Here's Chapter two! I'm so excited about this story. It will last a LOT longer than Heart of an Uchiha Boy, trust me. And more drama!

Read the disclaimer from the previous chapter

Chapter Two: Facing Her Fears

The gates of Konoha burst open in a flurry of fire and dust. The outlines of Sound ninja were barely visible through the smoke the explosion had brought up. ANBU ninja leapt from their posts on the wall, landing in front of the Sound nin. They held their fists to their mouths, blowing fire between their fingers and creating a massacre of huge, flaming fireballs.

Many miles into the village, hundreds of ANBU ninja jumped from rooftop to rooftop, their faces creased in determination. But that determination only masked what they were truly feeling: Fear.

Kaede was among them, sprinting along with Naruto and Miki flanking her. She was at the head of the ninja heading to counterattack Orochimaru's troops. She, too, wore a mask of determination, but she felt no fear. Long ago, someone had taught her to clear her mind when in battle, to concentrate solely on the task ahead, and defeating her opponent. If she could, she would have thanked that person for giving her the lesson that might save her life today.

She pulled a kunai out of her pouch, twirled it between her fingers, and grabbed it in a firm grip. Focusing her chakra into the knife, she pushed off of a roof, heading straight to the ground, and straight for a Sound ninja. One slash later, the ninja's hands—which had been building up chakra—were severed. Another jab, the knife was in his throat, and she yanked it out, elbowing the man in the back of his neck to push him to the dirt. Unaware of anyone else around her, Kaede took off running into the crowd of Sound nin taking on her ninja.

Left, right, behind, in front, and even above Sound nin were appearing and each were taking their swipe at any Konoha ninja that came into their sight. Kaede whipped another kunai from her pouch, holding one in each hand, fighting off as many of the enemy as she possibly could. One nin sporting a headband on his right arm and swinging a large sword every which way caught Kaede on the shoulder, and she winced, but kept on moving.

Kaede's great speed was the only thing between her and certain death. She was a Taijutsu master, possessing the ability to move at a speed that most ninja merely dreamt of having and the agility to twist, flip, and apply hits to the opponent in mid-air. There were only two other ninja in Konoha who had this skill—Maito Gai and Rock Lee. They were somewhere in this mix, she knew, probably moving too fast for anyone without trained eyes to see.

Suddenly, she found herself in the clear for a moment. Taking advantage of this, Kaede shot a look around to see the position her ninja were in. She could make out Naruto fighting off several Sound nin, and a few feet away was Kakashi, confusing the heck out of a few enemy ninja with his Sharingan. There—that flash of green was either Lee or Gai, and over there was Neji using his Juuyken.

After one more glance around—she didn't see Miki anywhere—Kaede back-flipped into the mass of fighting ninja. Once her feet hit the ground, she pushed off into the air again, pulling shuriken and kunai out like lighting. She tossed them out towards the sky, watching with satisfaction as they bounced off one another and went soaring towards their targets.

At the same moment, each weapon hit their intended target. Sound nin fell suddenly with the strike of the knives and shuriken. Kaede landed back on the ground, whipping out another kunai, wrapping an explosive seal around it, and throwing it into the air. She made a chakra sign, and the seal exploded, sending those who were not ready for it sprawling. The Konoha nin had expected this, though, and were still fighting those who had been attentive enough to notice the pre-planned blast.

Kaede turned, grabbed the wrist of a ninja who had been about to hit her hard, and bent it backwards. The nin cried out in pain, but thrust his knee towards Kaede's stomach. She was ready for him, knocked his knee away from her, and sent him to the ground. While she pounced on another nin, she made a chakra sign. The sound of an explosion reached her ears, but she had no time to revel in her small victory—there were three Sound nin attacking her from three different angles.

One sent out three kunai towards her, which she dodged easily, and which the ninja opposite the first caught and launched at her again. Kaede watched in horror as one knife headed for her knee, the second aimed at the injury already inflicted on her shoulder, and the last straight for her face.

And then, the knives dropped to the ground, and the three Sound nin fell on their knees, eyes widened in pain. Kaede jumped to her feet and swept the kunai up. She spared not a moment to think about what had happened to the three enemy ninja, but fell back into the battle, throwing punches, kicks, and weaponry at any Sound nin she could find in her range.

In front of her, she saw Naruto, followed by five more of him, and then even more. The orange-clad Jounin was using his trademark shadow clone jutsu, and Kaede couldn't help but grin as he cleared a pathway that he knew she needed. As she darted through the small opening, she shouted a "thanks" in his direction, unsure if he had heard her or not.

Her way was now clear, leading straight to the three-headed snake crashing through buildings and swiping people off roofs. On the top of the middle head stood a white-faced man that sent Kaede's mind whirring. Even from a far distance, one could make out the trademark creepy smile pasted on Orochimaru's face. She could almost hear his maniacal laugh, and shuddered, old anger and hate bubbling to the surface.

She leapt onto the roof of someone's home, hardly noticing the hundreds of Sound nin pouring into the village around the huge snake. Her focus was locked on reaching Orochimaru, and killing him, no matter what it took.

As she ran, she remembered everything that Orochimaru had taught her in those years long ago. The fights with Kimimaro replayed in her head, the spars with Kabuto, the Sound Four, and Orochimaru himself. The scars that marked her hands throbbed at the thought of Kimimaro's finger bullets tearing through the flesh on her knuckles. She wiped her brow and loosened the wraps on her forearms.

He was only a leap away, she realized, and focused her chakra into her feet, giving a mighty shove and soaring through the air towards Orochimaru. She landed unsteadily on the head of the right snake, and it roared when it felt her weight on its skull. Grimacing as the snake thrashed about, she jumped off the scaly head and landed on the middle snake, which was perfectly still.

She was standing behind Orochimaru, glaring daggers into the space between his shoulder blades. Slowly, the snake Sannin turned around, his face the picture of utter disbelief. Kaede licked her lips, her eyes not moving from those snake-like ones. Immediately after recognizing Kaede, Orochimaru's face turned to one of happiness, to eagerness. She supposed that he was either a pedophile, or looking forward to the battle he knew was coming.

"This is as far as you get, Orochimaru," she snarled at him, crossing her arms and holding his gaze. "The only way to get past me is to kill me."

A haughty laugh burst from his mouth. "Oh, trust me, child, that can be arranged. But look around you." He waved a hand at the ruins of Konoha. "Besides, this little village is as good as gone. Even if I am defeated, which is highly unlikely, there's no way to return the Leaf to the way it was before." He laughed again. "Either way, I win!"

"No, Orochimaru," Kaede said evenly, shaking her head. "Either way, Konoha wins. You may be able to cause mass destruction, and kill many of our ninja, but there will always be survivors who will carry on the word and legacy of the Village Hidden in the Leaves."

Orochimaru's face twisted in anger. "How dare you!" he growled, clenching his hands into tight fists. "You speak as though you were Hokage!"

When a smug grin made its way across Kaede's face, Orochimaru took a step back in horror. "You…you….you can't be Hokage! You're just a child!"

This time, it was Kaede's turn to laugh. "I'm more than a child, Orochimaru. I'm a Sannin. Just like you." She lifted her chin slightly and narrowed her eyes. "Now, let's get this party started."

Kaede lunged at Orochimaru at top speed, covering the short distance between them rapidly and disappearing once in front of him. The white-faced ninja looked around confusedly, then jerked forward as a fist connected with his back, then the side of his face, and a swift kick to the back of the legs sent him to his knees. Kaede knew what she was doing—for years she had dreamt of battling Orochimaru, and had mapped out his weak points. He was a fool for speed, and a fool to anger. The angrier she made him, the less he thought out his moves.

"You just can't keep up, can you?" she taunted, appearing in front of him, then behind again and shoving his face into the scales of his own snake. "You're too slow."

A growl erupted from Orochimaru as he lashed out behind him with his legs, aiming to hit Kaede in the knees. But she was too quick for him, dancing lightly to the side and slamming her foot down on his ankle. The Sannin cried out as his ankle succumbed to the pressure of Kaede's foot. She moved in front of him again, watching with satisfaction as he stood up, gingerly testing how much weight he could place on his foot before throwing himself at her.

Kaede caught his fist, but was unprepared for the punch that connected with her jaw. She heard a sickening thud as it hit, and gasped at the pain surging through her entire face, like white-hot needles. Not one to be paralyzed that easy, though, she retaliated and kneed the snake man in the gut, cracked the hand that she still held backwards, and dodged out of the way of another punch.

Finding that her taunting wasn't working as well as she had planned, Kaede back flipped over Orochimaru and landed behind him, rapidly jabbing him in the small of his back several times. He turned into a puff of smoke at her first hit, and she felt the sharp edge of a kunai pierce her stomach. She looked down to see a gleeful Orochimaru crouched at knee level. Orochimaru tore the knife from her and wiped the blood lazily on his shirt. Kaede gasped and held her stomach, but stayed upright. She forced the pain out of her mind and kicked the speed up a notch. She disappeared, and appeared underneath Orochimaru, kicking him high into the air. As he soared above, she kept on attacking him, repeatedly punching and kicking him. This, she knew, was the Lotus jutsu, which she hadn't had to use for a long time.

"Open first chakra gate, the open gate!" she yelled, and felt the chakra surge she knew had been coming. She saw Orochimaru gaze at her in shock as her whole demeanor changed. Her speed increased, as did the power of her punches. One glance over her shoulder told her that they were high enough, and that the snake had moved on far enough.

A voice in her head screamed for her to stop, but she couldn't let this wretched man get away with killing people anymore. She called upon her greatest reserves of energy, screaming, "Initial Lotus!"

The wraps on her arms entwined themselves around Orochimaru, attaching Kaede to the villain. She maneuvered them in the air until they were upside down. She closed her eyes tightly and began spinning until it was impossible to detect where one ended and the other began. The ground rushed up to meet them, and Kaede screamed at the impact she'd expected, but still wasn't prepared for. There had never been a time when using this jutsu was necessary, and as a result she hadn't used it very often.

She tumbled away from the snake Sannin, her muscles screaming for relief. Slowly, painstakingly she stood up and made her way over to the small crater created by her jutsu. When she peered inside, she gasped—all that was there were the broken pieces of a kunai. Looking up and towards the snake, she saw Orochimaru sprinting towards it. Anger and agony overtook her, and she screamed.

Quickly, she made a chakra sign and called for the second gate to be opened. And then the third. Another scream poured from her at the chakra that was surging through her body. Her skin turned a reddish color, and the chakra was visible, sending a blue glow around her. She took off after Orochimaru, each step sending up clouds and clumps of dirt. She was moving at a speed she had never felt before, an unfamiliar rush coursing through her veins. Her heart thudded in her chest rapidly, almost to a point that she feared it bursting out.

In a few seconds time, but what felt like an eternity to her, she caught up to Orochimaru, snagging him by his unnecessarily long black hair. His neck jerked backwards as she hauled him towards her, landing a kick into his stomach when he swung himself around to face her. She once again performed the Lotus jutsu on him, repeatedly knocking him further and further up. Appearing above the villain, she grabbed him by his purple belt, pulled him up at her.

She screamed, "Primary Lotus!" and threw a punch down at Orochimaru that would break through layers and layers of brick.

When they hit the ground, a rumbling wave swept through the street, sending Konoha and Sound ninja flying everywhere. Kaede rolled away from the snake Sannin, her chakra nearly completely gone, every limb, muscle, bone, and ligament in her body screaming for mercy, for release, for the pain to just end already. She gasped for breath, holding herself up on her knees and hands. Tilting her head away from the ground, she looked to the large crater created by the impact of her jutsu.

She saw nothing.

Confused, in pain, and angry, Kaede looked around for any sign of the legendary Sound nin. All she heard, though, was laughing. Laughing.

Someone grabbed her by the scruff of her collar and started dragging her along as they jumped up onto a housetop. Kaede moaned with each landing on another roof, unable to fight back. Almost all of her chakra was gone; she was too weak to attack the man she knew was holding her. As they passed the ruins that used to be the glorious streets of Konoha, Kaede scanned them for any sign of her ninjas. On the ground, Konoha ninja and Sound ninja alike lay motionless, dead and defeated. But what worried her the most was the many more Konoha faces she saw than Sound headbands.

As Sound nin began following Orochimaru and his prize, Kaede felt the dread she'd been hoping wouldn't consume her. Konoha had lost.

Suddenly, after a particularly high—and nasty for Kaede's sake—leap, all movement stopped. A pair of cold hands grabbed her by the shoulders and hoisted her upright, hugging her to a body. She shivered subconsciously as she heard his voice.

"Ninjas of the Sound!" Orochimaru announced to roaring applause and shouts of victory. "We have defeated the Village Hidden in the Leaves!" More hoots and hollers that Kaede did not want to hear. "Here I stand, on my temple, clutching the Hokage of the Leaf. This child is Hokage no more!"

With these words, the cold hands pushed Kaede off the roof of the Hokage temple, sending her falling to the ground nine stories below. As the wind rushed past her weak and tired body, she thought to herself, I'm sorry…



The room felt damp, chilly, and yet full of something. It was dark—she could tell that even from behind her eyelids. Kaede moaned, everything hurting. She fought momentarily with her extremely heavy and reluctant to open eyelids, trying to force them to reveal where she was. When they did, she found the dim light hard to adjust to, but what she did notice right off the bat was that several people were huddled around her.

She sat upright, immediately regretting it but not showing it as she realized whom these people were. Every one of them sported slashes, scrapes, and bloodied clothes. Hastily made bandages were on almost every person, but the one thing that stood out the most to Kaede was that they all wore Konoha headbands, whether on their foreheads, arms, necks, or waists.

Kaede sighed in relief that she was not the only survivor, that relief lasting only about two milliseconds before she remembered that Konoha was no more—Orochimaru had won.

"No," she whispered through dry, cracked, and bloodied lips. They couldn't have lost, they couldn't have! She wouldn't accept it—there was no way that Konoha didn't exist, and that the Sound village was in its place! But she had been there, been there when Orochimaru announced his victory, and then…and then he'd thrown her off the top of the Hokage temple roof where only a few days ago she had been standing and thinking about her own problems from years ago.

Tears welled in her eyes as she realized that this was all her fault, that if it hadn't been for her negligence, her stupidity, Konoha could've fought off Orochimaru's ninjas and prevailed over him once again. But she'd had to be lazy, to be dwelling in memories that she should've forgotten a long time before.

She turned to her right, and found herself staring into the sad eyes of one of her most trusted friends: Naruto. His blue eyes were downcast, and he shook his head lightly, unable to utter a word. She tried to meet his gaze, but he averted his eyes and turned away. Kaede looked to the person beside Naruto, and reached up a weak, bandaged hand to touch the pink-haired kunoichi's face. Sakura reached up and grasped her old teammates hand, tears already streaming down her face. Kaede pulled the kunoichi's closer to her and wrapped her in a hug, shushing her.

"Sakura, it's OK," she whispered, and they parted. Sakura attempted a smile before turning to Naruto and weeping into his shoulder. Kaede looked at the other faces around her, recognizing each and every one of them. Stony-faced Neji, Tsunade, Shizune, Hagane Kotetsu, Hinata, Shikamaru, Lee, and Miki. There were several missing, she knew, and swung her legs over the side of the wooden table. She slowly stood up, looking at every face that had surrounded the table.

Walking over to Neji, she placed a hand on his shoulder, wrapped Tsunade and Shizune in a hug, shook Kotetsu's hand, touched Shikamaru's arm, hugged Lee and Hinata. She stood in front of Miki for a moment. The Hyuga girl looked as down as Kaede felt. Kaede pulled her friend into a tight hug, murmuring, "Miki, I'm sorry."

"Don't be." The voice didn't belong to Miki, or anyone else that Kaede had just greeted. It was a voice that Kaede hadn't heard in years, nor wanted to hear. No wonder Sakura had been crying so hard, no wonder Naruto had looked sad and disappointed. Letting go of Miki, she turned to stare in disbelief at the hard, handsome, older, expressionless face with those black eyes…

Abruptly after a curt nod, Kaede turned back to Tsunade and gave her a look that told the older woman to not mention anything about the raven-haired young man a few steps away.

"Who is missing?" she requested of the former Hokage, her voice tight and strained, and Tsunade took her by the arm and led her to another side of the small room, so they could have some privacy.

"As you can see, looking around, we do not have many people left," Tsunade began, sweeping her hand across the room. She glanced at Sakura and Naruto before continuing, "We have not recovered hundreds of ninja. The casualties we suffered are extremely high, and costly. Kakashi did not return. Nor did Kiba, Choji, Ino, TenTen, Gai, Izumo, and so many others." She sighed. "Anko didn't make it back."

"No!" Kaede cried, grabbing onto Tsunade's arm. "How?" The older woman knew that the young Hokage was asking how Anko had perished.

"She attempted to go after you when she found out that you'd chased after Orochimaru. Kabuto brought her down a few moments later, but not before she saw you performing the Primary Lotus. I saw her smile before he killed her."

Kaede felt those hated tears well up in her eyes, but she couldn't let them flow. She was the Hokage, and had to stay strong for her village, or what was left of it. She once again looked to Tsunade for guidance. "Did Hiashi make it?" Hyuga Hiashi, Hinata's father and Neji's uncle, was vital to Konoha. When Tsunade nodded, Kaede felt her knees go weak with relief. "How many women and children survived?"

"A few hundred. Since we were prepared for the attack, we were able to evacuate them to safety the night before. They're in various other rooms down here." She paused, then raised an eyebrow. "You do know that we are underground, correct?"

Kaede nodded. A few miles outside of Konoha, and many feet underneath was a series of hidden rooms, tunnels, and paths used for emergencies only. She had never wanted to use them, but it had turned out that they were necessary. They stretched on for miles and miles and miles. It was almost a sort of underground city, stocked with food, weaponry, and other essentials, such as blankets, clothes, and grooming supplies. The day before the attack, the tunnels had been restocked with even more supplies, and the women and children who had been evacuated had been told to bring all of their clothes and blankets, including those items of the family members who weren't likely to return.

Tsunade looked at Kaede once more before moving away to speak with Shizune about the administration of healing supplies and such. Left alone, Kaede's mind could no longer concentrate on someone else, and was forced to think about the raven-haired boy standing several feet away.

She turned around and found herself closer to him than she'd originally thought—their noses were almost touching.

"Kaede," he whispered, reaching up and smoothing her hair. He bent his head and held his lips so close to hers that she could feel his breath. "I've missed you." He brushed his lips against hers in a kiss that she once had longed for. But now, she didn't want it. She pulled away from him and took a step backwards, shaking her head.

"No, Sasuke," she said quietly, hastily reaching to tie her hair up but finding that she had nothing to fasten it with. Nervously, she ran a hand through her tousled chestnut locks, then held her head in her hands and turned away from the Uchiha boy.

His hand landed on her shoulder and stopped her from walking away. "Please, Kaede, what's wrong?" he asked gently, pulling her to him and pressing her against his body. She wrestled in his grasp, but, like Kakashi had so many years ago, he waited patiently for her to calm down before he released her. Once she was standing on her own feet, she smacked him across the face as hard as she could manage in her weakened state. Sasuke took it solemnly, then grabbed her hand and pulled them together.

"Let me go, Sasuke!" she cried, thrashing about. He waited for her to calm down, but didn't release her this time. She sagged against him, almost drowning in mixed feelings. She was finally in the arms of the person she had mourned over for years, and she was glad for that. But she was still angry with him for leaving, and how dare he come back like this all of a sudden, especially when her village was gone!

"Now, are you going to tell me what's wrong?" Sasuke asked in a firm tone, holding her gaze. Kaede found that she couldn't look away.

"You left," she whispered finally, her hazel eyes turning soft with the hurt he had caused. For years she had kept it all in, fighting back all her emotions and keeping his memories behind mental barriers. "You left and you never came back."

Sasuke's eyes matched hers as he said, "And you don't know how much it hurt me to do that."

Anger replaced sadness as Kaede tore her aching hand from his hold. "I think I do, Uchiha. You hurt me in so many ways. You should be ashamed to show your face."

The way Sasuke looked at her made her heart want to melt, but she held firm and stared him down. She felt someone behind her, and glanced to her left to see Miki standing strong, backing her up. Her heart went out to the obviously devastated Hyuga, to be behind her all the way even after all she'd done.

"Is this the punk that left you?" Miki asked sharply, cracking her bruised knuckles. When Kaede nodded, Miki stepped forward and poked Sasuke in the chest. "You'd better not be making a move on my friend, dude. You hurt her so bad, and you can't take that back. And you can't make it better."

Glaring daggers at daring little Miki, Sasuke said, "Trust me, I know how she feels. And if you don't get out of my face, then you'll be feeling that hurt ten times worse." His eyes flashed to the Sharingan, then to the Mangekyou Sharingan, and Kaede gasped, pulling Miki back and locking her eyes on Sasuke's red ones. Immediately, the pinwheel shape disappeared, and the red orbs went back to black. His gaze softened and he lightly touched Kaede's face.

"I still love you, Kaede."

She blinked furiously, stemming tears. "I know you do, Sasuke. I love you as much as I did before, but I just can't right now. If you had come a week earlier, I might have accepted you. You came at the worst possible time. Konoha is gone. Most of the people I knew and cared for are dead. I'm supposed to be Hokage, and I let Orochimaru take over the village!" A sob wrenched from her chest, and she couldn't fight the tears back anymore. She fell onto Sasuke, sobbing uncontrollably into his white shirt. He gently rubbed her back, kissed the top of her head, pulled her into his warm embrace.

Everything was her fault. She was neglectful of her work, and Konoha had paid for it. Her friends, family had paid for it. Orochimaru had the reins, and it was all on her shoulders. There was nothing she could do now but cry. She heard Miki walk away, apparently leaving her to her breakdown. After a moment, she gained control of her sobs, her breathing steadied, and she stepped back from Sasuke.

He was gazing down at her with a loving glint in his dark eyes, and she smiled up at him. "Thank you," she mouthed, and turned away. She wiped her face and her eyes, and strode purposefully over to where the others were standing.

Shikamaru nodded to acknowledge her, then continued saying, "If we could do that, then we might be able to get Konoha back."

All attention, Kaede asked, "What could we do?"

"Well," Shikamaru began, studying her face and shaking his head slightly. "To begin with, we would have to prepare. We have weaponry, diagrams of Konoha, and maps that pinpoint its weaknesses. It will take a while, because we want Orochimaru to get comfy, to be confident that he got rid of us for good. By then, he'll have built up Konoha into the Sound village, and have everyone eating out of the palms of his hands." Shikamaru motioned for Morino Ibiki to continue. Kaede blinked at him—she hadn't even noticed his presence.

The head interrogator went on, "If we can get a few of the women and children, and remaining men to get into Konoha, saying that they survived and that they are begging for Orochimaru's mercy, then we'll have connections in there. Our paths lead into several houses in Konoha, houses that belonged to higher-ups in ANBU, such as Anko and myself." He sniffed, and Kaede rolled her eyes. Ibiki did have an ego. "By the time that Orochimaru has had the village the way he wants it for a while, we'll have the advantage, because our people will be inside his walls. When we're ready for attack, he won't suspect a thing."

Kaede nodded slowly, her mind still whirring from the fact that Sasuke was here. But she had to concentrate on the plan to save Konoha. Even if her lips were aching for Sasuke to kiss her again. Every other part of her body was throbbing, too, so why should her lips be paid any special attention?

"Sounds good to me," she agreed, and set Ibiki to the task of interviewing possible candidates for the job of getting into Konoha. In the state that the village was in now, there was no way Orochimaru could tell that the infiltrators were any different than any other survivors. Besides, he was a sucker for anyone who called him "Lord Orochimaru" or threw himself or herself at his mercy.

A more pressing matter was on her mind, though. She looked around the small room and spotted Sakura and Naruto in a corner. Making a beeline for them, she pushed through the throngs of other people until she reached them. She looked into their faces and begged silently for forgiveness. They knew why they had failed so easily, and Kaede bet Naruto wasn't too eager to let her forget it.

"Naruto," she said. "Sakura. Please, don't be angry with me."

"How could we not?" Sakura said, sniffling. "You caused us to lose our village. You didn't do what you were supposed to, and you made us suffer our greatest loss."

"I-I don't know what to say, Sakura," Kaede said, swallowing. "You're right. It's all my fault, and I don't think I can live with it. Unless we get the village back. But it will take a while to do that. Please," she begged, looking up at Naruto now. "I can't do that without you guys on my side. Please, Sakura. Naruto."

When Sakura gave a short, but determined nod, Kaede felt relief go through her, until she looked at Naruto's face. His eyes were narrowed, and he was glaring at her, angry and disappointed in her.

A hand landed on her shoulder and squeezed as she looked down at her feet. She shot her head around and stared into Sasuke's eyes. But he wasn't looking at her. He had locked his gaze on Naruto. Kaede and Sakura moved their glances between the two of them.

Naruto glared at Sasuke, who returned the look. The two young men stayed this way for several long, agonizing moments, until Naruto's eyes darted to Kaede's for a moment, and he nodded.

She felt like leaping into the air and shouting, but her composure wouldn't let her do that. But what she did do was turn around, despite her anger and hatred towards the Uchiha, and pulled him into a kiss that would have made any man's head spin.

OMG, she kissed him! Yay, but not so much yay when you read the next few chapters! Read and review, please!

Nicola