The journey to the Land of Lightning had already taken over a week; Kakashi couldn't wait to arrive and put an end to yet another troublesome Kage summit. Almost half a year had passed since the end of the Fourth Great Shinobi War, and peace negotiations and arrangements were still on their way. Kakashi had officially become the Sixth Hokage not long before. Frankly, that position had never been his aspiration, but he had accepted it as the village's choice.

In truth, what he really wanted was a vacation away from all of that, some time for himself to travel across the land on his own, like the old man he was on the inside. (Indeed, an 80-year-old man in a 31-year-old body.) He sighed. For a few years, that would remain a dream of his. He glanced at his companion and smirked under his mark. The teenager seemed even more annoyed than him.

Shikamaru was sprawled on the seat beside him, looking bored as hell. They were currently travelling on a boat that would take them to the Capital city of the Land of Lightning, as the Kages would be meeting the Daimyo of the Land to try and solve some of the issues regarding the civilians that had been involved in the war. Also, the headquarters of the Allied Ninja Forces were there, so it made sense to meet there.

"I really can't understand the hype about these books, Lord Hokage," Shikamaru huffed, handing back to the older ninja the copy of 'Icha Icha Paradise' he had borrowed to pass the time. "Just call me Kakashi-san, Shikamaru. It's not like we are in an official setting, now," he said, then glanced at the book. "Why don't you like it? You probably don't get the true meaning behind the story." Shikamaru eyed the gray-haired man. "I think you're just making up excuses to hide the fact you like smutty, perverted stories, Lord… Sorry, Kakashi-san." The man scoffed. "Maybe I am," he replied. "I've heard they're going to make a movie adaptation out of the books. I can't wait!"

"What a drag," the boy said for the umpteenth time, sighing. "Why did I have to tag along, too?" Kakashi smiled. Something about Shikamaru reminded him of his young self. "If you want to help Naruto to be a great Hokage, once his time comes, you will need to learn about politics, first. You know the guy is not the most acute Shinobi in Konoha, uh." Shikamaru groaned. "Yeah, he's an idiot. By the way, why didn't he come, too?" Kakashi looked at the river flowing beneath them. "He's the hero of the war now, and as such he's super-requested for missions. I had to send him somewhere." He didn't even remember where, what a good Hokage he was. "Come on, at least you're going to see Temari-san," he teased. The boy blushed, and turned his head the other way. "I don't know why that should cheer me up. She's just a troublesome being." Kakashi chuckled. "Yeah, right." Kakashi then remember another troublesome being he used to know in his teenager days, who was most likely dead by now. After becoming Hokage, going through her confidential file had been one of the first things he had done. He had read Shikoku's report of her last mission, but that had still left him with many doubts. Now that the man had died, too, Kakashi probably had lost all the chances he had to shed light on her disappearance.

As they got off the boat, they were welcomed by the Raikage's brother, Killer B, who had prepared a rap for the occasion. He was promptly ignored by the two leaf ninjas, much to his dismay.

"Tell me, why do we have to be his babysitters? Isn't he, like, 60?" Temari laughed. "Actually, I don't think he's even 40 yet." Shikamaru looked at her, incredulous. Then he eyed Killer B, sitting at his right. The trio were sitting at a fancy bar in the Capital, as they had not been admitted to the Kage summit. 'So much for learning about politics, Kakashi-san' Shikamaru had mentally scolded the Hokage. B had asked to all the ninjas who had accompanied their Kages to join him for a drink, but apparently only Shikamaru had been too lazy to come up with an excuse, unlike the others, while Temari had simply accepted the offer. "Gaara, Kakashi and the Raikage will probably join us after the meeting, can't you resist till then? I don't think it's going to take that long, there weren't many issues on today's agenda." The kunoichi whispered to Shikamaru. He eyed her, studying her face. "Yeah, I guess I can," he replied, turning to B. He seemed deeply focused on something at the other side of the bar. Shikamaru followed the man's gaze, until it settled on the brunette on the stage who was setting up the microphone stand, while the rest of her band were tuning their instruments. Shikamaru rolled his eyes to the ceiling, then touched B on the shoulder. "Do you want anything to eat or drink, B? I'm going to the bar to order." The man did not reply, as he was still staring at the woman. "I fear she's not on the menu, man." Temari giggled at Shikamaru's comment, and B was suddenly reminded where he was, and with whom. "I'm sorry, kid. I was distracted. Just tell the bartender I'll have the usual, please."

"Is she your friend, B-san?" Temari enquired, more to tease the man than out of sincere curiosity. "Yeah, more or less. She's been performing here for a while. Told me she needs the money to travel to her home town." "Where is she from?" Temari asked. B sighed. "Heaven…" Seeing the disgusted looks on the two younger ninjas' faces, B hastened to clarify, his hands in front of his chest. "…I mean… She's from a small village in the Land of Fire!" Journeys between lands could indeed cost a lot of money for civilians, as they needed to stay at inns, eat and occasionally use transportation means such as boats. "B-san, is it possible you have a tiny crush on her?" Temari asked. "Tiny crush? I'd say he's completely fallen for her- Ouch!" Shikamaru eyed the kunoichi who had just pinched his arm. "Boy, just wait until she opens her mouth… I bet you won't be as smart-ass as you are now," B retorted, his blush evident even on his dark complexion.

Holy fuck, she was good. Shikamaru sipped his juice as he stared at the woman on stage. He had never been interested in music, but even he could understand she was seriously good. Her voice was powerful, yet warm, emotional. A total contrast to when she talked, introducing her songs, and seemed almost embarrassed to be on stage. "What did I tell you, kiddo? No more snarky remarks, uh?" Killer B beamed next to him. "She's really talented, B-san," Temari said. "Besides being beautiful." The blonde kunoichi, as cynical as ever, could see that the shinobi had clearly no hopes of conquering her heart. "Way out of his league," she whispered to Shikamaru, who sniggered. At that moment, the woman announced they would take a break, and come back after a brief pause. "I'll introduce her to you, guys, just wait here!" B exclaimed, standing up from his seat and jogging towards the stage, where a mass of fans had already gathered. "Do you think he has any real chance with her?" Temari asked Shikamaru, who shook his head. "Have you seen her? You said it yourself, she's indeed way out of his league." Temari chuckled. "Don't tell me you've got a crush on her, too," she teased. "Nah, for one thing she's way too old. Also, way too beautiful. That would be too troublesome to even bother." Temari sighed, eyeing him. "Then, who's your type? Young and plain-looking?" She teased. Shikamaru looked at her, studying her features. Was he.. Embarrassed? "I…" He started. "Sorry for the delay, my friends! Uh, is it only you two? Where is my brother?" The Raikage interrupted their interaction. 'Thank God,' Shikamaru thought, and pointed to the stage. "He's over there." The Raikage sighed. "Oh, I see. Still trying to hit on the little singer there. Poor thing." Behind the man followed an oblivious Gaara and a bored Kakashi. 'They must have been dragged to this place by the Raikage,' Temari thought, smirking.

"How did the meeting go?" Shikamaru asked after Gaara and Kakashi had sat down. The Two had discarded their formal attire and were now wearing ther usual outfits. A had gone to the bar to order for the three of them. "Fine, I guess. We still need to outline the last details on some issues, but I almost see the true end of the war,"the Hokage commented. "I requested that you jounins take part in the meeting too, tomorrow. Otherwise you would be just wasting your time here." Temari smiled at the man. "Thank you very much, Lord Hokage."

At that moment Killer B appeared with a beaming smile on his face and a confused woman by his side. "Asuka-chan, these are the friends I told you about! Here you have the beautiful Temari and Lord Kazekage from Suna, and those are Shikamaru and Lord Hokage from Konoha." The woman had smiled kindly at the blonde girl and her brother, then turning to Shikamaru and Kakashi, her smile had tensed.

Shikamaru. Shikaku-taicho's son. He was his spitting image, only less rough. Her heart had skipped a beat in seeing him again; he was still just a child when she had left. But her heart seemed to have stopped as she had looked at the person B had indicated as the Hokage. "Nah, who do you think would choose me as the Hokage? Besides, it would only be a major bother," he had once told her. He had grown, yet his air had lost some of the gravity it always used to carry. Asuka noticed his forehead protector wasn't covering his left eye… which was not a sharingan. What had happened? Immediately, other questions followed in her mind. Had he recognized her? Did he still remember her? He was staring at her, so maybe he did, but he seemed he wouldn't speak. Her heart resumed its beating, at a furious pace. She could hardly hear the customary introduction phrases of the Sand ninjas and Shikamaru's, or B's words. "… And you already know my brother." She noticed the Raikage approach with some drinks in his hands and placing them in front of the other Kages, as he nodded at her. She closed her eyes and inhaled, then as she opened them, she focused on the blonde kunoichi from Suna. "Nice to meet you all." Looking for an escape, she glanced at the stage and saw her musicians ready. "Will you excuse me, now? I need to get back on the stage," she said quickly, then swiftly turned around and almost ran away.

"Who was that?" Gaara asked. "She's the singer here. And, apparently, B's one-sided love interest." The man, stung in his pride, cursed under his breath, drank all his beer in one gulp, and got up to order another one. "Is everything okay, Kakashi? You look like you have seen a ghost!" The Raikage asked him, vehemently patting his back. He seemed to wake from a dream, and scratched his neck. "Yeah, sorry, I spaced out a little," he answered.

That was clearly her. No doubt. Scratch that. A lot of doubts. He was convinced she was dead. But that woman… it was unmistakably her. Her hair was a little different, she had bangs covering her forehead now, and her figure altogether was more feminine, more hourglass - maybe due to the tight-fitted dress she was wearing – but those green eyes and that beauty mark under her left eye were still the same. Her plump lips, he was wondering if they were as soft as he remembered. Had she recognized him? Did she still remember him? She was staring at him, so maybe she did. Her voice… now that she had started singing, he closed her eyes. It truly was her voice, a little deeper than he remembered, but then again, they were 17 when he had last seen her.

"Thank you very much, you've all been so warm tonight. I'd like to dedicate this last song to an old friend of mine." The concert had almost come to an end, and Asuka was introducing the last piece she was going to sing. She inhaled. "You know, when we were kids, he used to make fun of me because of my mole right here, under my eye." She giggled, pointing at the mark on her face. Someone in the crowd booed, others whistled. "Was he blind?" She heard someone say. "Was he an idiot?" that was Killer B, from the other side of the bar. He had stood up from his chair. Her gaze fell upon Kakashi, sitting at the same table. He was still staring at her. She chuckled. "Yeah, he was," she resumed, and the audience laughed. "Anyway, some shit happened and.. I let him down. Wherever he is, this song is for him." A single note from the piano, then she started to sing a cappella.

Regrets collect like old friends

Here to relive your darkest moments

I can see nowhere, I can see nowhere,

And all of the ghouls come out to play…

As the song continued, he understood it was about seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, apparently. She was singing with such ardor, that he could see someone in the audience was actually tearing up. That someone being Killer B, specifically. Kakashi couldn't help but wonder what she must have gone through during the years they had been separated. But as the concert ended, and he felt her eyes on him, his stomach clenched, and he was starting to have cold feet. He was not sure he could stand their reunion. He stood up abruptly and excused himself. "Are you alright?" Shikamaru asked, concerned. "Yeah, I just feel like getting some fresh air. Alcohol has a nefarious effect on my system." Kakashi then took his leave. Shikamaru glanced at the still full glass of beer at the Hokage's table, and frowned.

Kakashi had been wandering for only God knew how long. Since the war, most of the things he had taken for granted and almost accepted had been blown. Obito, he believed he had died under that rock. Guess what? He hadn't, and the whole war started. At least they had finally reconciled. Asuka, he believed she had died after she had sealed a demon. Wrong again. She was alive, and up to a few hours before, in the same room as him. If Rin wanted to pop up from behind a building and say "Guess what, Kakashi, you didn't kill me!" that was the time. He sighed and kicked a pebble on the ground, following its trajectory as it flew towards the river bank. There, a figure was standing, facing him. His feet moved towards it, till they were standing one in front of the other.

"Hey," she said.

"Hey," he replied.

Thank you so much to all those who have read this story and add it to their favorites or follows. Hope you enjoy this second chapter as well. I'm planning on alternating chapters set in the past and the present, but we'll see how it all turn out.

Also, I've based my OC on the British singer Florence Welch of the group Florence + the Machine, the verses at the end are actually the beginning of their song Shake it out... I'm kind of obsessed with her at the moment :)

Thank you all again