A/N: Alright, so here it is! I'm going to try to wrap this story up and then jump ahead to after the War and all. I hope you all enjoy this one, though it is a bit more on the serious side of life!

ARGUMENTS AND LOSS

That afternoon, Reyna and Kakashi did in fact head out to get in some real training. Kakashi was impressed with just how well she could handle the puppet that she had made while in the Sand Village. He had always been under the impression that that particular jutsu was complicated and difficult to learn, but she seemed to have picked up on it quickly enough. Of course the threads she used weren't made of strictly chakra like Kankuro's, but instead incorporated her shadows into it to make it easier for her to manipulate. When they finally called an end to the session, she grinned a little at him before they headed back for the apartment. After all, she still had to cook for him as per their earlier agreement.

While she was cooking, Reyna found her mind wandering to the conversation she had shared with Jiraiya that morning. There were very few things in her life that she truly regretted, and most of those she still refused to look at too closely. When she set two plates on the table and stuck her head into the living room to tell Kakashi to come and eat, she was still pondering on something that she had considered several times since she had been made Jounin, but had seldom even admitted to entertaining even to herself.

Kakashi sat across from her, eating slowly for a change of pace while she played with the food on her plate and he finally looked up, "Something wrong?"

She started and her eyes snapped up to meet his, "No, not really. I was just thinking about something."

He quirked a brow and gave her a questioning look, "Well, apparently it isn't little silver haired wolves since you're not falling off your chair laughing. What is it?"

"What is it really like to be ANBU?" she asked after a few seconds of silence stretched between them.

Kakashi dropped his fork and narrowed his eyes at her, "Why do you want to know?"

She shrugged and glanced away from his hard gaze, "I worked with them as a Chuunin if you remember and even then I never really got a clear view as to what was involved in being an ANBU. I can't very well just walk up and ask a random ANBU."

"There's more to this question than you're telling me."

She shook her head and flickered her eyes to meet his again briefly, "No, there isn't. I've heard all kinds of stories about what the ANBU do, but how much can you really believe? I mean, everyone's supposed to be terrified of them, so how much of it is true and how much is exaggerated?"

"Reyna, you can't even hold my gaze so what the hell brought this on all of a sudden? Up until now, you've been adamant that you will never be ANBU so what difference does it about what stories are true or not?" his voice had a harder edge to it now.

"Well, for one thing my mom was ANBU and for another so were you. Look, I was just looking for some information, alright?" she snapped flashing amber eyes glaring at him slightly now.

"So why haven't you shown any kind of interest in this before?" he questioned.

"Fine, you want to know the truth?" she snapped. "I'm considering joining the ANBU, alright? I have more than enough skill to join them and Tsunade's been after me since she became Hokage! I always shied away from it because I didn't want to be like my father, but I'm wondering how much I'm going to grow to regret not doing it just because I was afraid to."

"You are not joining ANBU!" Kakashi snarled at her even as his eye narrowed.

"And since when do you get to tell me what the hell I can do!" she snarled back.

"You don't understand what happens when you join ANBU! Hell, you probably think that you'd still be a member of this team! Well, guess what; you wouldn't be! And you know how you can turn down missions now? That isn't going to happen if you join fucking ANBU!" she had never actually heard him raise his voice before but just as suddenly as he had raised it, his voice dropped to nearly a harsh whisper. "You are not joining ANBU."

"And you are not going to tell me what I can or cannot do," she growled, pushing herself to her feet.

Before Kakashi could open his mouth to say anything more, Reyna stalked out of the kitchen and out the front door. He hadn't even cleared the table when he heard the door slam behind her and he sighed before leaning against the wall, feeling completely defeated. He should have known better than to tell her she couldn't join the ANBU. Now he found himself terrified that she was going to go and do just that. He knew exactly what being an ANBU agent entailed and he knew that it would destroy her to have to take on half the missions that ANBU were assigned to. Sure she had taken several S-Ranked missions in the past; had even carried out missions with teams of ANBU, but she had never been the one charged with having to complete said mission. She had gone as a tracker or to run as a decoy or interference; she had never known the true mission that the ANBU were sent on.

Of course those were just the reasons he told himself so he didn't have to face the real reason why he didn't want her to join ANBU; he didn't want to lose her. Deep down, or maybe not so deep, he was selfish and couldn't even bring himself to think of the things that could happen to her should she join the black ops. Feeling defeated, he left the plates on the table and headed for the couch where he eventually fell asleep, book in hand, as he waited and hoped that Reyna would return and they could talk.

Reyna seethed as she stormed down the stairs of the apartment building and out into the cool evening. Above her, dark clouds drifted over the village, but she paid them no attention as she stormed through the village. She had originally set out for the Hokage's tower in order to talk to Tsunade about joining the ANBU ranks. The closer she got to the tower, however the slower her pace became. In her mind she heard Kakashi's voice telling her she couldn't become an ANBU only this time she heard the tone of his voice. Of course it could have just been her mind deciding to play with her memory of the situation or the fact that she still wasn't sure she really wanted to be anything more than a Jounin and a member of Team Kakashi. Still, in her mind Kakashi had sounded more than just angry at what she was considering. There was an undercurrent of fear and even, just maybe, a touch of panic at the idea that she would become what he had been. She supposed he probably had good reasons to be all of those things; angry, fearful and panicked. After all he knew what kinds of missions the black ops teams were sent on.

Sighing she veered off her current path, moving away from the Tower and towards the path that led to the top of the Monument. She spent the rest of the night on top of Hokage Mountain, watching the clouds blow by overhead before she finally felt exhaustion creep up on her. She still wasn't quite willing to forgive Kakashi for telling her what she could or couldn't do so rather than heading back to his apartment, she headed for her own. She was really glad she hadn't had the time to move the rest of her belongings over to Kakashi's yet, nor had she given up the apartment. She managed to get a few hours of sleep there before she once again found herself on the streets of the village, this time heading back for Kakashi's place.

She hadn't even made it half way back before she was stopped by an ANBU agent who informed her that the Hokage needed to speak with her immediately. She knew that she couldn't argue the point and figured that Kakashi would understand when she told him that she had been summoned by the Hokage before she could talk to him. Once again she found herself heading for the Tower, but this time she arrived and was ushered into Tsunade's office immediately where three masked ANBU agents were waiting as well.

"Reyna, I need you to head out with these three ANBU. We need to try to gather some Intel on what Zeke has been planning but it's next to impossible to find any of his men. Since you said they all have a very unique scent marker, I need you to aid them in finding any trace you can of them. Once they have an idea of where to head, you will return to the village," Tsunade wasted no time in telling her what was happening.

"I just need to grab my pack from the apartment," Reyna replied, figuring she could tell Kakashi where she was headed when she did that.

"We have one here for you," one of the ANBU replied and she blinked at him before shaking her head.

Before she could open her mouth, Tsunade spoke again, "Reyna, I need you to head out immediately. Everything you need we have here for you. I will let Kakashi and the rest of your team know where you are. Now get moving!"

Reyna sighed and took the pack that one of the ANBU held out for her. Without a word, the four ninja headed out of the office and from there, out of the village. Reyna really could only hope that Kakashi wouldn't hold her storming out the night before against her. She knew he wouldn't have any hard feelings about her leaving the village without telling him since she hadn't had a choice in the matter. As they stepped out of the village, Reyna forced those thoughts from her mind and focused on the mission at hand as she fell in step with the fast moving ANBU.

Kakashi grunted as he woke up slowly, trying to stretch the kinks out of his back that seemed to have settled on him after spending the night asleep on the couch. He glanced at the clock and sighed when he realized the time and the fact that if Reyna had returned she would have had breakfast started and probably would have woke him up earlier. A tapping on the window drew his attention as he slowly stood up and he opened the glass where a messenger hawk was waiting patiently for him to realize it was there. Once he took the note from the bird, it flew off and he opened the small piece of paper.

Kakashi,

Reyna has been sent on an S-rank ANBU mission. Date of return unknown.

Tsunade

Immediately, Kakashi was out the window and sprinting through the village, towards the Hokage's Tower. Heads turned as the normally stoic, platinum ninja sped through the tower towards Tsunade's office. An ANBU stopped him before he got into the office, however and he was made to wait several minutes before Tsunade opened the door and lifted a brow at the glare that she was receiving from Kakashi.

"Kakashi, what do you want?" she sighed finally after letting him into her office.

"Did Reyna join ANBU?" he snapped and she lifted a brow at him.

"Whether she did or didn't you know that information is classified. I wouldn't be able to tell you either way," Tsunade replied and was surprised when the usually indifferent ninja looked about ready to leap across her desk and shake her as he ran both hands through his hair.

"I don't care if it's fucking classified," he snarled, leaning both hands on her desk and glaring at her before he dropped his voice another octave, "Just fucking tell me."

Tsunade really didn't know what to make of the way Kakashi was acting but she sighed again, trying to hold her own temper in check, "So I break the rules for you, then someone finds out. Pretty soon everyone wants to know if someone else is ANBU."

"No one will find out," he snapped, his voice still dangerously low.

"Kakashi, enough; I'll tell you the mission she's on and you can decide for yourself if she joined or is just on a regular S-rank mission. I sent her with three ANBU agents to try to figure out where Zeke or at least some of his men are at. Once she finds their scent and directs the ANBU in the correct direction she is to return to the village immediately. Does that answer your question?" she finally snapped and found herself shocked once again as Kakashi sagged in on himself in relief.

"That's all?" he asked quietly and she nodded. "I apologize for my earlier actions, Lady Tsunade."

She nodded and smirked to herself, "It's understandable I suppose. Although I am curious as to why you would jump to the conclusion that she had joined the ANBU."

"It's nothing; just…a really bad thought," he muttered and she dismissed him soon after.

It wasn't long before Kakashi was sent out with Kiba, Hinata, and Shino on his own mission. He found he was getting more and more worried, the longer Reyna was out on her own mission with no word back to the village. He managed to keep those thoughts in the back of his mind while on the mission however. Reyna, for her part, was getting more and more frustrated on her own mission. She couldn't find even a hint of the unique scent markers that Zeke's men carried and the ANBU weren't helping her mood in their typical silence either.

It was a couple of weeks after she was sent out that she finally managed to pick up something that was somewhat similar to what she was looking for but she didn't immediately inform the ANBU of the discovery since she wanted to make sure she was sending them in the right direction before she headed back for the village and they were left on their own to continue tracking without her. Finally, she found a definitive sign that they were heading in the right direction and she pointed out what had caught her interest to the other three.

"We can take it from here. You're part in this mission is completed. Please report back to the Hokage," the lead ANBU informed her before they disappeared from sight and she sighed.

"Right, no problem; any messages? No? Okay then I'll just head back to the village now," she muttered under her breath before she turned and started back for the Leaf Village; it was going to be a long trip back alone.

Kakashi had been back at the village after they had left ANBU to deal with sealing the Three Tails for a couple of days when the news of Jiraiya's death reached him. He was shocked but he could only imagine how Naruto was taking the news. He had seen his reaction in Tsunade's office but he could only offer so much support to his student. He didn't even want to know how Reyna was going to take the news, but he was damn sure going to be the one who told her. That was one piece of information that he did not want her getting through someone else.

So it was that Kakashi spent three days after receiving that horrible news waiting at the main village gates despite the fact that the Chuunin who were assigned there had assured him that they would tell Reyna to talk to him before heading anywhere else. He remained there, day and night, waiting for her return. The sun was just starting to head to the horizon on the evening of his third day of waiting when he spotted a form heading down the road and he immediately recognized the gait of Reyna. Without a thought he headed down the road to meet her.

Reyna lifted her head when she caught the sound of slow footsteps approaching her from the village. She knew she'd been gone a while, but she hadn't thought that even Kakashi would have been that eager to see her that they couldn't wait until she was at least inside the village gates. She glanced up, tired and wanting nothing more than to sleep in a real bed again, and smiled slightly when she realized that it was indeed Kakashi that was heading out to meet her. That smile faltered when she caught a good look at his face and the look in his eye. Something was very badly wrong.

"Kakashi?" she asked quietly, noting the touch of sadness in his gaze as he met her eyes.

"Reyna…we need to talk," he said quietly, his voice as somber as his gaze and her stomach sank.

"What is it?" she asked, her mouth immediately going dry.

"Master Jiraiya was killed a couple of days ago by an Akatsuki member," Kakashi maintained that quiet, soft voice.

Before he even finished speaking, Reyna could feel herself shaking her head in denial even as her chest tightened and felt her legs quiver just a little before numbness settled over her. Still she shook her head, even as Kakashi sighed and laid a hand on her shoulder lightly, his gaze holding her eyes. She read sympathy and his own sorrow at the loss of Jiraiya in that gaze, but she refused to believe that it was the truth. She couldn't lose Jiraiya; slowly she backed away from Kakashi refusing to believe what he had told her before she bolted to her left and into the dense trees that surrounded the village.

Behind her she heard Kakashi following her; not trying to overtake her, just matching her speed as she ran from the road. She reached roughly the same place that Jiraiya had taken her the last time she had seen him, had talked to him, and fell to her knees even as a long, lingering and mournful howl was ripped from her throat. Kakashi stepped out behind her, feeling the hair along his arms and the back of his neck rise at the sound of her howl, even as his own heart clenched in grief at the sound.

As the howl faded into the increasing darkness, he heard what could only be a sob ripped from the woman before her and he dropped down beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders as he crouched next to her. Reyna had her hands clenched in fists in the grass under her feet, with her head bowed when she felt Kakashi wrap an arm around her and without a thought; she buried her face in his chest. Kakashi leaned back against a tree and sat, pulling Reyna onto his lap and wrapping his arms around her tightly, holding her against his chest and letting her know that he was there and would be there for as long as she needed him to be.

Even as she sobbed and gave another mournful howl though this one wasn't nearly as loud, she heard Jiraiya's words in her head again:

"How do you deal? How can you…" she had asked.

He sighed, "You're looking for a trick; an easy way to deal with the things that life throws at you. There isn't one, Kiddo. I wish I could tell you to just do this and everything would be fine, but it doesn't work that way. You know, I always wondered if I'd find someone that could carry on my will, but I've been severely blessed; I got two."

She shook her head and lowered her gaze, "I'll never be as good as you, Sensei."

He chuckled, "You don't have to have the same skills, just the same kind of heart and soul. I need to meet up with Naruto now; you gonna be alright?"

She shrugged, "Do I have a choice? There's only one direction to go right?"

He smiled and lifted her head with a finger until she met his gaze again, "Forward and don't you ever look back, no matter what's behind you. Always move forward; don't forget the past but don't let it ruin the present or the future." He started away from her then to meet up with Naruto when he turned around and faced her again suddenly. "Just in case you haven't been able to figure it out; I couldn't be happier that you and Kakashi are together. You'll see each other through whatever life brings; I know you will so don't let that slip away from you. Live your lives without regrets and don't fear letting him see this side of you either. Hell, I want to see you two married and with little silver haired wolves running around!"

Shaking, she gulped air into her lungs as she tried to quell the flow of tears from her eyes before she looked up at Kakashi slowly. He met her gaze and loosened his hold around her with one arm so he could wipe the tears from her cheeks lightly before he laid his forehead against hers.

What she asked him surprised him though when she finally spoke a few minutes later, though her entire body was still trembling and he had a feeling that she was far from okay, she was trying, "How's Naruto?"

"Don't worry about Naruto right now," he muttered in return letting his fingers play through her hair and he felt her shake her head.

"He wasn't just my sensei, Kashi," she whispered, her throat constricting and breaking on the word sensei.

"He'll be alright; Iruka talked to him already. I'm worried about you," he muttered and she shrugged.

"There's only one direction to go, Kashi…Forward," she muttered with a sigh, but she didn't move off him and she laid her head on his shoulder. "Eventually, but for now…can we just stay here like this?"

He nodded and she settled more comfortably against him even as he shifted to a more comfortable position as well, "For as long as you want. No one else knows you're back yet, so Tsunade won't be looking for your report right away."

"I'm sorry, by the way," she muttered, her voice muffled by his vest and he quirked a brow.

"For what?"

"Storming out the night before I left on that mission; I was just…" she sighed.

"It's alright. I shouldn't have gotten so mad about it and told you that you couldn't. I just…"

"You're a selfish bastard, I get it, and it's alright; it's one of the things I love about you," she muttered and they both smiled before silence fell over them both and they spent the remainder of the night under that tree.

A/N: Okay, I really hate having to kill off Jiraiya! I loves Jiraiya! Anyway, please let me know what you all thought of this one and I'll try to get a bunch done not only for this story but my others as well. To everyone who has add me as a favorite or subscribed to any of my stories; Y'ALL ARE MY HEROS! Now I must get some sleep before playing with the bulls tomorrow at work! Until next time…