Hi everyone! I know it has been a while since I last posted. I haven't heard from a lot of you either so I figure we have been mutually busy! That being said, to make up for the wait I'm giving you an extra long you don't hear from me again soon, just know that I've got most of the story already mapped out so I'm not going to abandon it. With my work schedule being what it is, it might just take me a little longer to get these puppies out. I look forward to hearing what you guys think. Its really fun to go back through the old reviews and see how far we've come. This story has grown and changed so much since I first started it and a lot of that is because of you guys. Your ideas and feedback have helped guide and shape this story into what it is today. I hope you're as happy with it as I am!

Beki fought with the hair pick she had attempted to "artfully" place in her hair. Her mane was so thick that the ornament kept getting absorbed into the mass on top of her head.

"This is why I only wear my hair in a braid," Beki complained to her reflection. The up do was pretty enough. She tossed aside the hair pick and grabbed her drawstring purse from the dresser. As she walked to her door, Beki paused and took one last look at herself. She had fought with herself about wearing the armor or a yukata and decided on the latter. Ren and Daiske were foreign and dressed in their shinobi gear. If Beki were dressed for the occasion, even though the two would stand out in a crowd they would garner less suspicion if accompanied by a perceived local.

As she descended the stairs, Beki chuckled to herself. The garment was almost as restrictive as her armor in some ways. Hinata was by the door putting her shoes on. The heiress was as beautiful as ever.

"Hey Hinata, looking good." Beki grinned.

Hinata looked up, brushing a stray strand of hair out of her face. "Good morning, Beki. Heading out to meet your team?"

"Yeah," Beki adjusted her obi. "Knowing them if I don't show up soon Ren's going to start a bar fight."

Hinata chuckled. "That sounds like your friend. Did she get in this much trouble when you were kids?"

"Worse, but because she was so tiny it was always brushed off." Beki explained. "She looks like a child, now. When we were in the academy, Ren was like a ferocious toddler." She surveyed her friend, envying how much more put together Hinata looked. Beki gave an almost imperceptible sigh and a slight shrug of the shoulders. She only had herself to blame for her lackluster appearance. "So, you're going to meet Shino and Kiba?"

Hinata nodded. "We usually go with Kurenai sensei, but she's going with Asuma sensei."

"Wise choice." Beki smiled. "No one wants to be a third wheel to a recently married couple."

Hinata's smile wavered for a moment and Beki knew she was thinking of Naruto. What a shame that he's still on his mission. Beki knew that Hinata had plans with her team and Beki had plans with her own. That didn't stop her from wondering if it wouldn't be a good idea to get some quality time with Hinata. Just as she was opening her mouth to make the suggestion, the door was bowled open.

"Hinata!" Naruto panted, sweat dripping down his face.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata leapt out of her chair and flung herself on him. "You're home!"

Naruto gave her a tight squeeze and shook his head. "No, not yet. This is just a clone. We've been delayed by the client by about a day. I missed you so bad I couldn't wait."

The couple was completely oblivious of Beki now, so with a smile and a shake of her head, she walked outside. Beki closed the door behind her to give the happy couple some privacy. As she walked down the path toward the gate, she caught sight of an unfamiliar woman heading towards her.

Is she a Hyuga I haven't met? Beki cocked her head. "Hi there," Beki called out with a friendly smile.

The woman looked up and Beki froze in shock. "No way."

Yuki wrinkled her nose. "What's with the face?"

Beki shook her head. "It can't be you! You're just too elegant to be my mother!"

Yuki looked down at her kimono and shrugged. "I always go all out for festivals."

Beki surveyed her mother's attire more closely. She wore a silk kimono in rich cobalt hues. Pine boughs stretched across the surface, lightly dusted with snow. Along the bottom was a bed of the fresh fallen powder where little rabbits frolicked. Her charcoal obi was adorned with the phases of the moon in silver. As Yuki moved her head, expensive looking hair ornaments: lacquered combs, jeweled pins, and picks that looked like strands of wisteria blossoms clinked like windchimes. Her mother looked gorgeous, but in an unusually polished and traditional way. Yuki always talked about being a priestess. Until now, Beki had dismissed the idea. Seeing her mother with such subdued dignity proved at some point, her mother had been a person of conservative importance.

"So, uh," Yuki looked over her daughter with a slight frown. "That's what you're wearing?"

"I brought your old kimono with me," Beki pointed to the store house. "But it's a festival. That thing is a family heirloom and I don't want some kid running into me with takoyaki and ruining it."

"I understand not wearing that one," Yuki cocked her head. "But cotton? Really? You're an heiress to two clans, Beki. You could step it up a little." Yuki came closer and started to adjust Beki's hair. "And who taught you how to fix your hair? Your father with his top knots?"

Beki grumbled but it was kind of nice having her mom fuss over her. She watched in surprise as Yuki took out a few of her hair ornaments and fixed them into Beki's hair. "Where did you get all this?" Beki was close enough now to see the shimmer of silver woven into the snow on her mother's kimono and the high grade of the silk.

"I had it all made," Yuki said with an emerald topped pin in her mouth. She saw the confused look on her daughter's mouth and continued: "There's a shop in Getsu where I had my wedding kimono maid. I had them send someone with their best silk bolts. They took my measurements, I picked what silk I wanted, and then we decided on the rest of the getup the next time he came out."

"How long did this take?" Beki winced as her mother accidentally stabbed her scalp with the pin.

Yuki shrugged. "A couple months. I knew the festival was coming so I had it all done in advance." She stepped back to survey her work. Yuki smiled at the hair, but as her gaze traveled down the rest of Beki's attire she shook her head and sighed. "If I'd known, I would have had one made for you, too. You look like a peasant in this crap."

Beki rolled her eyes. "People always thought I was going to be arrogant because I was an Asou and a Tsukimori. It's clear now they got that idea from how you acted."

Yuki folded her arms. "Oh, you poor thing. Suffering so much under the burden of pretending you're average when you were born into greatness. I'd like to point out that the pretentiousness of preserving bloodlines you like turning your nose up at is exactly the reason you can catch fire and burn through your enemies like tissue paper in a house fire."

"I just don't like the way you act like we're somebodies and other people are nobodies," Beki shook her head. "Everyone is a somebody."

Yuki let out a frustrated sigh. "All I know is that not appreciating what you have been blessed with is a fatal flaw. Not to mention how depreciating yourself to make other people feel better about themselves is a good way to get them to treat you as bad as you treat yourself." Yuki took her arm and started walking down the path. "I mean, this isn't how I pictured taking you to a festival as a young woman, but I'm just happy I'll finally get to go with you. I've looked forward to this since you were in diapers."

Beki winced. "Hey, Yuki, I've got some bad news for you."

Yuki blinked and let go of her arm. "What do you mean? Are you feeling ill?"

"No," Beki gave her an apologetic smile. "See, my teammates are here from Getsu. I never get to see them, as in the last two years I've seen them twice. They're all moving on to other stuff so this is kind of the last festival we're going to get to have together. I'm sorry. I already promised to take them around today."

Yuki made no effort to hide her disappointment. "I already got raffle tickets for us to use at the arcade booths and reserved, like, ten taiyaki for you. I remembered how you used to throw those things back like a drunk." She sighed and fished in her obi. "I mean, I assumed that spending an important day like this with your mother who came back from the dead would be a given, but I've been wrong before."

"Yuki, I'm really sorry," Beki bowed. "I promise next year you can have me all day. I'll let you dress me up like a doll and show me off."

Yuki stuffed a receipt and a ridiculously large wad of raffle tickets in Beki's obi. "Go have fun with your friends. Don't get pregnant."

Beki shook her head. "What was that?!"

Yuki shrugged, trying to keep her face neutral but the small frown forming at the corners of her mouth betrayed her pain. "Nothing. I just don't want you to have too much fun today. I'm too young to be a grandmother."

Beki rolled her eyes. "I'm not like you were as a teenager."

"Yeah," Yuki sighed as she trudged for the gate. "You're right about that. I would have killed to have my mother take me to a festival. Or to have had a mother. Or to have gotten to leave the shrine to go to festivals."

Beki watched with a guilty expression as her mother threw open the gate, continuing her dejected tirade as she walked outside and marched away. She sighed and adjusted her obi. It was hard figuring Yukihana out. Most of the time she acted like a scandalous big sister, protective but too sexy and laid back to be taken seriously. Then there were times like this that she genuinely acted like Beki's mother. They were so infrequent they always caught Beki by surprise. There was no way she could ever predict what her mother would think was important mother-daughter time and what was just an everyday activity. Beki had also never seen her mother look hurt before. Part of her wanted to chase Yuki down and apologize now, blow off her friends, and give her the day she'd been looking forward to. At the same time, Yuki was always around now. Beki would have plenty of opportunities to fix this between them. Her friends, on the other hand, were only going to be around for a few more days. She sighed, frustrated to be trapped in another complicated relationship situation. Beki shook her head and walked through the gates.

…

"Hey baby!" Ren whistled. "Where you been all my life?!"

"Shut up, Ren," Beki folded her arms. "I thought if I dressed up you guys wouldn't look so out of place."

Daiske smiled. "You look nice, Beki."

"Who did your hair, girl," Ren grabbed Beki's obi and pulled her forward so she could have a better look. "These hair ornaments look expensive." She grabbed Beki's chin and turned her face so they were nose to nose. "You ain't holding out on me, are you, boo?"

Beki swatted Ren away. "My mom did my hair. They're hers."

"I was going to say, they're a little on the fancy side for what you're wearing." Ren folded her arms. "That shit almost looks ceremonial. I would know."

Daiske rolled his eyes. "Here we go again, with the I'm-practically-a-certified-priestess crap."

Ren stuck out her tongue. "So, can we get to the booths already? I wanna see some grown men cry." She rubbed her hands together and laughed maniacally.

Beki fished the roll of raffle tickets out of her obi. "My mom gave me these for us to use."

Ren's eyes lit up and she snatched them out of Beki's hands. Her teammates gave her a dirty look and she relented, unrolling the tickets and tearing off a small wad for each of them.

"That's all?" Daiske rubbed his fingers together. "I saw a nice set of headphones I want to win."

Ren grumbled as she handed him more tickets. "Honestly, taking raffle tickets from a child. You should be ashamed, Daiske."

"Funny how you insist you're a child when it's convenient." Daiske snatched the tickets. "Beks, did your mom give you anything else?"

"Like a love note for Daiske?" Ren popped up with an excited grin.

Beki thought of the receipt for the reserved taiyaki and smiled broadly. "Nope. Just the tickets."

…

Kakashi was forcing his way through the throngs of the festival crowd. He usually didn't mind the gaiety but the turnout this year was excessive. The streets seemed warmer and more humid because of all the bodies. All he could think about was going home, cranking the fan, and curling up with a good book. As he politely shoved his way upstream of the crowd, he heard a familiar voice and turned. It was Yuki's diner. Kakashi sighed. At least if he was in the diner he would be off the street. He stepped through the doors and was immediately struck with a strange sight.

Yukihana was done up in traditional garb. From her complicatedly coiffed hair with golden jingling ornaments to the getas on her feet, she looked like the festival poster girl. The only thing that didn't go with the getup was Yuki's self-indulgent pout.

"Yuki, what happened?" Kakashi furrowed his brow. Yuki's pout deepened until it was almost childlike in its lack of self-restraint. "Oh," Kakashi nodded. "Your daughter bailed on you."

"Can you believe it?" Yuki fumed. "I am honestly hurt. I tell you what, I'm a heartless son of a bitch, so it takes a lot to hurt me. I'm wounded."

Kakashi waved at the owner. "We're going to head out."

Yuki grumbled as she tossed her money on the table after fishing it out from the folds of her obi. They must have been a strange sight, a shinobi in the full Leaf standard dragging along what looked like the daughter of a powerful Lord. When they walked through the doors of the bar, the strange looks they got were amplified. It took the bartender a full minute to recognize Yukihana under the makeup and dignity of her clothes.

"How bad?" The man asked.

Kakashi sized up the look on Yuki's face. "Whiskey. Two glasses."

Yuki threw back her shot without hesitation. "This is the kind of crap a mother looks forward to, seeing her little girl all done up and going out on the town with her. I never wanted to be that mom that forced their wants and needs on my kid. I let Beki run wild next to what her father did with her and she can't even hang out with me at the festival?!"

Kakashi listened patiently while she fumed. "You proved to the village you know how to dress yourself."

"What good is getting dressed up when you have nowhere to go?" Yuki scoffed. "That's a waste of expensive makeup and a pound of pomade down the drain."

Kakashi chuckled softly. He hadn't heard anyone say "pomade" since his father was around. "You're like a sassy grandma, you know that?"

Yuki blinked. "Did a man with gray hair just call me a 'sassy grandma'?"

"I meant it in a good way," Kakashi cocked his head. "It's part of your charm. Usually you run off halfcocked, swearing and sewing violence wherever you go. Then you get talking and it's like hearing a grandma talk about the good ole days. The contrast is rather amusing."

Yuki shot him a disgusted look and waved for another whiskey. "Keep them coming. If I can walk straight when I get out of here I'll still be able to remember that I had a feeling today."

Kakashi chuckled as he watched Yuki throw another one back. "Did you go to festivals back home?"

"Not until after I left the shrine," Yuki scratched at her scalp. "Before that, we hosted a couple of festivals at the shrine a year. I helped with the rituals and things but it wasn't fun." She gestured to the windows. "Not like this. The festivals were usually more like cleansing rituals and protective charms. A very somber affair."

"So, you were hoping to make up for lost time?" Kakashi rested his elbow on the bar and propped up his chin.

"I guess that was the idea." Yuki frowned delicately and then shrugged. "I'm going to get her back for this. If she thinks training has been brutal so far- "Yuki gave a dark laugh. "She'll be praying for the sweet release of death."

Kakashi gave a soft sigh. "Kids grow up so fast. I remember when my squad was just a bunch of pipsqueaks. They clung to everything I did and said. Now I'm lucky if they'll give me the time of day."

"They bailed on you too?" Yuki threw back another shot like it was tea.

Kakashi shook his head with a sad smile. "No. They didn't bother asking me at all. They have their own lives now, their own people they want to make memories with. You can't blame them. It's just the passage of time."

"Their friends will be there for them when we're long gone is what you're saying." Yuki gave a disgruntled huff. "I thought you were supposed to be cheering me up here."

"I thought of it as more of two kindred souls airing their mutual dissatisfaction." Kakashi said as he watched the crowd outside.

Yuki waved down the barkeeper. "Make my next one a double. I'm still feeling too much."

…

As they made their way through the throngs from arcade game to arcade game, Beki was surprised she hadn't seen anyone she knew. It was especially strange since she knew the Konoha crew always traveled in packs. It had been hours and yet she hadn't even caught a glimpse of her friends.

"Who ya looking for?" Ren grinned as she took a bite of her odango.

Beki shrugged. "Anyone. I know this is a ninja village but it isn't that big. I should've seen someone by now."

Daiske shrugged. "Maybe they're all avoiding you?"

Beki shot him a dirty look. "Don't give me a complex. I know Neji's already avoiding me."

"And tell us how that makes you feel." Ren kept a somber face, but a catlike grin curled at the corners of her mouth.

Beki let out a frustrated sigh. "I don't know what I did wrong! We're best friends and suddenly, he's dodging me like a bad smell. I can't figure out what it is I did wrong. I mean I lost my temper but it's not like it was that bad compared to what I've done before. He's the kindest and most understanding person I've ever met. Yet whatever it was that I did was so bad he can't stand me anymore. Don't you think if you did something that bad you would remember it?"

"Beki, I don't mean to be rude but you're really fixating on this." Daiske rubbed the back of his neck. "Could we talk about someone other than your boyfriend?"

"He isn't her boyfriend, Daiske." Ren rolled her eyes. "Can't you keep up with anything?"

"Sorry, the way she's carrying on it sounds like he's her boyfriend." Daiske let out a sigh. "Come on, the fish catching game's over there."

Beki clamped her mouth shut and puffed up her cheeks. She had been talking about Neji an awful lot with them. It was selfish. Her friends were only in Konoha for a short time and here she was dumping her problems at their doorstep. Was it because they weren't from Konoha she felt safe sharing this with them? Or was she really that upset?

As they walked, they were forced to circumnavigate bags people had set on the ground as they made their purchases and piles of stock boxes. A woman pushed past them in an especially treacherous spot and Daiske lost his balance and stumbled into a scaffold supporting a stall that had closed for the day. The empty sign on top had nail heads sticking out of it for a vendor to attach a sign to. In slow motion, the impact of Daiske's jostle traveled up the beams and shook the sign, dislodging it at the top. The sign swung forward and down in an arc right in front of Beki's face. She heard a soft thwack and subconsciously raised her hands to check herself.

"Ren?!"

Daiske's voice on the other side of the sign instantly set Beki's teeth on edge. Through her shocked silence, there was a rasping sound. She grabbed ahold of the sign and looked up to see Daiske doing the same thing.

"Now!" Daiske cried and Beki lifted her side of the sign. There was a sickening squish as they pulled the sign away.

Ren looked up at them, her eyes wide with terror. One of the nails had lodged itself directly in her windpipe. The wound cried red tears that blossomed into flowers on her clothes. Her knees buckled and Daiske and Beki both threw out their arms to catch her.

"Medic!" Beki cried, looking up at all the strange faces around her. "Someone get a medic now!"

Daiske's hand hovered over the nail. "Do I take it out?!"

"I don't know!" Beki shouted frantically. Blood continued to seep from Ren's neck as grasped at her own throat. "She can't breathe! Pull it out! Pull it out!" Beki tried to keep calm, but the raspy gurgling noise Ren was making echoed though her ears, deafening her. Her eyes were locked on to Daiske's shaking fingers as they wrapped gingerly around the head of the nail. Beki's skin felt cold and she hadn't let out a breath in several seconds.

Time slowed down as Daiske began to remove the nail. There was this horrible wet meaty sound as it rose out of her skin. Ren laid complacently in their arms, her face contorted with panic, and wide eyes darting back and forth between them. Once the nail was out, the wound gushed blood. Daiske dropped the nail. Beki scrambled for the handkerchief in her obi. As she fumbled, Daiske tore off his sleeve in one swift movement and pressed the material to her throat, a futile attempt to ebb the tide.

"You're going to be okay, Ren." Beki squeezed her hand and looked around. People were forming a circle around them but no one stepped forward. Beki cursed her lack of medical ninjutsu for the thousandth time. Then again, who would have conceived that her friend would bleed out from a nail wound at a festival?

The scent of blood and hot copper filled the air. Ren's clothes were so soaked now she looked like an extra from a horror movie. Daiske and Beki shared a helpless look, guilty that they were powerless to help her any further. Ren reached up and grabbed at the severed shirtsleeve.

"What're you doing?" Daiske pressed down harder. Blood leaked from the fabric onto his hands, coating them in a sea of gore.

Ren grabbed ahold of his hand with both of hers and pulled the it away. "I'm fine."

"What're you-" Beki reached out to press her sleeve into the wound, convinced her friend was delirious from blood loss. Before she could, Ren had reached up with her sleeve and wiped away the blood at her throat. The skin beneath was completely smooth, no wound or scar marred her alabaster skin. She sat up and shook her head.

"Shit I'm lightheaded." Ren laid back down. "Daiske, go get me a pork bowl."

Daiske sat there dumbfounded, the blood sodden shirtsleeve sitting like stone in his hand. He looked at it, and then at Ren's neck. "How?"

"Don't ask questions!" Ren waved her hand at him dismissively. "Pork bowl!"

Daiske looked at Beki and she shrugged, so he stepped away to get a pork bowl. He looked over his shoulder every few steps.

"Ren…" Beki stared down at her disbelief. "How…what…?"

"Hanged Maiden." Ren grinned. "We got lucky that nail closed my windpipe. I went zero to Maiden in like, two seconds."

"But you were bleeding out. How did activating your maiden form heal your wound?" Beki asked.

"You mean you weren't curious how I completely healed from my chunin exam wounds without a single scar?" Ren put a finger to the corner of her mouth. "Not even a little bit?"

Beki blinked. It was true. There wasn't a mark on Ren's body and she had almost been torn to pieces that day. "Are you saying that the Hanged Maiden form heals you?"

Ren batted her eyelashes. "Right on the money. I looked it up in the archives of the shrine when I noticed I was out of my cast like, four weeks early. The Hanged Maiden has this passive healing factor. I'm always healing. If I get a papercut, that puppy will be gone by the end of the day. It is even faster when I've activated the Hanged Maiden."

Beki slapped her across the face.

"Okay, I get you're pissed-" Ren started but Beki slapped her again. "That was also called for."

"That is TWICE you have almost died in my arms." Beki looked down at her hands. Like Daiske, they were covered in gore. Her yukata was trashed as well, dark brown-red splotches marring the bright fabric. "Okay, memo to me, next time you get an organ yanked out I'm not going to help you."

"Actually, organ yanking I will need your help." Ren held up a finger. "Impaling I can handle but if something is removed, I'm boned."

Beki knit her brows. "What kind of healing factor is that?"

"An expedited one." Ren folded her arms. "You don't regrow a finger if it gets chopped off but your body would fix up a stab wound if you didn't bleed out first. Replacing and repairing lost tissues isn't the same as re-growing a whole damned organ."

"I guess that's true." Beki laid down next to Ren.

"What are you doing?" Ren gave her a questioning look.

"This way people will just think we're chilling." Beki put her hands behind her head.

Ren laughed. "That's sweet of you but there's too much blood for people to just walk on by."

"And whose fault is that?" Beki stuck out her tongue and Ren wiped a bloody hand on it. "EW WHAT THE HELL REN?!"

"Now we're blood buddies." Ren grinned.

Beki spit. "Now I have whatever cooties you've picked up."

"About that," Ren laughed uncomfortably. "They aren't cooties anymore. You might actually need to get checked."

Beki's face paled and Ren started laughing. "I'm just kidding. I'm clean."

Before Beki could respond, Daiske came up with three pork bowls. He looked exhausted. "So apparently, walking up to a food stall with blood all over your hands in a foreign ninja village is a good way to get interrogated by the guard. They're following me."

"Hey guys," Beki waved. "They're with me."

The hazy figures of the guard behind him melted back into the crowd. Daiske gave Beki a concerned look. "Why is you laying on the ground in the middle of a festival in a pool of blood not worry the guards?"

Beki reached out and took a pork bowl. "Do you know how many times I've had to walk through town naked because I spontaneously caught fire and burned off my clothes? I've borrowed vests from half of them."

Ren bust out laughing. "Now that's how you meet a man."

"Oh yeah, it would be super-hot until the naked girl mentioned that she spontaneously caught fire." Daiske sat down next to them and shook his head. "There are some red flags when a chick walks up to you naked. Usually it means she's a) crazy, b) trying to distract you, c) is incredibly dangerous, or the rare but still ever-present threat that d) she is a supernatural being."

Beki gave him a strange look. "What was with d)?"

"Yeah the way you said it made it sound like you wanted the d)." Ren looked at Beki out of the corner of her eye and the two shared a laugh, high fiving at his expense.

Daiske sighed. "I spit in your pork bowls."

Ren took a big bite. "See, I would believe you if you even had one testicle to your name."

"I've got plenty of balls!" Daiske fumed.

Ren grabbed him by the collar and pulled him down to her, the ir lips an eyelash length away. "Then kiss me right now."

Daiske turned red as an apple and looked around. "Right here? Now? In front of everybody?"

"See?!" Ren shoved him away and took another bite of her food. "Told you were testicless."

"And here's where Kobiyashi sensei would yell at us for being so immature." Daiske took a bite of his food. "Guess some things never change."

…

Night had fallen and the bar was getting crowded. Yuki and Kakashi paid their tabs. Kakashi walked Yuki outside, guiding her through the heavy night festival traffic. Yuki linked her arm through his for support. Kakashi was surprised how well Yuki was doing considering she had drunk her weight in whiskey.

Fortunately, the closer they got to her apartment, the thinner the crowd. By the time they reached her block, they were the only people on the sidewalk. Yuki reached up, putting her hand behind her head and rolling her neck. "My head weighs a million pounds."

"It's all that 'pomade' weighing you down." Kakashi chuckled but Yuki missed the joke. When they reached her door, Yuki fumbled around in her obi. "Dammit, where is it?" She transitioned up to the insides of her collar. "There it is." Yuki pulled out her keys and with intense concentration opened the door. As Kakashi opened his mouth to excuse himself, Yuki stumbled over the threshold. It was clear she was much more intoxicated than he originally thought. He guiltily imagined her falling and hurting herself, so he followed her inside to help her safely into bed.

Kakashi followed her inside, closing the door behind them. Out of habit, he scanned his surroundings. Yuki's apartment was spartan. What little furniture there was didn't look especially comfortable or inviting; it was clear she didn't have company often. There were small touches of it being a home, however. There was a decorative plate up in the kitchen depicting a mountain scene and a few pictures on the walls. It was too dark to make out what they were. There was also an impressive looking blade hung on a stand. He turned to ask her about it only to be met with the sight of bare flesh.

It was nearly pitch black in the room but Yuki's pale flesh shone like moonlight. She had her back to him as she hung her kimono up on a stand. Kakashi turned his head slightly away out of respect but his gaze stayed transfixed on Yuki's supple back end. Her legs were long and muscular and her back met her butt in a tight, curvy fashion. Kakashi knew he shouldn't be looking, but as soon as he gained his composure, Yuki turned and took a step towards him.

Kakashi was blinded with the full assault of Yuki's bare body. Her breasts were still young and plump. They were somewhat large, but most impressive of all was their extreme perkiness. They seemed to resist gravity as they swayed from side to side with each drunken step Yuki took towards him. Kakashi looked her dead in the eye. "Yuki, why are you naked?"

"Everyone knows you aren't supposed to wear underwear under a kimono!" Yuki put her hands on her hips.

"No, right now. Why are you naked right now?" Kakashi could feel his curiosity fighting with him. It was like his pupils were developing a magnetic attraction to her body.

Yuki stopped in her tracks a few feet in front of Kakashi. She looked confused for a second before looking down at her body. She stared for a moment before looking back up at Kakashi with a smirk. "You like naked bodies, don't you?"

Kakashi was stunned for a moment, his eyes flashing between Yuki's smirking face and swaying breasts. "W-What are you talking about?"

Yuki giggled like a school girl. "Oh, don't pretend like you don't. I've seen you walking around with those little automatic books of yours…"

Kakashi was having a hard time keeping up. Yuki placed her hands on her hips again and leaned forward slightly causing her breasts to fall forward and hang slightly. Kakashi felt heat rise to his face and he cleared his throat. "Automatic? Yuki, are you okay?"

Yuki silently took several steps towards him. Kakashi instinctively took steps back until he was backed up into a wall. Yuki continued forward until her chest was pressed into Kakashi's abdomen. "You know exactly what I'm talking about." Yuki reached down towards Kakashi's pants and he felt his stomach drop.

There was a small ruffling noise for a moment and then Yuki pulled back a few steps with a big grin on her face. "See! I knew you were a perv!"

Kakashi let out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding. He looked over at Yuki's outstretched hand in which she was clutching one of his Icha Icha books.

Realization dawned on him. "Automatic… You mean erotic! My erotic novels!"

Yuki opened the book and thumbed through a few pages in the middle. She spread the spine and stuck her nose in between the pages. "Look! I'm you!" Yuki laughed again, but suddenly went quiet. She hiccupped once and then vomited right into Kakashi's book.

Kakashi's eyes widened in shock. Between the nakedness, the flirting, and now this, he really didn't know how to handle this woman. He stepped over to Yuki and slipped one arm around her mid back. He helped walk her over to the sink and held her hair as Yuki vomited once more. Once she had stopped heaving and was breathing normally, Kakashi let go and stepped around awkwardly in the dark looking for the light switch. He finally found one and flipped it on. He checked on Yuki out of the corner of his eye and was satisfied to see her sitting down. He looked around her house once more trying to find some article of appropriate clothing. Finding only a bathrobe in the bathroom, Kakashi decided to make do and grabbed it. He walked back into a kitchen expecting to see Yuki still sitting by the sink. She, however, was not.

Yuki was standing, still butt naked, next to one of her cabinets holding a small unimpressive frame. Kakashi came up from behind her and placed the bathrobe around her like a coat. Kakashi grabbed one of the towels from the kitchen and went to work cleaning up the vomit. He tried not to think about his now ruined copy of Icha Icha. He had just finished cleaning up the dirty towels when Yuki hiccupped again. Except this time, it sounded different. Too different.

Kakashi placed a hand on her shoulder and Yuki instantly crumped onto the floor, the frame still in her grasp. He froze in place as he noticed the shining stream of tears sliding down her cheeks. "Not this again…" She groaned and draped a hand over her eyes, lowering the other hand to her side. Kakashi caught a glimpse of the photo as she lowered the frame to the floor. It was a younger Yuki, dewy and bright in her bridal finery, looking like a doll beside Seiichiro. Kakashi barely recognized the Reaper. He was a kid himself with an easygoing smile on his face.

Kakashi could feel his stomach slowly curl into a knot. He was silent for a few moments while Yuki tried to regain her composure. It didn't seem to be going well and Kakashi leaned down to help her into a nearby chair. He rummaged through her kitchen until he found a tea kettle and some non-descriptive tea bags. He started heating the water as Yuki continued to cry silently.

"You would think a shinobi would be more comfortable with death…" Yuki scoffed as she violently rubbed the tears from her face. She hadn't bothered to close the bathrobe around her so her front was still fairly exposed. "But I loved him…" Her face crumpled once again into tears and she covered her face with her hands. "I really did love him. He made me a whole person. Not just some killing tool or monster. He made me…. Happy." Yuki continued to talk though sobs. "He gave me my life. He made me a woman and a mother. I'm just so lost without him… I don't know what to do with Beki, I don't know what to with myself and…" Yuki trailed off for a moment, out of breath. "I don't know what to do with you…."

Kakashi felt his breath catch in his throat at her last words. He tried to open his mouth to reply, but no words came to him. His brain was completely stupefied. Her words brought him back to the feelings he had felt so many times in his past. Kakashi had had his share of loved ones' deaths and knew too well the feeling of being lost. His mind flashed back to his first meeting with Yuki at the memorial stone. He also knew too well that one thing that never seemed to help was hearing someone else say they knew what they were going through. What words could replace the loss of a loved one?

"Pain means you're alive…" Kakashi said quietly. The words came out of his mouth before his brain could even process them.

Yuki gave him a look that was both patronizing and pleading. "Bleeding also means you're alive, but you don't see people chasing after that."

Kakashi continued on despite Yuki's retort. "Pain means that some part of them is still alive too. If no one was here to feel the pain of their loss, that's when they would truly be gone."

Yuki frowned. Kakashi half expected her to make another witty comment, but she stayed silent.

"Their lives can never disappear as long as we remember them. Their dreams and aspirations live on inside us and as long as we work to fulfill them, then some part of them will continue to live on in this world."

Yuki looked to Kakashi almost as if she was waiting for more. Kakashi wracked his brain for another pitch. "I'm sure Seiichiro's desire to raise Beki has left some effect on you. Anyone who spent five minutes with the man could see how much he loved his daughter. And I think that part of him is still alive inside you."

Yuki looked down at her picture frame once again. She smiled softly and wiped her eyes. She stood up and placed the frame back onto the shelf she had removed it from. "You're right Kakashi. I can't just sit around feeling sorry for myself. I've got a baby to raise!" She took a step towards the kitchen and immediately tripped on her own feet. She stumbled forwards into Kakashi's arms.

She looked up into his eyes and grinned. "Sorry, I drank too much."

Kakashi smiled back. Her smile was cute, but the effect was largely diminished by her red puffy eyes and the black make-up streaks down her face. He shook his head gently and supported her with an arm across her back. Yuki leaned into him as they walked, overwhelming him with the smell of whiskey, vomit, and pomade. He held it together as they headed into the bedroom. Yuki pulled away as they approached the bed but let the bathrobe drop off her as she climbed in. Kakashi reached down and picked up the blanket, tucking her in the way he would one of his students. As he did, Yuki reached up touched his cheek. He paused and looked into her irritated red eyes. "You make the rest of us grownups look bad, Kakashi. I don't know how you keep it so together all the time." She let the hand fall from his face and rested it on top of his hands.

He pat her hand with his free hand. "I'll be right back. The kettle is still on the stove."

Yuki gave him a strange look as he walked out of the room. He reentered moments later with a steaming hot cup of tea in a dainty floral porcelain mug. Kakashi pulled up a chair and sat at her bedside.

"Wait, you didn't make me a cup?" Yuki gave him a disgusted look.

"One of us has to walk home tonight." Kakashi's expression was unfazed as he took a sip of the tea. "This tea is crap."

Yuki rolled her eyes. "Sorry, I'm not in the habit of entertaining guests."

"You still aren't entertaining anyone." Kakashi took another sip.

Yuki raised her arms over her head so the blanket fell below her breasts. "We could change that."

"Thanks for offering but I've already had to clean up one of your bodily fluids today." Kakashi held up a hand.

Yuki stuck out her bottom lip in a pout. "Tea makes you mean."

"And alcohol makes you an ugly hot mess." Kakashi cocked his head.

"Ugly?" Yuki's eyes widened in surprise. "You know, there's more to being a gentleman than not taking advantage of a lonely naked drunk girl."

"Does that include drinking tea with her?" Kakashi asked.

"You're drinking it at me." Yuki stuck out her tongue. "I didn't get any tea."

Kakashi gave her the side eye. "You've had enough to drink today."

Yuki puffed up her cheeks and looked away. "For someone who's so salty you don't seem to be heading for the door."

"It would be irresponsible of me to leave you in this state. Imagine the headlines: Woman who died twelve years ago found dead last night choked on her own vomit. Experts confused as hell." Kakashi took another sip of the bland tea.

"Says the man drinking tea through a mask!" Yuki gestured at his face.

"The last thing I need is for you to see what I look like." Kakashi chuckled.

"I'm so toasted It's not like I'll remember it tomorrow." Yuki scoffed.

Kakashi shook his head. "Stop trying to bait me into sex."

Yuki furrowed her brow. "How would you taking down your mask lead into us having sex?"

"It just always seems to work out that way…" Kakashi's voice trailed off.

Yuki threw her hands in the air in exasperation. "My god, do you even hear yourself? You are the cockiest bastard I have ever met! I'd puke if I had anything left in the tank!"

Kakashi burst out in deep laughter. Yuki chuckled for a moment, but soon joined him in his laughing fit. Long after the source had passed, Yuki's laughing triggered another fit from Kakashi and vice versa. It quite some time before they were finally able to calm down and caught their breath.

Yuki smiled awkwardly at Kakashi, a slight blush forming on her face. "You know… you can stay over if you want…" Kakashi gave her a look and she quickly shook her head. "I'll even put clothes on."

Kakashi smiled, but shook his head. "Sorry, I don't sleep over on the first date."

Yuki furrowed her brow. "What first date? The festival doesn't count!"

"I tucked your naked body into your bed. What is that if not a date?"

"I was crying far too much for that to be a date!" Yuki spat her tongue out at him.

Kakashi chortled. "I guess that's a fair point."

Yuki was quiet for a moment. "I wouldn't mind trying again though. A first date, I mean."

Kakashi stared at her for a moment. Her face and the tops of her breasts were turning a faint pink, making her freckles stand out more. He was honestly surprised that this woman could stand in front of him naked like it was nothing but talking about dating made her blush. She went vixen to schoolgirl in less than a second. "I would consider that proposal if you weren't drunk out of your mind."

"Drunk? Me? Noooo, I'm just..." Yuki thought for a moment. "I'm sick. Festival food makes me puke." Yuki laughed awkwardly barely attempting to conceal her bluff.

"Alright, Yuki." Kakashi sighed. "You should get some rest. You're going to have a hell of a hangover in the morning."

Yuki nodded. "I guess I'll see you around."

"You know it." Kakashi stood. "We can't seem to stay away from each other."

"Much to our mutual chagrin." Yuki yawned.

"Chagrin is a strong word," Kakashi said as he headed for the hall. "More like mildly bothersome, like when you get an eyelash in your eye."

"See, that's actually painful-" Yuki started but Kakashi was already in the kitchen.

"Go to bed, Asou Yukihana." Kakashi washed his teacup and dried it with a clean towel, setting it back in the cabinet before he headed out.

"You know, if you ever tell anyone about how I cried tonight, I'll have to hang you by your entrails." Yuki called out from her bedroom.

Kakashi shook his head. "You would have to catch me first."

There was no snarky response. Out of habit, he popped his head into the room and saw she was fast asleep, curled up like a cat. Kakashi smiled softly and headed out the door. Once he stepped outside Kakashi heaved a sigh of relief and sank back against the door. He'd been on black ops missions that took less discipline. He shook his head and headed for home in the soft light of dawn.

…

Two days later, Kakashi came home to a small brown paper package on his doorstep. He recognized the artistic calligraphy as Yuki's and picked it up with a grin. "What is she up to now?" He stepped inside his apartment and unwrapped the package to find brand new copy of an Icha Icha book. He chuckled as he looked over the cover. "The silly girl was so drunk she didn't remember which one she threw up in. I've already got this one." On impulse, he opened the book to see a note written on the inside of the cover.

Sorry I ruined your pervy book. You are part of a dying breed, Kakashi. If I had to drunkenly embarrass myself in front of someone ever again, I hope it's you. That being said, I figured I should at least provide you with a decent replacement. The book seemed way too dry to enjoy so I added something else to make it more interesting. Muah!

Kakashi shook his head at the burgundy lipstick mark on the page. "What kind of nonsense are you up to?" He thumbed through the pages and a couple of photographs fell out. Kakashi's eyes widened as he picked them up off the floor. It was Yuki in a lacy bra and panty set in several suggestive positions. "Okay…" He stuffed the pictures back in the book. "And my other copy is going right in the trash."