*Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters in it. I simply borrow them for my own musings and fantasies and do not get paid for their use in said musings or fantasies.

A/N: Thanks to everyone who's reviewed! Animelover2015, Sweet Petit, and Caeleste, you guys rock. I think that's a record for me to get 3 within the first 48 hours of posting something. Also, since I have so many chapters already written and there have already been 50 views, I'm updating early since I'm not the only one who seems interested in this story. This chapter is a couple pages longer than the last and there's a tiny bit more action. I hope you enjoy it and please don't forget to review to let me know your thoughts. :) -Nira

Chapter 2

Yuriko made her way to the Hokage's office in her full training outfit, not leaving any of her newly purchased weapons behind, unknowing of what may happen in this evaluation or whom her opponent would be, and as she walked, she took in the sights and sounds of the city as it was just beginning to become busy for the day. No matter where she looked, she couldn't see a single person who didn't have a smile on their face, and everyone seemed to know each other intimately, laughing and teasing each other despite it being such a large village. When she'd arrived at the Hokage's office, she was again escorted in by Genma and bowed upon entering the room.

"You're early, Yuriko," the Hokage stated.

"I prefer punctuality over tardiness, Hokage-sama."

"I see. I apologize, then, because your opponent is notorious for being tardy," he chuckled.

Yuriko looked at the clock that was hanging above the door and it was a minute until seven. Another ten minutes passed, Yuriko's irritation growing with each tick of the clock's hands before there was a knock at the door, announcing the arrival of her opponent. When the Hokage beckoned them to enter, the young male from the day before with the mask on and silver hair entered the room and bowed in respect and Yuriko mused again as to why he seemed so familiar for a brief moment before she glared at him. He was late. Very late.

"Nice of you to finally join us, Kakashi," the Hokage scolded.

"My apologies, Sandaime-sama. I was helping an old lady carry her groceries," he replied in a lazy sounding baritone with a smile creasing his visible eye and arm behind his head in nervousness.

"Very well. Now that we're all here, let's move to the training ground to begin."

The three of them walked to a large clearing in the village's surrounding forest in silence, Yuriko sneaking glances at her opponent and sizing him up, curious as to how this evaluation would go. As they drew nearer to the field, she could smell a source of water from somewhere nearby which could come in handy, she figured. They paused in the middle and the Hokage reminded the others that this was an evaluation meaning that they weren't allowed to kill each other, but they also weren't supposed to go easy on each other, either. Kakashi and Yuriko stood opposite each other and before they began, she offered out her hand.

"Let's have a good fight," she stated with a forced smile.

"Before we begin, may I ask a question?" he asked, shaking her hand. When the kunoichi didn't stop him, he went on to ask anyway. "Why are you wearing a mask now?"

Yuriko grinned and asked in turn with mischief in her eyes, "Why, indeed?"

Kakashi's visible eye narrowed in suspicion and the Hokage yelled for them to begin, so they both jumped back. Yuriko withdrew a kunai and charged at Kakashi, but he easily blocked her attack with his own kunai and countered with a kick to her ribs. She caught his leg and threw him up into the air before throwing a few kunai at him which he used a substitution to get away from. She looked around the clearing in an attempt to find him, reaching out with her chakra to feel for his but as she felt a presence below her, she jumped away as he burst through the ground, reaching for her foot like a zombie rising from the dead. When he'd missed, he charged at her, a kunai drawn again and Yuriko sighed. She could tell that he was using petty attacks and was quickly growing bored. She'd expected more from a jounin.

She drew her short swords from her back and focused her chakra into them to extend their range and uses into both close and long-range weapons. She slashed at him with one, but even though her attack missed, she smirked as a slash formed in Kakashi's mask across his cheek that drew blood. His visible eye widened before it narrowed into a glare and he jumped back, pulling his headband up to reveal a red eye that Yuriko had only heard of in legends. It was a Sharingan but it was obvious that he was not an Uchiha and it dawned on her that this was the notorious Kakashi Hatake known as the Copycat Ninja.

The platinum kunoichi had heard rumors about him everywhere she went as being ruthless on his missions and how nobody who ever fought him lived to tell the tale. Since he had the Sharingan, though, she realized that she had to be careful not to get trapped in a genjutsu. Before Kakashi had a chance to think much, she attacked again, slashing in his direction, a gust of wind picking up after each slash and heading in his direction. He wasn't able to dodge them completely, but he managed to escape any major damage. He'd noticed that she'd gotten more serious as soon as she'd seen his Sharingan and decided to step up his game as well, though she was more on the offensive than he was at the moment. She charged at him again, only one short sword drawn to free up her other hand, but this time he charged as well, creating hand signs as he ran toward her. He inhaled deeply and blew in her direction and as he did, she was bombarded by a fireball technique that shot small fireballs at her. She made a clone to take the damage while she fled and hid in a tree for a moment to regain her thoughts and strategize, also realizing that he'd changed tactics as well.

It wasn't long at all before Kakashi found her and they were engaged in blade-to-blade combat once again. To avoid making eye contact, Yuriko watched his body and how it moved to predict his next attack. She retreated back into the open space of the clearing, sheathing her other short sword, and as she ran she made hand signs to perform one of her bigger jutsu that combined both her wind and water affinities. She withdrew a handful of senbon and threw them at Kakashi and at the same time threw her chakra at him. In the attack, her wind and water combined to make flawless ice senbon that were so clear that they were practically invisible and the excess wind that wasn't used to freeze the water continued on as blades creating a trifecta of projectiles for Kakashi to deal with.

Yuriko watched, wondering how Kakashi would deal with it, and as she'd suspected he would, he used a fire technique, having had realized that she had an affinity for wind. She smirked as the two jutsu clashed. The heat from his fire melted her ice, but the wind from her jutsu increased the intensity of his fire. With her ice melted, though, it returned to water and continued on its path toward him with the regular senbon that she'd thrown, and to protect herself from the fire that was still barreling toward her, she lifted a wall of water in front of her.

A huge cloud of steam rose up as the fireball and water wall collided and Kakashi yelled out as Yuriko's attack continued on to hit him. Before the steam could clear, she felt the cold, sharp steel of a kunai at her throat and quickly inhaled in surprise.

"You're as good as the rumors say," she stated. "… though I didn't get to see the full extent of your Sharingan that gained you the title as the Copycat Ninja, unfortunately. Is that how you figured it out so fast?"

"As soon as your jutsu and my fireball technique came in contact, I realized that yours was a combination of wind and water and made a clone to get one step ahead of you. That is all."

"Are you really one step ahead?" Yuriko inquired, a knowing grin on her lips.

The steam cleared away and the Hokage walked over from his spot at the edge of the clearing as the spectator to see Kakashi's kunai to Yuriko's throat and Yuriko's kunai to Kakashi's ribs, aimed at his heart. Before they each lowered their weapons, Yuriko gently poked Kakashi with the kunai, letting him know that she wasn't unprepared for his counter to her attack and Kakashi's eyes widened as they darted to the kunai he hadn't expected to be there.

"Well done, Yuriko. You managed to stay on par with one of Konoha's top shinobi, and from the looks of it, this fight could continue for quite some time. That is no easy feat," the elder man smiled. "For that, I am giving you a choice. You mentioned before that you grow weary of war and travel, and you have experienced a great deal of darkness and sorrow in your days, however, those experiences would make you a prime candidate to be a member of Konoha's elite ANBU forces. You would report and take orders from only your team captain and me and I will admit that it is not a pleasant job, but it is indeed a necessary one for the good of the village.

"Your other option is to be a jounin. After a bit of testing and training, I would assign you as a captain to a three-man squad and you would go on missions with that squad. The nature of your missions as a jounin would be much less taxing, emotionally, than those of ANBU missions, but you would be closer to that sense of peace that you are searching for. I will give you seven d—"

"In which position would I be protecting the peace of this village more actively?" Yuriko inquired, cutting the elder man off before he could finish his sentence, and Kakashi raised his eyebrow in intrigue. "I don't think I could be satisfied with such an easy life after what I've been through. I don't do well with simple work… I think too much."

"ANBU would probably suit your tastes better, then. It will not be an easy position to be in, however."

"With all due respect, Hokage-sama, anything worth doing is never easy. I swear I will do what I must to serve you for the sake of this village," Yuriko stated, taking a knee and bowed her head in sincerity and submission.

"Why choose such extremes?"

She was silent for a moment as a wave of melancholy washed over her as she thought about it and Kakashi noticed the change in her demeanor before she finally spoke up; "Because… I want this place to feel like a home… I haven't had one for a very long time… People protect their homes at all costs… don't they?"

There was a short moment of silence between the three of them as the Hokage smiled and Kakashi softened his expression.

"Kakashi, I am placing Yuriko under your care. I believe she may grow to be a benefit to your team. We will indoctrinate her first thing tomorrow morning," the Hokage stated and Yuriko looked up at Kakashi in shock. She'd just fought one of Konoha's elite ANBU captains who was known throughout all of the shinobi nations as a ruthless killer and was able to fight with him as an equal. Her ego was stoked, but she quickly quelled it. Maybe it wasn't such a good thing to be so evenly matched with such a notorious shinobi.

"Understood."

"Now the question is where to put you?" Hokage-sama mused. "Kakashi, is the apartment next to yours still empty?"

"As far as I'm aware, yes," Kakashi stated.

"Then it's settled. Yuriko, you will move into that apartment starting immediately. Your first three month's rent will be waived until you can get on your feet."

Yuriko beamed in pride, a slight smile, though hidden, radiating from beneath her mask. "Understood."

The two shinobi followed the Hokage back to his office where he filled out some paperwork and had another shinobi assistant get the key to Yuriko's new apartment from the landlord. Once she'd signed the lease and received the key, Kakashi followed her to the hotel so she could gather her belongings and check out, his face buried in his little orange book that she'd recognized as the same one she'd seen him reading the night before as they walked. With not having many belongings to begin with, it was a short trip and she was soon following him to an apartment complex. He lived on the third floor and when they'd reached his apartment, he pointed next door showing her which one was hers.

Yuriko bowed in thanks and unlocked the door, walking into a small, dismal little apartment. The air was stuffy as if the apartment had been unused for months. It was extremely plain with a small kitchen that had a small round table and two chairs in it to the left, and a slightly larger living room with only a couch, a small coffee table, and an end table straight ahead that were visible as soon as you walked in. She also noticed a sliding door that led to a tiny balcony on the far side of the living room.

Yuriko decided to keep her shoes on as she walked deeper into the apartment, unsure of how clean the floor was. To the right, a short hallway led to a small bathroom on the right and the bedroom to the left that was about as large as the living room. There was a queen sized bed on the far wall under a large window, a walk-in closet about two thirds the size of the bathroom, and a desk with a simple lamp and chair opposite the bed. She sighed, not looking forward to the work ahead of her to make the place habitable, and set her few belongings on the bare mattress before opening all of the windows and walking next door to be the annoying neighbor that asked to borrow things. Kakashi answered shortly after and raised his eyebrow upon seeing her, wondering what she might want.

"Sorry to bother you. You wouldn't happen to have any cleaning supplies I could borrow, would you? Or know where I could buy some?" she inquired, her tone monotonous as if she really didn't care if she was bothering him or not.

"Uh… sure. I'll show you."

"I appreciate it."

The two left to find a general store and along the way, they walked in comfortable silence until Kakashi spoke up. "You never did answer my question."

She remembered what question he was referring to. "As to why I wear a mask now when you first saw me without one?"

"Yes."

"Maybe I'm trying to hide something..?" Yuriko wondered aloud to herself and Kakashi looked at her, perplexed, noticing that her tone had been questioning as if she didn't really know the answer, herself. "I feel a little more comfortable wearing it than not. It's harder to betray your emotions when people can't see your expression."

Yuriko felt Kakashi's eyes on her so she looked up at him, making eye contact briefly as if accusing him of also trying to hide something and continuing on. When they'd reached the store, she bought everything she needed from cleaning supplies to towels and linens, curtains, toiletries, kitchen supplies and dishes, and minor decorations like a vase and artificial flowers for her living room to make her dismal apartment a bit more welcoming and personalized. Kakashi offered to carry some of the bags for her since they were going to the same place, anyway, and when she opened her door again, she thanked him again before making a couple clones to help her clean the entirety of the place in a timely manner.

Even with help from her clones, it was hours before the apartment was spotless and smelled of cleaning supplies. Yuriko left again to find a clothing store to have civilian clothes as well as training clothes in her wardrobe and bought a week's worth of outfits as well as undergarments and sleepwear. When she returned home again, she showered and dressed in a plum sundress with a white sash tied around her waist and white sandals with the purple mask over her face again and her long, silver hair tied into a high ponytail and braided. Just as she was opening the door to leave again, she came face to face with Kakashi with his fist raised to knock. They paused and stared at each other for a moment in awkward silence.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Oh… I was just coming over to check on you and see how you like the new apartment," he stated.

"I'm done cleaning and I like it a bit more now that it's more personalized," she stated, opening the door wider to allow him a peek inside.

"I see… Well, sorry to bother you. You seemed busy."

Kakashi turned to leave but paused when Yuriko spoke up.

"Would you like to come with me? I was just going out to get something to eat but I'm not sure what's good around here. Something cheap but filling would be great."

"How do you like ramen?" he suggested after a moment of thought and she nodded with a grateful smile.

Just like before, the two walked in silence, neither seeming to mind the presence of the other as they just walked together, Kakashi absorbed in his orange book again. They'd reached a ramen shop called "Ichiraku" and were greeted upon entering the little hut as they took a seat at the counter. After briefly looking over the menu Yuriko decided on the barbecue pork with extra vegetables and Kakashi ordered the same with extra meat instead of vegetables. When they'd finished eating, Yuriko started to pull out her wallet to pay for her portion but was stopped by Kakashi.

"It's on me this time," he stated with a smile.

"This time? You say it like it's going to be a common occurrence, us eating together."

He simply smiled neither confirming nor denying her statement, though her comment had piqued his interest at how quickly and wittily she'd said it. It was almost flirtatious, he thought, but he was still not quite comfortable with her enough to give anything away. After he'd paid, they walked back to the apartment together again.

"Hey, Kakashi-senpai?" Yuriko asked after a while.

"Hm?"

"Why do you wear a mask all the time?"

He was quiet for a while, thinking about it before he just looked at her with an emotionless smile. "Why, indeed?"