curtains swayed lightly in the breeze that entered through the cracked open window placed above the bed.

Light snores were emitted from the small bundle in her arms. A loving smile crossed her face as she carefully detangled Naruto's arms from around her neck. It only worked partially. The death grip was gone, but his small fingers refused to release her clothes no matter how hard Amaya tugged on his grip. Only when his whimpers echoed in the empty room did she finally give up.

Slowly, the girl bent down on the bed, pulling the covers back from the plain, wooden headboard. She kicked off her sandals and removed Naruto's own before settling them both on the bed. Almost immediately after her back connected with the mattress, did the boy curl up against her, with her shirt still clenched in his fist. She sighed. It appeared that Amaya wasn't going anywhere tonight.

Naruto's whimpers quieted when her own arms wrapped around his malnourished body and brought him into her warm embrace. The last thing she saw before she was taken away into her dreams was a small grin blooming on the child's face.