Yea… another long break since I've updated. Not really surprise when the school has been dumping me with tests and new topics ever since I got into college. To those loyal readers of this story… kudos for your patience :D

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did, the show would be called 'Kakashi' instead.

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(Chapter 11)

Gentle sunlight streamed through the canopy, signaling the arrival of morning. Birds were chirping as they fly from trees to trees. It had been a series of shocking events for the past few days especially the day before. If it wasn't thanks for Neji's and Sasuke's act, he would be dead by now. It was also in their calculations not to hurt the medic too seriously in order to ensure both of them would get sufficient medical treatment. And what the most surprising thing was that they even brought along civilian clothes for them to conceal their identities. All was well planned. At least Konoha would stop pursuing their tracks and they could proceed on safely to the Water country which was closest to Konoha.

"Are you done yet, Sakura?" Kakashi hollered.

"Almost." came his reply. The leaves on the bushes behind him rustled as he turned around, facing them. Sakura emerged from the bushes in ordinary civilian attire- A form-fitting light yellow blouse and a dark chocolate brown skirt to go with. It wasn't extravagant. Instead, it was plain, with only a line of buttons going down the centre of the yellow top. The skirt also didn't stand out much being a dark-colored piece of cloth.

"Well, it looks simple enough. I don't think this will raise much attention from the people." Kakashi commented as he glanced at her attire from head to toe. He himself was also in simple clothes- a plain grey T-shirt and navy blue sweatpants to match. This would make them more obscure to the crowd rather than in their shinobi's attire.

"We will be walking from now on since we're nearing the Water country's borders. Check your belongings and we'll be setting off." He ordered as Sakura carried out his instructions. Meanwhile, Kakashi bit his fingers as he did some hand seals before pressing his palms onto the ground.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

Weird characters start springing out from underneath his hand followed with a poof of white smoke.

"Yo, Kakashi." A dog could be seen as the smokes cleared. "What's up?"

"Yo, Pakkun." The copy-nin greeted the pug. "I'll need you to deliver a message to a certain person. Feeling up to it?"

"I can't say 'no', can I?"

"Nope."

"Fine… who's the lucky man?" The dog let out a sigh as he turned his head, only to see Sakura looking back at him with curiousity. "Isn't that your student, Sakura? What on earth is she doing here with you?"

"Long story… Here. Trace this guy and tell him we'll be waiting for him at Water country." Kakashi held out a cloth for the pug which took a whiff of it and nodded its head.

"Roger."

Kakashi watched as Pakkun leapt from branches to branches, widening the distance between them. It wasn't until he was out of sight then did Kakashi turned back to Sakura who was waiting patiently for him to finish whatever he's doing. He took up his bag and slung it over his back.

"Let's go."

"Hai."

It would be another few more hours before they reached their destination.

-

(Back in Konoha)

Many shinobis were gathered round the cenotaph where 'Arashi' and 'Haruno Sakura' were engraved into the piece of stone. Among the many shinobis present, there were familiar people such as Ino, Naruto, Shikamaru, Neji, Sasuke, Shikamaru, Hinata and many others. Tears were rolling down from Ino's eyes as she choked out Sakura's name repeatedly while Shikamaru tried his best to comfort the girl. The rest just remained quiet as they stared at the two names before them, especially Naruto, who haven't said anything since the funeral started.

"It's such a waste that the new guy died. I didn't even get to meet him." Kiba exclaimed as Akamaru yipped in agreement.

"It's a waste indeed. He wasn't such a bad person. At least he's not that troublesome compared to some people here." Shikamaru sighed as he patted Ino's back. Ino was too engrossed in the death of her friend to even retaliate the boy.

"N-Neji-san, y-you were involved in this, are they really… dead?" Hinata looked up at her cousin only to meet his impassive face. It was her turn to let out a sigh as she gazed over at Naruto. His down casted eyes showed no life at all, his yellow bangs covering his forehead as he stared at both names, especially Sakura's one. His first crush… gone just overnight, and so did his new friend. The more he thought, the more he felt that he had failed as a friend. The guilt was eating into him.

"N-Naruto-kun…"

Tsunade walked forth and stood in front of the crowd, her eyes looking solemnly at every one of them. She was wearing black, just like the others. Her eyes soon fell onto Naruto who did not even look up to meet hers. Worried was evident in her golden orbs as she turned back to the mass. The people immediately went silent as they listened attentively to whatever the Godaime had to say.

"It is regretful that Konoha lost two medical ninjas, Arashi and Haruno Sakura. They had served Konoha well with their services and displayed great skills as Shinobis. May their laughter and voice be part of our memories as we give respects to them for all that they had given to Konoha. Death is a part of a Shinobi's life; it's just a matter of time. Therefore, to all shinobis out there, fight and remain strong." She fixated her sight on Naruto, "Don't let the deaths of others get to you and affect your performance."

Nevertheless, the words were not getting into his head as his eyes remained on the names. It wasn't long after the speech when the funeral ended. Everyone had went home except for Naruto who was still standing in his spot, and Hinata who was standing behind him, looking worryingly at him.

"N-Naruto-kun…" She stuttered out. Finally, the blonde broke the eye contact with the cenotaph as he turned and meet Hinata's eyes.

"Hinata-chan, do you think that they are really dead?" His voice croaked out hoarsely. Hinata's heart tore as a lump of emotions found its way into her throat.

"I-I believe in them. A-Arashi-kun and Sakura-chan are really strong; they wouldn't be defeated that easily. I-If they're really d-dead, it just means t-that their opponents were stronger than them and they've died an honorable death for K-Konoha, protecting us and all other people in exchange for their lives." Hinata said as Naruto nodded his head, "D-Demo, I believe that they are still alive out there, fighting for themselves. After all, it was only their hitai-e that was brought back. It doesn't proof that they are dead yet. T-That is why, we must get stronger and till then, we'll be a-able to fight alongside with them. Fate will allow us to meet again if we try hard enough."

"Of course! I was a fool to believe that they were dead. As a friend, I should trust in them, ne?" Naruto eyes brightened up as sparks appeared in his blue eyes. It seemed that there is still a bit of hope hanging onto him and for that, the Hyuuga was relieved.

"Arigatou, Hinata-chan." Naruto smiled from ears to ears as the girl's face was tinted red just by looking at him.

"Y-You're welcome…"

"Yosh! I'll need to do whatever I can to meet them and that means…" Naruto frowned and scratched his head as he racked his brain for solutions. A grin resurfaced on his face as he snapped his fingers.

"To the Hokage tower!"

-

(Tsunade's office)

"TSUNADE-BAASAN!!"

The Godaime cringed at the voice as the hyperactive blonde came crashing through the door into her office. And to think she was worried for him a moment ago…

"Tsunade-baasan! Do you have any free missions for me to do?! Especially those that require me to travel for long distances!" Naruto asked, as confusion surfaced on Tsunade's face. That was the first time Naruto actually volunteered for a mission. Something was not right.

"And why do you want such a tedious mission for? I could always give you some mission within Konoha's border."

"Dattebayo, I need to travel far in order to find Arashi-kun and Sakura… oops." Naruto's hands flew to cover his mouth as he realized he had just blurted out something unnecessary. An evil gleam flashed through the Godaime's eyes. It took a no-brainer just to force him to state his inner motives.

"Unfortunately, I can't consent to your request."

"Nani?! Why?!"

"It's true that both Arashi and Sakura are close to you. And that's the reason why I can't allow you to go for a mission. Not at this time. Knowing you, you'll probably run off and attempt at hunting them down, diverting yourself from the main goal of the mission. You should learn when to let go, Naruto." Tsunade clasped her hands in front of her as she glared sternly at the blonde.

"That's easy for you to say! What about you?! Can you even let go of Sakura-chan who was your apprentice for so many years?! Do you seriously believe that she's dead?!"

"That is why everything needs time. And soon, I'll learn how to let go of Sakura. You should too, Naruto."

There was silence as both were engaged in a heated glare competition. Naruto gritted his teeth as fury took over him.

"I've always respected you as a great Shinshou of Sakura and a great Godaime. But it seemed that I'm wrong about you." Naruto spat out as he stormed out of the office in rage, slamming the door behind him so loud that echoes could be heard throughout the whole tower.

Tsunade's angry eyes melted instantly as the boy disappeared behind the door, replaced by grief and sorrow. To tell the truth, she really disliked doing this to Naruto since he was much like a younger brother to her. Hurting him only serves to hurt her more than expected. But in order to prevent the whole of Konoha knowing Arashi's secrets, she had no choice but to keep it out from every other ninja. After all, it was only her and some individuals who knew that the both of them were still alive and well.

"I'm sorry, Naruto…"

-

"We'll be staying here for the current moment. Take a good rest and be prepared for tomorrow's journey." Kakashi opened the wooden door revealing a small room with two rolls of Futon and a low table with cushions to serve as chairs. Overall, the room was small but nevertheless, it has a cozy atmosphere especially with the walls painted a dark shade of brown with a white ceiling and the floor made of parquet. It was a surprise to Sakura that Kakashi could even afford to stay at an inn.

"I'll be going out for a moment. You can take a walk around in the meantime but do not cause any unnecessary attention."

"Hai."

"See you then." the door shut with a 'click' as the girl just stare blankly at the door before squatting down and unpacking her bag which consisted mostly of clothes and toiletries.

"Guess I'll take a bathe first before going out." She mumbled under her breath as she grabbed the necessary items before going into the equally small bathroom.

-

Kakashi paced around the tree, his eyes occasionally looking up to survey his surroundings. The sound of a twig snapping was enough for him to turn his head towards the direction of the source as a shadow approached him.

"So you've finally decide to run away from Konoha?"

"On the contrary, they were trying to chase me out of Konoha." Kakashi replied, "Guess I'll be travelling with you from now onwards."

"It seemed so, Hatake."

"Hope to have a pleasant time working with you."

"That should be my statement."

-

"We'll be needing this, this… and this." Sakura told herself as she made a grab for the items on the shelves and placing them into the basket. After getting all that she needed, Sakura made her way to the counter, which was currently being attended to by a rather plump, merry-looking middle aged man. His hair was close to bald but it seemed that he wasn't affected by that fact.

"Are you new here? This is the first time I'm seeing you, girl." The man strike up a conversation with her, as his cheeks inflated into small balloons from his smile. Fishing the groceries from the basket and placing them into a paper bag.

"Hai, it's the first time I've came here. Hajimemashite." His smile widened as he handed her the groceries which she accepted gratefully before she headed back to the inn.

There were voices coming from their room which earned Sakura's puzzlement.

"Had Kakashi came back already? If so, why are there two voices? That's funny…" Sakura pondered. In the end, she decided that everything would become clear once she opened the door and that was what she did.

Her hands went around the door knob as her heart pumped so wildly inside her chest such that the heartbeats were echoing in her ears. She bit her lower lips and finally turned the doorknob, opening the door.

Just as she had guessed, there were two people sitting on the cushions by the table. One was Kakashi and the other… Sakura gasped upon seeing the other man's face as the paper bag in her hands fell onto the ground, with the content flowing out from the bag. She lifted her trembling hands and pointed at the newcomer and turned to look at Kakashi for an answer.

"W-what is he doing here?"

"Well, I guessed you already know her. She's Haruno Sakura who will be tagging along with us for some time." Kakashi introduced.

"Hn."

"And Sakura, he will be our new partner from now on… Uchiha Itachi."

TBC

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Yay. Finally the mysterious character is revealed! xD So did you people guessed correctly?

I'll try my best to continue updating at least once a month or two months. I know it kinda slow but as I've said, I'll try my best :)

Thanks to Konoha's white fang, rangerfan58, rai-hatake312, fanimation-x-, prescripto13, ashfire28 for reviewing the previous chapter

To those that had been reviewing for my story since chapter 1, thanks a lot! And much thanks to those who also start reviewing later! :)