I'm sincerely sorry for my lack of activity recently. My life has been so hectic lately and it's been really difficult to keep up with my writing, schoolwork and social life, not to mention that my internet is a heap of shit that won't even load fanfiction half the time. Obviously all this shit heaped up is real stressful and that'll probably be evident in this chapter and for that I apologize but I did try so I hope you enjoy it.

Kakashi gripped his left arm tightly in a feeble attempt to stop the thick blood from flowing freely out of the open wound that decorated his flesh from his shoulder to his elbow. Shortly after arriving in the land of wind, he was ambushed by a few high ranking renegade sand shinobi and after a few minutes of fighting, Kakashi had dispatched two of the men with the use of his Mangekyou Sharingan but not before taking a few injuries himself. He had a long and deep gash on his upper left arm, a kunai wound on his left leg and a large burn across the left side of his chest which effectively melted away the flak jacket he'd been wearing. He chuckled to himself and felt pain radiate through him. 'I guess I've got a few fucked ribs as well aye.' He laughed again despite the pain. All his injuries were on his left side and he had no idea why. His mind was raging. He knew deep down that he should have those injuries and he also knew why he had them. He'd been careless. Day dreaming about his cherry blossom had allowed the Sand Nin to take him by surprise and caused him to take a shuriken to the leg, beginning the string of unnecessary injuries. A sharp jolt of pain spiked through his body and it was in that moment that Kakashi knew that they'd found him. He tore the bloody kunai from his leg before coming to a stop. 'Shit, Pakkun didn't keep them occupied for long.' He cursed inwardly to himself before turning to face his opponents, all the while steeling himself for the battle to come.
'Kakashi Hatake eh?' The rouge Nin muttered under her breath, 'you're kind of cute you know. It's a real shame I have to mess up that pretty little face of yours.' He watched her as a sly smirk spread across her face and it was in that moment that Kakashi realized that they had a trick up their sleeves, an ace in the hole. He took his time to analyze his opponent's appearance. She was slim but was gifted in the chest department. What shook Kakashi to the core though was her green eyes and reddish pink hair. It was shockingly similar to Sakura and he could tell that it would only serve as a distraction in the fight to come.
'I'd prefer if you didn't. I've grown quite fond of my pretty little face as a matter of fact. But, I guess you've gotta do what you've gotta do.' His sarcastic reply came as a surprise to the Sand Nin who obviously was shocked by the fact that Kakashi disregarded her threats with a witty comment. 'But,' he continued, 'I would, however like to know the name of the woman who thinks she can best me. So go ahead. Indulge me.' He threw a wink in her direction before silently awaiting a response. Or a kunai. Both were a possibility in this kind of situation.
After a few moments of silence the woman spoke. 'My name is Azuri Kyraba, former ninja of the Hidden Sand Village and know that we've got introductions aside, I think it's time to get down to business, Kakashi of the Sharingan.' She drew a kunai and hurled it in his direction with blinding speed. It was all he could do to deflect it off the edge of his own drawn kunai. His mind had been adrift with thoughts of his cherry blossom and once again it had almost gotten the man killed.
'Pleasure to make your acquaintance.' He growled roughly before returning his own volley of kunai, only to have them blocked by a great wall of sand.
'Suna Hitsugi no jutsu!' He only just avoided Azuri's sand burial technique in time. 'Damn it Hatake, keep your mind focused, one slip up and you're fucked. This girl isn't someone to take lightly, she's already using A ranked sand ninjutsu and you've barely even started the battle which means she's got some serious chakra to burn through while you're running short.'
'Doton: Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu.' He whispered under his breath as he slipped into the earth beneath his feet. Kakashi used this opportunity to buy time to formulate a battle plan. He didn't want to resort to using his Mangekyou Sharingan again. He'd already burnt up too much chakra using it already and another use would be too much for his body to handle. He might have to just do this the old fashion way. He took a deep breath before bursting forth from the ground. 'Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!' His sneak attack had given him the element of surprise and in a quick motion he had blasted Azuri with a massive fire style jutsu at close range. Even though her sand armour had absorbed a solid amount of the destruction, she did not escape unscathed. He eyed the harsh burns on the right side of her body from her legs to her chest.
'You asshole!' Her voice was raw with pain and malice and Kakashi almost felt sorry for the girl. He watched as she writhed in pain and continued to curse Kakashi's existence. 'I'll kill you, I fucking swear it.' And with that she stood, threw Kakashi a glare filled with hate and vanished with the breeze.
Kakashi sighed once more. This was going to be a long 3 years away from home.

She was giddy with happiness. She, Ino Yamanaka was dating the Rokudaime Hokage, Naruto Uzumaki. Her thoughts flashed back to the events that played out last night. 'Ino, I think I.. I think I love you.' His words rung through her. Every nerve in her went absolutely wild until her body was nothing more than a burning mass of emotional ecstasy, all revolving around the blonde haired ninja who'd just confessed to her. She hadn't trusted her voice at the time so she did the first thing that came to mind. She pressed her lips against his. The kiss was everything she'd ever dreamt it to be. It ignited a burning passion in her chest and she knew she had most certainly fallen for her closest friend, Naruto Uzumaki. She didn't even know what it was about the kid that attracted her to him. Perhaps it was it caring attitude, or maybe it was the fact that no matter what, he'll never give up on anyone. His dedication to both himself and others is astounding. After Asuma was slain by Hidan of the Akatski, Naruto immediately took her under his wing and was always there for her, even up until he became Hokage. It was especially difficult for them when Jiraiya died. But they found solace in each other and since then they've both been on the road to recovery and now with his little confession, Ino couldn't even remember the last time she was this happy. She smiled sub-consciously before opening her eyes to greet the new day with a bubbly attitude. She went through her morning routine of showering and whatnot with a unusual, but not unexplained spring in her step. She knew Naruto had work today but she was planning on spending some time with him when he got off. That was if he wasn't already tired. Maybe they could go out for dinner; a proper date to kick start their relationship. She'd have to run the idea past him sometime throughout the day. 'It shouldn't be a problem; I don't have to work the shop today so I've got some free time to myself.' She spoke to herself, and then realized what she was doing and cut it out immediately. 'Look at you Ino, talking to yourself you crazy girl.' She laughed and rushed downstairs, egged on by the teasing scent of bacon sizzling from the kitchen. Upon dashing into the kitchen she was greeted by both her mother and father.
'Morning dear, your father here just got back from his S rank mission so we get to have a splendid breakfast for the first time in a while.' Her mother looked between her husband and her daughter with a large smile on her face. 'Take a seat Ino, I'll serve yours up.' Again she smiled before turning back to the food on the stove.
'So, dad. How was the mission, what was the objective?' Questioned Ino. She was honestly curious as to what had kept her father away from home for the past 3 months.
'Reconnaissance mission in Suna, had to gather up intel for some assassination mission.' He grunted back, obviously worn from the mission. She understood how he felt, long missions were always the worst. The Ino realized something. That mission..
'Wait, was that the mission Kakashi-sensei was sent on by any chance?' She inquired, eager to know.
'It was indeed, and what a crazy mission. Those rouge Suna Nin are definitely a force to be reckoned with. I even advised the Hokage to send more ninjas to aid him but for some reason he rejected the suggestion, stating that Kakashi could handle it.'
'Wait, did he just say that Naruto rejected the idea of helping Kakashi? Why..' Her mind was whirling. Kakashi and Naruto were pretty close these days and for Naruto to make a decision like that.. It was strange and extremely out of character. Something was up.
'You okay Ino? You just sorta zoned out there for a bit.' He dad was watching her with those intelligent eyes of his.
'Oh, no I'm fine. Just thinking.' She wasn't particularly lying so she was hoping that Inochi wouldn't see it in her eyes. Deciding to drop the subject for a while due to the fact that her mum had just served up a plate stacked up with crispy bacon, her favourite. She'd managed to wolf down the food in record time before shouting a goodbye to her parents and shooting out of the door.
'What reason would Naruto have for restricting help for Kakashi I wonder? He has to have a good reason after all, he didn't make it to Hokage status just with that pretty face of his and a bit of determination. Or maybe he did? Ugh, that's not the point Ino, get your mind back on track.' She mentally scolded herself for letting her thoughts wander. She has put her faith in Naruto and she trusted him in this matter. She honestly believed that he would never do anything to hinder the copy ninja and so his actions must have been with the best of intentions.
'Ino! Hey girl, heard you and Naruto finally hooked up, good on ya man.' She turned and was greeted by the beaming face of her best friend Sakura. 'Honestly happy for you Ino and it's about time, honestly. The rest of us have all been wondering when you two would stop being so thick and realize that you're meant to be together.'
'Wait wait wait, woah. How did you even find out about that? As far as I knew Naruto went straight home last night..' Ino was confused but she already had so much on her mind so she couldn't really come up with an explanation. Surely Naruto hadn't told her this early in the morning. It was then that a crazy thought came to mind and she felt slightly bad just for thinking it but what if he did tell Sakura last night? What if she paid him a visit? 'Shame on you Ino. She's with Kakashi at the moment and she's not one to sleep around while her partner is away especially when it comes to Naruto. No. It must be something else. Maybe she just needed some company last night? After all she has been pretty upset recently.' While she was both scolding herself and figuring out the situation in her mind, Sakura had donned a guilty look that made Ino reconsider all the words she'd spoken in her mind. 'What, exactly happened last night Sakura?' She didn't intend for her voice to be so cold but it came out icy.
She looked shocked for a moment but brushed it off with a light hearted laugh. 'Nothing like that silly. Come on Ino, have a bit more faith in me. I love Kakashi and that's that.' Her laughter faded and from the ashes was born a serious mood. 'Although I did sleep with Naruto last night, and before you get any ideas, it wasn't anything like you think. I was lonely and needed a friend and he came home to me bawling my eyes out in his bed.' She turned her gaze to the ground; obviously uncomfortable with sharing the moment with her so Ino didn't push the subject. She trusted both Naruto and Sakura too much to have any more lingering suspicions. 'Well, okay,' she pursed her lips into a tight line and continued, 'I'll take your word for it man. But hey I actually need to go see Naruto and talk to him about something so I'll catch up with you later yeah?' She called out over her shoulder, already on her way to Hokage tower.
'Yeah sure Ino. See ya!' She looked back briefly again to see Sakura waving a hand high in the sky with a bright smile on her face. Naruto must've really worked some magic last night. Sakura seemed like a totally different person. Ino paused momentarily and glanced up at the light blue sky, slowly letting her eyelids close while she sucked in a deep breath of fresh air before setting out once again. 'Things are look up now Ino.'