Shanan woke up in a strange room. She wanted to panic and disappear, but she didn't know how to do that. She sat up to look around and her emotions started to overwhelm her. Her heart was beating fast and she was really scared. Her arms were drenched already. "What is this," she wondered as she looked down at them. Then she remembered the water and the white-haired boy. The darkness. Was there someone else? Was any of that real? When was that? Her fear started to feel like it was filling her up again. So much so, that she felt like she might drown. Just as she thought she might either fall apart or suffocate, the door opened and she felt the flooding subside immediately as she caught her breath.

"Kakashi," she said excitedly. She really did immediately feel better. He was the only person she could remember and here he was.

Kakashi didn't have any family left. His mother died before he could remember and his dad had committed suicide thirteen years ago when he was just five years old. Not to mention the countless others he had lost over the years... Kakashi knew what it was like to be utterly alone. He at least remembered his family and his friends, but maybe that was harder than not remembering. Either way, he felt like he should help Shanan by keeping her company for a bit. Itachi wanted nothing to do with her, and Kakashi didn't think Shanan had cared for him anyway. So here he was, visiting for the fifth day in a row.

But this time she was awake and it had caught him off guard. "Hi... so, do you remember anything?" He wasn't really sure what else to say.

Shanan thought for a moment. She wasn't sure what he meant. "Oh. Did I say your name wrong?" She considered as best she could what else she could possibly have to remember, she was sure she hadn't forgotten anything.

Kakashi had thought as much. "Uh... no. You said it perfectly fine, Shanan. Kakashi is the correct way." He moved to sit in the chair he had sat in all week. It did feel a bit different now, though. What does one say to a person that doesn't remember anything?

"Oh yeah. So that's my name." Shanan said as she laughed. "How could I forget?" That must've been the thing he was asking about and how could she have forgotten? "Do I... live here?" she asked Kakashi, praying that the answer was no, she thought this place was dreadful. And way too bright.

"Oh, they're working that out," he assured her. "In fact, I believe they already have a place for you. They're already setting it up for when you feel better." He had always wished that there was something better for the orphans of Konoha, but all too often the children just ended up raising themselves. Alone. And he would know... He understood exactly what Shanan had meant about darkness that night. He'd felt that after he'd lost his father. Even now, he still feels that.

"Am I sick?" Shanan asked. She didn't feel sick. She felt fine. Great even. The boy with the white hair was here. Kakashi. She was Shanan and he was Kakashi. Wasn't there someone else? She'd gotten a bit lost in thought, but she really felt fine.

"You're…" he considered his words for a moment. "You just need some time to recover, I think." He wasn't sure exactly what he should tell her. The doctors had told him not to try and force her to remember anything as it would only confuse and scare her. And after what she did to her own home, it was probably best not to upset her unnecessarily.

He loved his village, but this was another thing that they seemed to always get wrong. Bury the problem and deal with it if, and only if, it arises. He'd seen proof of that more times than he liked to ever think about.

A quick, quiet knock pulled Kakashi from his thoughts. "Just checking in," one of the nurses said as she opened the door to look in. "Oh, you're awake!" She said happily as she seemed to fly across the room to Shanan to have a closer look. "How do you feel-" Kakashi grabbed her wrist as she reached towards Shanan, who was noticeably taken aback to see another person that wasn't her or Kakashi, or that other person she thought she remembered.

"I haven't seen you before, you must be new to this particular patient," Kakashi said calmly, yet very firmly while still gripping her wrist. "I have to introduce you and explain what is happening before you try to touch her. She doesn't trust anyone and you going straight in like that could get you hurt." He didn't want to tell the nurse that Shanan doesn't realize there are more than two people in this world, but that was clearly the case as she looked very shaken.

"Oh... I'm sorry, I'll just come back later," the nurse said as she looked from Kakashi to Shanan, obviously concerned. Kakashi released his grip so that she could be on her way and she was gone faster than she had arrived.

Shanan wanted to ask a lot of questions, but all she could do was look down at her hands. Her palms were visibly wet. "Why did this keep happening?" she wondered to herself.

"Shanan, that was a nurse. She's here to help you, kind of like I did, to make sure you start to feel better." He grabbed her hand. Her palms were soaked, but as soon as he calmed her down, they were dry again. He thought that maybe he was starting to understand her abilities a little better.

Shanan thought back to when he showed up. Darkness and then Kakashi. He had been wearing a mask then. Two actually. She just noticed that he wasn't wearing either one right now and she really appreciated the fact that he'd remembered that it made her nervous.

"I know what nurses and doctors are." She wasn't sure how she knew it, but she did. Still, she wasn't expecting to see one.

"Right, well, there are doctors in this building too. There are all kinds of people in Konoha village. Which is where we are." He went on to explain as much of it to her as he could. Starting with Lord Hokage. He even explained how he was one of many shinobi that protected the village and worked to keep everyone safe.

"How did you become a shinobi?" Shanan had interrupted. She thought that she might like to help people one day.

"I went to the ninja academy and I trained hard every day. My father was one of the greatest shinobi to ever live and I wanted to follow in his footsteps," he said with a slight, soft smile as he looked down. He had never said that outloud. Or much of anything else about his father, really. His father had been disgraced for putting his friends' lives before his mission, so Kakashi didn't think anyone would appreciate him looking up to him and he tried not to for a long time. But he did and besides, Shanan didn't know about any of that. "It's not an easy thing to accomplish, it takes dedication." He knew Shanan didn't come from a shinobi family or clan, but she clearly had some natural talents.

Shanan thought about it. But it didn't take her long to make up her mind. She knew she wanted to be like Kakashi. If she could save anyone, even just one person, from darkness, then that's what she wanted to do. She wanted to be helpful and she wanted to make people happy. She may not know much of anything at the moment, but she did know that. She wanted to follow in his footsteps...