A/N: Konnichiwa, minna! I'm back (finally!) with a new chapter for 'Twilight'. I've been pretty busy catching up with people back in my home village, so I wasn't able to really work on any fics. As soon as I went back to Metro Manila to register for the second semester, I worked my brain into liquid form! Also, I had to work out a few kinks for the later part of this fic. The bad news is...I've lost my 'cheat sheet'! I have to work on it again!

Oh, well...

Disclaimer - Aki: (glare) As if you still don't know this part...

oOo

Chapter 2: Meeting

Blink once, twice.

Ouch...too much light...Hang on...

Hey…where am I?!

Sakura watched with growing delight as the figure on her bed began to stir.

"Finally, you're awake!" she exclaimed. "You've been asleep the whole day since yesterday," she continued, reaching out and touching the other girl's hand.

At the contact, the raven-haired teen shot up, gasping. It was as though she'd just realized that she wasn't where she was supposed to be.

"Wh-who are you?" she asked, looking puzzled. "I don't remember seeing you in Hanagakure..."

"H-hanagakure?" It was Sakura's turn to look puzzled. "Is that your village?"

"Y-yes...Yes, I am..." was the stammered reply. The pink-haired girl smiled.

"Well...you're not in Hanagakure anymore."

"Then..." The slim black eyebrows creased with worry. "It wasn't a dream..." she sighed, and the turned back to Sakure. "But...where am I now? And how did I get here?"

"You're in Konohagakure," Sakura answered. "One of my friends found you, and then we brought you here, to my house."

"I see..."

Silence prevailed for a few minutes, each girl wrapped in her own thoughts.

"I hope you feel up to talking a bit more," Sakura said, breaking the silence. She stood up. "My former teacher might want to have a little talk with you now that you're awake." At the look of fright on the now-conscious girl's face, she gave a small laugh. "Oh, not that you've broken any rules...Kakashi just wants to get to know you better; I think he got a little interested when he saw the emblem engraved on your hitai-ate...

"'Kakashi'?"

The question was left unanswered as the door swung shut. There were murmurs and whispers from the other side. This continued for a few more moments before the door opened once more, and a man with silver hair - the girl on the bed assumed this was 'Kakashi' - stepped in. He went over to the bed and sat down in the chair Sakura had just vacated. He smiled, or rather, seemed to smile.

"So, you're awake." he said cheerfully. It wasn't a question.

The girl nodded slowly, taking in his single obsidian eye, curiously half-covered face, and floppy silver-gray hair. "Were...were you the one who brought me here? The one who found me?" she asked quietly.

"Well, it was Naruto, one of my former students, who spotted you first. You were lying unconscious in the forest a short distance from the city gates. But yes, I was the one who brought you here. For now, you're a guest at the Haruno residence, just until you feel better and we can find a vacant apartment for you. I'm Hatake Kakashi, by the way."

"I...I guessed as much..." the girl murmured, merely staring down at her blanketed legs. She had a faint inkling of what had taken place - she'd probably fainted in the forest - and felt a small stirring of shame at having been found in such a disheveled state.

After a few more minutes, Kakashi broke the silence. "Care to tell me about yourself?"

"I...I guess so..." she agreed slowly, feeling it was the least she could do since these people were so nice to help her. "But I wouldn't know where to start..."

"You could start with your name," the silver-haired Jounin suggested, "And then we'll see where it goes from there..."

The girl nodded, ebony strands falling across her shoulder and catching the sunlight streaming in through the window. "My...my name is Kotone, and I grew up in-"

"Hanagakure?"

At the startled look on Kotone's face, he smiled. "Yes, I know which village you grew up in; Sakura told me before I came in here that that was the first thing you mentioned. Oh, and this is yours, isn't it?" He reached into a pocket of his vest and brought out a dark blue strip of cloth. In the middle was a metal plate, engraved with four interlacing circles of uniform size. "You were wearing this around your waist when I found you, but I removed it and kept it for you."

"Thank you." She held out her hand for the hitai-ate, and Kakashi handed it over. Once it was in her hands, she fingered the soothing, cool metal, the wave of memories threatening to overwhelm her. She suppressed it, and turned back to the masked Jounin, receiving another smile from him. "You guessed right, Hatake-san-"

"Just call me Kakashi. I'm not used to being called by my surname."

Kotone nodded in understanding; she hadn't gotten used to that, either. "All right then. Anyway, Kakashi-san, you're right: I grew up in Hanagakure-"

"Isn't that the village that was attacked and destroyed around four years ago?" Kakashi suddenly asked.

"F-four years ago?" The amethyst orbs widened - was it in shock or horror? Perhaps both. "It's been that long?"

Kakashi leaned forward, curious all of a sudden. "What do you mean by that?"

"You mean to say that Hanagakure has lain in ruins for four years now?" She turned her worried face towards him

"Yes, it...it has..." The Jounin replied, at the same time feeling some sort of pity towards the young girl. What happened to you, Kotone? Why were you away from your home for that long?

"The villagers...the other shinobi..." Kotone clutched at the blankets, her knuckles stark white from the pressure. "What...became of them?"

A slow shake of the head, and Kotone averted her gaze, staring instead at the emblem of her forehead protector. Kakashi watched silently, debating whether to push the matter further or not. He decided on the latter; better to leave her to come to terms with the facts, or grieve, if just for a short while.

At length, he got to his feet and stretched. "Well...Kotone-san, is it?" At a nod from the girl, he went on. "Do you feel well enough to get dressed? I'm not sure what happened to you, but it wouldn't do well for you to keep to yourself; I think it would be best if you met the others - and I mean my former students. And they can introduce you to their peers, if you want."

"Um..."

"Great! We'll be waiting for you downstairs." And with that, Kakashi was gone

It was only when he was halfway down the stairs that Kakashi remembered he hadn't asked for her surname. He shrugged it off; Kotone was a rather uncommon name in these parts; it wouldn't be hard to what he was looking for.

"So I'm in Konohagakure..." Kotone murmured softly. Straightening the collar of her kimono top, she turned to the window and leaned on the sill, gazing out over the portion of the village she could see. She sighed, tears threatening to spill over and stain the gray collar of her top. "If Hanagakure hadn't been destroyed, it would have become a large village like this..." she said aloud.

She sighed again, this time allowing a few tears to escape their prison. She knew she hadn't mentioned that she had had a sister, but it was just as well. She bent down and adjusted her shoes - they were more like boots, actually, but were open-toed - so that they fit more comfortably.

She tied the slim belt around the crimson obi at her waist, the ends trailing to the backs f her knees, and grasped the metal charm dangling at the front of the short, dark gray skirt, which she wore over upper knee-length shorts made of mesh. She took in the horizontal symmetry of her clan's emblem - shaped somewhat like an 'L' when written in script but with a larger top and bottom loops and a smaller tail at each end.

"Otoosan...Okaasan..." she whispered, tightly clutching the metal rim encircling the emblem. "So it's been four years since I saw you both...and Kaoru..." Kotone sighed. Her parents had most probably perished during the slaughter of the village. And if her sister was, by some miracle, alive, she knew that there were slimmer chances of finding her, given the amount of time that had passed.

"Didn't you say you were from Hana, Uchihara-san?" Naruto asked in between mouthfuls of teriyaki. Team Seven, minus Kakashi, had invited the newcomer out to dinner in an effort to make her feel more comfortable and at home. Sakura had insisted that they go to a local teahouse instead of to Ichiraku Ramen, so the Naruto had had to force himself to make do with the other dishes. Needless to say, his appetite hadn't diminished despite the obvious lack of his favorite food.

Kotone let out a soft giggle at the blonde ninja's eating habits. "Yes, I was born and raised there. And please feel free to use my given name, Naruto-san. You don't mind me using your first name, do you?"

Naruto shook his head, a few bean sprouts hanging from his mouth. "Nope! Go ahead! And I think that goes for all of us here, right?"

Sakura nodded, but Sasuke did nothing, taking in Kotone's physical features. If not for her surname, the onyx-eyed teen might have thought she was a long-lost Uchiha clan member who somehow wound up in another village. Her slight, speedy build, long black hair, pale skin, and manners all seemed to remind him of his mother and other female members of his now-dead clan.

"So what made you leave your village, Kotone-san?" Sakura, who had already finished eating, asked. She leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table. "That is, if you don't mind my asking..."

"I'm sorry, Sakura-san, but I'm afraid I do mind..." the amethyst-eyed teen said quietly as she put down her chopsticks. "All you need to know is that I left it four years ago and not by choice; and now that I had the chance to return, there was nothing to return to..."

"Oh, my..." the jade-eyed girl gave a small gasp, her hand to her mouth. She'd understood immediately - judging from the sullen expression - what their new companion had meant by her statement.

"You mean you were kidnapped?" Naruto asked all of a sudden, setting down his glass of red bean wine quite noisily.

"Naruto!" Sakura exclaimed, indignant. Talk about rude!

Sasuke reached over and clocked the blue-eyed teen upside his head. "Dobe. You don't go asking people that sort of question so nonchalantly, not to mention bluntly." The raven-haired teen settled back in his seat. "I swear, you have the manners of a three-year-old."

"Hey!" Naruto shot back as he fixed his forehead protector, which had gone slightly askew due to the blow he'd just received. "I was only curious. And you don't need to hit me on the head!"

"You may have been just curious, Naruto, but that was still the wrong way to ask it!" Sakura clarified. She turned to the newcomer, smiling apologetically. "I'm sorry, Kotone, but Naruto hasn't exactly picked up the basic tenets of socializing yet."

"What are you-" Naruto started, only to be interrupted - politely! - by Kotone herself.

"No, it's all right; there's no problem," she said, offering a reassuring smile. "I know he was just trying to satisfy his curiosity, and things like that happen all the time. I don't mind." She then turned to Naruto. "I guess since you figured it that much out-"

"So you were kidnapped!"

Kotone held up a hand to Sasuke and Sakura, asking them not to react. "Yes, I guess you could say I was. But I'd rather not discuss. I promise, I'll tell you what happened after I woke up - which was pretty recently, mind you - but not now. I don't think I'm ready yet."

"We understand, Kotone-san..." Sakura said, replying for Naruto in case the latter 'forgot' his manners again. She stood up and dug into her hip pouch, looking for her wallet. Beside her and across from her, Sasuke and Naruto were doing the same, while Kotone glanced at her lap, slightly embarrassed. She didn't think she had enough money on her to pay for her part of the meal.

Suddenly, Kotone felt a malevolent chakra signature, uncomfortably close to where she and Team Seven were seated. She stood up quickly, her eyes darting left and right, scanning the area.

"Kotone-san?" Sakura glanced up from counting her money. "What-"

"Get down!" Kotone exclaimed, grabbing Naruto and Sakura by their collars and forcing them under the table. She popped back up a split-second later to see Sasuke chasing after a dark figure.

"Sasuke-san!" she called, giving chase. She didn't know why, but the sense of danger seemed to increase. She sped up until she was practically beside Sasuke and then dived on top of him. She wrapped her arms around his, tumbling to the floor with him. A blink of an eye away from colliding with the floor of the restaurant, she let him go and went into the proper position for falling so as not to get injured. Sasuke did the same, rounding up on his feet almost instantly.

"Dammit, woman, what are you-" he started, chakra swirling behind his eyes and activating his clan's kekkei genkai. He was cut short when the spot where he'd been standing seconds earlier - before Kotone practically barreled into him - exploded, shards of flooring whizzing off in all directions.

A...an exploding tag! he thought, instinctively shielding himself - and Kotone - from the flying debris. Around them, other diners had taken refuge under their tables, behind the counter, even going as far as jumping out the window (thankfully it was only a one-story restaurant).

When the heat and flames from the blast had subsided, Sasuke uncurled from the defensive position he'd taken to protect both him and Kotone, and quickly surveyed the area. The dark figure had gone.

"Kotone-san," he began, his voice gruff but gentle. He held out a hand to the raven-haired teen. "Whoever it is, he's gone now. He used the exploding tag to mask his escape."

Kotone gratefully took Sasuke's hand, and he helped her to her feet, but she was far from relieved. "No, Sasuke-san," she began quietly. "The exploding tag was for neither diversion nor escape. Whoever threw it, meant to kill you."

She straightened up as she said this, and then looked Sasuke in the eye to show that she was serious. When this happened, though, it had a different effect than what she anticipated. The Uchiha gasped involuntarily, shocked beyond words by what he saw.

"Sasuke-san? What...what's wrong?"

Sasuke shook his head, hardly daring to believe what he was seeing. "You...your eyes..." he choked out, words failing him at this point. Kotone's eyes, a gentle purple when they'd first met that very afternoon, were now an angry blood-red, three black tomoe encircling the dark pupil, and near her eyes, at the side of her head, veins bulged.

"What...what do you mean?" Kotone asked, bewildered. She blinked a few times; the veins disappeared and the red tint faded away, leaving the gentle amethyst. "What about my eyes?"

"Sasuke-kun! Kotone-san!" Sakura's voice interrupted the dark-eyed teen. "Are you guys okay?" She and Naruto ran over, their faces full of concern.

"We're fine, Sakura-san." Kotone replied, giving the worried girl a reassuring smile. "The blast wasn't that large, and none of the really dangerous debris hit us."

The pink-haired medic nin heaved a sigh of relief. "That's good." Then she smiled at the newcomer. "Oh, I forgot to tell you Kotone-san: you don't have to worry; the meal's on us. We decided to treat you since this is your first night here."

"B-but -" Kotone caught herself, took a deep breath, and began again. "I...appreciate the gesture, Sakura-san. That was kind of you."

"Any time, Kotone-san!" Naruto said loudly, slinging an arm around the raven-haired girl's shoulders. Amethyst eyes widened with surprise at the close contact to a member of the opposite sex, but Kotone calmed down soon enough.

"It's getting pretty late..." Sakura chimed in, prying the blonde's arm away from their newfound friend. "Kotone-san, we should probably get back..."

"Hai..."

"Hey, I'll come, too. My apartment is in the same general direction, anyway..." Naruto piped up. "So, Kotone-san, what's it like in Hanagakure?"

"Naruto!"

Whack!

"Ow! What was that for?"

"You're doing it again, numbskull!"

Sasuke watched numbly as the trio walked away. He shoved his hands into his pockets and made his way over to the restaurant door. Soon he was out in the street, his companions almost at the first corner, but his apartment was in the opposite direction. He began walking, trying to look as nonchalant as possible, but he was still pretty shaken up by what he'd seen a few minutes ago.

Why does that girl have the Sharingan and the Byakugan?

oOo

A/N: Ahahahaha! A mystery! ...well, something like it. More on this perplexing subject in the next chapter.

So, what did you think? So far, this fic has only ONE reader. Arigatou, Sherby-san! I hope you'll enjoy this fic 'til the end...

Well, that's all for now! Peace out and God bless!