Kakashi is on his way back to Tazuna's house to sleep after his night patrol of the bridge when he decides that it is a perfect day to stand under a tree and read some po- literature. So he finds a tree that looks nice and shady and leans against it, pulls out 'Make Out Paradise', which he finally found after it vanished for a while. Wondering where his book went to, Kakashi sets about reading it. He is so absorbed in his book that he does not pay any attention to his surroundings and as such is knocked to the ground when a young teenage girl walks into him.
Marvelling at how much a teenage girl walking into him resembles a certain scene from his book, Kakashi stands and helps the girl to her feet. "Sorry about that," says Kakashi. "I was not paying attention to my surroundings."
"I am the one who should apologize," says the girl evenly. "I was not watching where I was going." The girl carries herself like a shinobi, Kakashi notices.
"Well, we were both at fault," shrugs Kakashi, dusting off his book. "You seem rather cheerful." Kakashi noticed this fairly quickly because everyone else in the Land of Waves is so depressed. "You're not from around here, are you?"
"No I am not," says the girl. "I am visiting from a neighbouring town."
"Why?" asks Kakashi, curious to know if she will tell the truth.
"Because a friend of mine has business here and I wish to help him," says the girl smiling softly.
Kakashi wonders if this 'friend' is another ninja. "This friend must mean a great deal to you," Kakashi says, wanting to test the girl's resolve.
"He does," smiles the girl. "Do you have anyone important to you?"
The question catches Kakashi off guard. "Yes," he says, because the question seems very important to the girl. "I have many people who are important to me. Some of them I have lost, so I fight as hard as I can to protect the ones who are left."
The girl smiles a beautiful smile and says, "That is good. I am glad you know what you are fighting for." Then she hurries away as if she knows she said too much.
Kakashi stares after the girl. She just made him remember the one thing he is trying not to think about. Rin. Obito.
Tenzo.
Kakashi puts his book away and shunshins to Tazuna's house. Tsunami is washing the breakfast dishes, but everyone else is nowhere to be seen. "Did Naruto come back yet?" Kakashi asks. He is concerned about the effect Tazuna's story had on Naruto.
"No, but I sent some food for him with Sasuke when Sasuke left to go and train," says Tsunami.
"I'll check on them later and make sure Naruto wasn't training all night," says Kakashi.
"You should check on them now," says Tsunami. "They are just kids, after all."
"They are shinobi," says Kakashi. "They stopped being kids once they donned those headbands."
Tsunami turns from the sink and stares at Kakashi in slight horror. "What the hell do you shinobi do?" she demands.
"Kill people, get killed, have our limbs torn off, you know, all those fun things soldiers do."
"But they're 12!"
"I was five when I became a genin."
Tsunami stares at Kakashi with her mouth open.
Kakashi decides to ignore her and goes to the spare room - which he, Madoka and Naruto are sharing - to sleep for a few hours.
Madoka is walking through the forest to find Naruto. Naruto stayed out late training again, and rather than waiting for him to return, Kakashi sensei sent Madoka to find him. It has been 5 days since they arrived in the Land of Waves and Kakashi sensei is getting rather edgy. Madoka is feeling edgy himself. There could be an enemy nin behind any one of these trees.
Madoka sees a girl in a pink kimono sitting in the grass picking flowers. "HEY!" Madoka calls, waving to the girl. "What are you doing out here so late by yourself?"
The girl looks up and smiles, looking absolutely adorable with her hands full of wildflowers. Madoka notices those flowers are used to poison weapons. The girl says, "I could ask you the same question."
"I'm fetching a teammate," says Madoka.
"Oh, so you are a ninja!" the girl's smile widens. "You look very strong and brave."
Madoka thinks he can hear sarcasm in the girl's voice. Or maybe she's being patronizing. Either way, Madoka does not like the girl's tone. "You didn't answer MY question."
"Oh, I am collecting medicinal herbs," says the girl, putting the poisonous flowers in her basket.
"Those flowers are poisonous."
"I know."
"You better not be planning on using them on my teammates."
"What about you?"
"I am a medic: I can handle it." Madoka is on guard now. This girl is an enemy and they both know it.
"I am glad your team has a medic," says the girl. "We will fight soon, and I do not like it when people die." The girl picks up her basket and walks away.
Madoka runs to find Naruto.
Tsunami notices that Kakashi is getting more restless as the days go by. Now, Tsunami may be a civilian but she is not stupid. She knows that no shinobi would show how worried they are about a mission or an impending battle. Kakashi is the most emotionless shinobi she's ever meet - he wears a mask for goodness sake! - but she can still tell that he is worried about something.
Tsunami does not have a lot of experience with shinobi, but she knows an antsy shinobi is a dangerous shinobi, so she steels herself and demands of Kakashi: "What the hell has gotten under your skin? You're acting like the sky might fall down any moment."
"Well it might!" snaps Kakashi temperamentally.
"Something is bugging you, and I don't think it's ninja business," snaps Tsunami. "Out with it!"
Tsunami sees Kakashi do a double-take, and she knows he knows that there is no point avoiding the question. Then Kakashi says, "My second child is due in a couple of weeks and I am worried the baby will be born while I am here in the Land of Waves. My first child was born early."
Tsunami stares at Kakashi in surprise. He does not strike her as the kind of man to have a family. What kind of woman would marry such a jumpy, emotionless, insensitive man anyway? Trying not to let any of these thoughts reach her face, Tsunami says, "You have a family?"
"Yes," Kakashi's visible eye closes in a way that screams 'I AM SMILING!' He pulls a photograph out of his jounin vest and holds it up for Tsunami to see. "This is my family." Grinning behind his mask, Kakashi gushes, "aren't they beautiful…"
Sasuke and Naruto are busily training on the morning of the seventh day in the Land of Waves. Sasuke is pleased to see she is still higher than Naruto. Not by much, but still. Down below them, Kakashi and Madoka are standing around trying to find them. Sasuke nearly giggles at how silly they are not to look in the trees. Nearly giggles. Giggling is unbefitting of an Uchiha. Or, at least, that's what her third cousin told her after he caught her watching a funny movie with Shino while she was giggling and Shino was trying not to laugh. Ever since then, Sasuke has refrained from showing amusement at anything. Funny thing is, Sasuke muses, that particular third cousin disappeared along with several other clan members and Mizuki sensei not long after Graduation.
"Where is Naruto?" Sasuke hears Madoka ask. "He stayed out late again last night and then Sasuke took off with packed breakfasts and lunches!"
Sasuke would not have taken any food for Naruto if Tsunami hadn't forced her to. Naruto is already making too many assumptions about them being friends without adding that for him to use as evidence.
To answer Madoka's question, Naruto throws a kunai to the ground at Kakashi sensei and Madoka's feet. The pair look up and see Naruto lying face down on a high tree branch with his arms and legs dangling over the side. Naruto grins and gives a short, triumphant laugh. Laughing has a nice sound, Sasuke thinks. Pity it is not befitting of an Uchiha.
"NARUTO can climb that high?" Madoka exclaims, sounding genuinely surprised, as if Naruto hadn't just spent a week training all day and only stopping for sleep and food.
Naruto climbs up onto the branch shouting, "Look how high I can go! Isn't it great?" Then he pretends to slip and fall off the branch, only to catch himself and hang upside down off the bottom of the branch, grinning like an idiot.
Madoka and Kakashi sensei do not look impressed by the prank Naruto just pulled.
"Ha!" Naruto laughs. "I fooled ya!"
"You idiot!" shouts Madoka. "You could've been seriously hurt!"
Sasuke sees Naruto's chakra begin to falter. She starts to move.
Naruto looses his chakra-hold on the branch and starts to fall. An instant later, Sasuke has caught him by the ankle. She hopes she looked like a total badass. Being a badass is expected of an Uchiha.
"Good job, Sasuke!" Madoka calls up. "That was quite a catch!"
Sasuke blushes out of shyness. She is not used to being complimented so enthusiastically or openly.
Kakashi sensei smiles up at them proudly.
Zabuza Momochi, Demon of the Hidden Mist, looks up from polishing the Executioner's Blade when his apprentice, Haku of the Ice Style, returns from her scouting trip. "Did you get all the information we need?" asks Zabuza.
"My mission is complete," says Haku. "The Leaf Shinobi stay because they could not live with themselves if they left. The pink haired one is a medic and knows I am an enemy. The jounin is suspicious that there are two of us."
"I got a message," says Zabuza. "Wind and Rain are on their way to the Land of Waves. We need to deal with the Leaf shinobi before those two meddlers arrive."
"Then shall we attack in the morning?" asks Haku. "There will be a heavy mist tomorrow."
"Excellent. Let's get going, girl."