Hey everyone it's been awhile but I finally going to start updating hopefully every week!

Saph-chan if you're reading this don't think I've forgotten about you!

Thanks for all the support Bakuto and Yumi ^^

Welcome after a Time Skip of 6 years! (that's alot...)

Yumi belongs to Yumi Seiji

Bakuto belongs to Bakuto Masaki

All Naruto related things belong to Masashi Kishimoto


6 years have passed and all has been mainly peaceful among the five nations, but will it stay that way...

"Breakfast Yumi!"

"Yeah I'm coming!"

Blonde straggled hair framed her tired face as Yumi dragged herself out of bed. It was the hour of the rabbit but of all the days Yumi did not want to get up on her "usual" Anbu times. She felt like she had a hangover even though Hana was doing all the drinking on her birthday. Soon she'd be eighteen too but the theme would definitely not be a "drinking soiree". She believed Anko had a little too much fun and could imagine her face this morning.

She comfortably slinked her way to the kitchen with her long morning bed hair and crumpled pyjamas and mindlessly picked up the chopsticks by reflex and started eating. Bakuto shook his head.

"I told you not to get drunk..."

"I didn't."

"You look like Anko when she's tipsy."

"Then I don't want to know how she looks like with a hangover..."

She continued chomping her way through the egg and rice,

"I'm leaving for a couple of days."

"What mission is it this time?"

"There's a spy believed to be from Iwagakure heading our way, we have no information on the spy, so the village needs someone prepared."

"Hmm..."

Bakuto all ready dressed in his Anbu uniform, black attire and shoulder pads, was off automatically entrusting the house to Yumi. After six years they had a comfortable relationship with each other and Yumi was a fully fledged adult and Anbu for that matter – She had come a long way.

"I'm off." He said while putting on his Anbu mask and left.

Yumi had plans of her own, which would occupy her enough. Not so long ago the academy had their batch of new graduates and rumours that Hatake Kakashi was taking two important students, the Kyuubi and Uchiha survivor were confirmed. The whole village was watching them, but Yumi was particularly interested in the Uchiha boy.

A couple years ago, on one of her regular nights at the pleasure houses she was entertaining her usual customers. She had successfully gotten them drunk enough for her to dismiss their conversations, so her mind could ponder on more important matters, but her eyes caught a glimpse of a mysterious man on the other side of the room. She couldn't help but stare; he was certainly quite out of the usual and besides the other girls were beginning to stir with talk of him. Anko who had already reached her limit for the night was flustered as she welcomed the handsome stranger to the house and chatted on and on about what they had to offer. He was rather disinterested but as she mentioned Mayumi his eyes turned towards her green ones. Yumi – to hide her identity had always worn a green wig, courtesy of Anko, so she wouldn't feel embarrassed by other shinobi men who wandered in. Her blonde hair was tightly and neatly tucked away but her eyes were always on display. Anko said they would captivate customers, which they had for many years but his eyes diminished hers in one look. She shuddered and turned away but he headed for her direction causing a silent uproar among the other women.

"Welcome sir, I will be your hostess for the night." She said in her distinguished sweet voice she was accustomed to using at work.

He had said nothing the whole night and she sat in suffocating silence with him, failing to make conversation. The atmosphere was stifling and she had not felt so intimidated before. She reverted to herself through anger and in her steely voice said,

"Sir, why do you isolate me with your silence? If you have no interest here why don't you leave? This is clearly not your scene."

"Is it not rude to address your customers like that? I only wanted to sit with you; words do not need to be exchanged to arouse interest does it?"

His cool voice soothed and shamed her, but she was not the type to be put down so easily,

"Communication is the foundation of all relationships, you cannot survive on words alone – unless you read my mind sir, I may not bore you but you bore me."

He smirked, lifted her chin defiantly and stared into her eyes with his own. However they were replaced with a cynical red and black colour, similar to that of Kakashi's Sharingan – which only meant one thing, he was an Uchiha.

Yumi jerked her head away and began speaking in furious whispers,

"How dare you show your face around here, you're a traitor to this village, what makes you think I won't say anything?"

"Because you won't" he sipped his tea coolly and only looked at her with black eyes once more.

"Besides, this isn't the first time we've met."

"Mama, look look, who are they?"

"They seem busy dear, we should leave them alone."

Her brown hair flared as she ran towards the black figures, with a basket of food in her hands. She rarely saw people in the forest that she could not help but watch every "visitor" that came by.

"What dry eyes you have Itachi which is best; there is not time for regrets..."

"I know that." A black haired boy in attire she had not seen before stood beside a grim male figure. The man wore an orange mask with strange swirls on them and a long black coat; he gave off a dark aura. She carefully spied them behind a tree but as clumsy as she was slipped on a twig and fell down the slope, basket, food and all. The boy's head turned,

"Are you alright?" he asked instinctively but with a cold voice. She peered into his black eyes and marvelled; she had not seen anyone so handsome before or anyone around her age to play with either.

"Leave her Itachi; we don't have time for brats."

The boy blankly stared into her plain brown eyes and put out his hand. She took it graciously and began to stutter a thank you but his back was already turned.

She then frantically began to think of what to say,

"Don't look so sad."

She put a hand over her mouth, her habit of spurting out her inner thoughts when speaking to strangers had surfaced. Her mother warned her many times of this but her lips moved before her mind could stop her.

"And you don't look so lonely."

He threw back a turnip which she barely caught and smirked back at her. She couldn't help but feel self-conscience as though he had invaded her mind, but the memory had not left her for days on end since.

After her mother's death and all that had happened to her, she was a completely different person from back then, she couldn't even remember her own name! But he still recognised her, betrayed by her eyes.

She sighed inwardly, confused, it still didn't make sense, why was he here?

"I wanted to see if you took my advice."

"Well you certainly haven't taken mine."

"Watch over him for me won't you."

She hesitated.

"And why should I?"

"Because, just like back then, you know the truth – just by looking into my eyes."

"Isn't an Uchiha ashamed to admit such a weakness?" She gloated,

"Not if it's you."

Yumi got up and went to bathroom to refresh herself. Her mind was dazed as she tried to recollect the words that had passed between them – he was right more could be said without them, but was this really alright?

When she returned he was gone without a trace.

"Ah so you're back? Your unexpected guest just left." Anko said with a sip of rice wine.

"He was a scary one he was; he even made you look uncomfortable. Who was he anyway?"

"No-one really..."

For once she felt too estranged to tell Bakuto what had happened, and kept the incident to herself. With furrow thinking she decided to stay true to his favour and look over Uchiha Sasuke. After the incident she also quit her job at the Pleasure house, she had never slept with a soul, a wanted it to remain that way and for the next three years worked in the Yamanaka florist shop.

Her presence at the Uchiha residence was intended to be nothing out of the ordinary as she began to make regular trips to the boy's house, never exchanging words but instead weird looks with each other. She learnt to cook from her personal "master chef" Bakuto well enough and was born and bred to do chores since she was a child. Looking after the boy even under his glares was something she felt compelled to do and after a while she was his regular guest. You could say Sasuke appreciated the company; her aura was so like Itachi's in some way he could not help but accept her.

She got dressed and began re-reading the information she had received from Anbu intelligence on Orochimaru. It seemed that peace would not last soon and Orochimaru might be waiting to make a move, maybe the Iwagakure spy has something to do with him? Bakuto's mission would hopefully confirm that fact as she shuddered at the past memory of her dreaded encounter with him.

She made her trip to the old rundown buildings of the once thriving Uchiha community; it was a hallway of abandoned houses empty and lifeless, remnants of the terrible past. As she reached the greatest of these houses she entered without knocking and apologised for barging in more out of habit than meaning. Sasuke was not home but he had left a note, as he was accustomed to, for her. It read:

Yumi,
out for missions as usual
Sasuke

"A boy of few words, just like his brother." She said under her breath with a faint smile and headed out for the mission hall.

Once Yumi had reached the hall she heard a great whine from the one and only,

"I want to do a more exciting mission!"

Yumi smiled, the boy couldn't even pick weeds according to Sasuke's recount of Naruto, but he was already demanding bigger and better missions – but Yumi knew he was voicing Sasuke's opinions as well.

The Hogake began one his many lectures that even Yumi could zone out of, but in the end, to her surprise, the old man gave in. Naruto managed to bag his team their first C-rank mission. It was to escort a bridge builder back to the country of Waves.

"Rather interesting, the Wave country is a poor isolated land, building a bridge will open up a new future for them." Yumi commented to herself.

"What? They're all kids!"

An elderly looking man with glasses sipping a bottle of sake came storming in aimlessly, red faced and drunk.

"Wonderful escortee." Yumi giggled sarcastically.

"Hey, is the smallest one there with the idiotic face really a ninja?"

An offended Naruto lashed out and Yumi knew it was going to be a mission to talk about when Sasuke came home. It would be helpful though if the man kept it quiet – it was a private business after all.

"Children will be less conspicuous escorts than a set of shinobi men anyway Tazuna-san." Hogake-sama assured him.

"Great Bakuto leaves, now Sasuke, well I better throw myself into some work then. Isn't this the first time Sasuke has ever left the village?"

Yumi's maternal instincts kicked in, if you would call them that, but they were under Kakashi's care – they'll be fine won't they? Something wasn't right about that bridge builder expert, Tazuna. Was it paranoia? Perhaps instinct? Or just a strange "motherly fad" as Bakuto would call it. And speaking of Bakuto where was he heading off to anyway, she had forgotten to ask...

"Ah, Welcome Yumi-chan."

"Good morning Hogake-sama, do you have any missions for me?"

"Not anything special yet, but Bakuto..."

"I know, about that..."

He was heading for the Wave country as well, something was going down and if it involved Sasuke, she couldn't help but to nose her way into it. Curiosity got the better of her as her impulsive actions led her to make new plans of her own. She gave them half a day head start before following them; she didn't want Kakashi to notice. She hoped she wasn't being too innovative in her thinking when she thought,

'Bakuto and Kakashi might need some back up.'

Please review!

It's just starting I promise they'll be much much more action next chapter!

I like making Anko drunk don't you? ^^