A/N

Two updates in a week to prepare for some more action coming up. Enjoy!

Hasuka awoke the next morning with sore muscles. Unused to the hard bed, she hadn't slept very well, and when she did it was more often than not nightmares. Dreams of Garoma, Asuka, Emoda, and even training plagued her sleep. When the sun began to come over the horizon, she was infinitely grateful.

Kakashi had ordered everyone to arrive at by 10 o'clock for training purposes and since she couldn't sleep anyway, she decided to try and find the training grounds early. It was nice to see the village waking up. Even with a war going on, everyone seemed peaceful and it made Hasuka happy to see how normal everything was. Her life was constantly changing and evolving recently, but here it seemed like normalcy was commonplace.

She wondered if she would ever fit in with that normalcy. A handful of children passed by, likely on their way to Genin School, training to someday become Chunin and maybe Jonin. It made her sad, thinking about what her life might have been like if she was normal. She would have grown up without a father, never even knowing his name, with Mimura there to cheer her on from the sidelines in a small town in the middle of nowhere.

Akino would have been on a team and even if they were sent to the front lines, he would have grow strong. She would likely have followed soon after, or maybe she would have never even become a ninja. Perhaps she would instead have sewn clothing like her mother until she died, and sew some more until Akino died, until she would die soon after.

Would she have wanted a normal life? Always knowing what would happen today, and tomorrow, and the day after. It would be nice, she daydreamed, but at the same time, she never would have gotten a new life. Akino would probably have gone on to be a Chunin, but he wasn't anything like the amazing and special people that she had seen.

She would never have met Garoma, and even if his words still sting, she was glad at least to have met and learned from him. Perhaps someday, when she was ready, she might meet another animal on her path who could teach her. If her life was normal, she never would have met Sanchin and Saifa for them to open up so many new pathways for her.

They were ready for her next step before she had even considered it. They were always there, pushing her to become an amazing shinobi. Even when she got sick from Sanchin's over-training, it always made her stronger for the next time. Without their help, she wouldn't be Chunin. Without them, she wouldn't be anywhere as close to as strong as she was now.

If her life was normal, she wouldn't have met Asoka and Emoda. Even though she was a replacement, they were still there to make sure that they won. Asuka, even if he despised her, helped her grow in awareness. She now knew that every ninja was different in skill sets, and not to judge a book by it's cover. He introduced her to Genjutsu so now if faced with it again, she could recognize it.

Emoda. He wasn't the most energetic of the two, but he was the one that she felt most drawn to. He was quiet and focused, but when she needed a little boost to keep going, he was there to urge her on through a childish game. Pulling out her weapons, she grinned, hugging his kunai close to her heart. Even though she was no longer with them, they would forever hold a place in her heart.

Thinking through her memories, she smiled. Although some were joyful and others sorrowful, they were memories. Even though she changed her life, changed her village, changed her appearance, changed her ideals, she did not want to change inside. Her memories contained what made her, her, and if she lost them, she would lose herself. Whatever happens, she vowed, I will not lose myself.

She had lost her mother, she had lost her normalcy, she had lost her friend, her parents, her teammates. She had lost her brother. Yet he was the one thing that she swore to find again one day. When days seemed long and work seemed tough, she recalled her purpose for her training, for getting stronger. Hasuka refused to believe that he had died, and even if he did, she would find him in the afterlife, just as long as she could be his sister once more, she didn't care the cost.

With a nod of her head, she felt at peace. Her memories and old life would not control her, but become her. Turning her face to the sun for a moment, she let the memories fade back into the recesses of her mind and tears to slip down her face. It was time to think of her new life. Perhaps here, she could find a new version of normalcy.

Her team was made of odd characters, and she knew that as they all grew up, their bonds would only stengthen. Yet at the same time, she didn't feel a part of it. Although it might have just been that she was an envoy, she just wasn't able to click with them in the same way as her old team. Maybe because she had something to compare it to now.

Hasuka had reached the the main street in her wanderings, and so continued along it like the rest. The person she felt most connected to was Rin. The two of them had something similar in common, or something that used to be similar at least. She was able to talk with the girl more easily than the other two which she greatly appreciated.

Obito seemed too young almost. Despite him being senior to Kakashi in age, the skill level really seemed to weight heavily on his mind. He was childish, that's the word she was looking for. He acted young for his age, almost like her's. Hasuka wondered if that's how Asuka and Emoda had seen her, too immature and young to really be their equal.

It was these thoughts that turned her towards Kakashi. From what little shirmishes she had seen, that thought could almost have come from him. Connecting the dots, it ocurred to her that they might be three stages of her life. The young, happy-go-lucky child, the pre-teen healer, and finally the dutiful ninja.

Finding what she had been looking for, Hasuka stopped at a series of clearings that seemed to suggest training. She was early enough that instead of sitting around and doing nothing, she crossed into the clearing. Gazing at the trees around her, she recalled one of her first trainings with Garoma.

"Seeing energy is a lost art to you humans. Most animals can sense it in some fashion, whether it's called energy or chakra and through at least one of the five senses. The universe, seeing how pointless and war-like you kind is, took that power away from you. What I shall teach you, I do not know the full extent of."

"Why?" She had asked.

"I can only sense energy through my nose like many others. If you wanted the best teachings you should go to a hawk."

"Nope, I'll only learn from you," she had denied.

"Then I cannot change your mind. Seeing chakra will not be an immediate occurrence, despite how your first encounter with it went. It will take time to use and to grow like anything else. The more you use it, the more you will get better at it."

"Could I see energy all the time then?"

"Someday you could, but that's just the beginning. There is so much more to it than just seeing. You could look at someone, and make them feel joy for no particular reason at all. You could capture escaping energy with a gaze and move it without touching it. You could see through layers of energy to see what is the most necessary part to heal."

"But couldn't I also do bad things using those same methods?"

Garoma paused before sighing, "Yes. You could make people feel fear, or trap energy so someone couldn't move without leaving it behind, or look at someone and immediately be able to tell how best to kill them."

"How do I practice doing it?"

"Focus your mind and energy into the task at hand, therefore your eyes. The more you do this, the more energy can be stored in the eyes at any one given time and allow you to access the ability to do those things."

"Okay! Let me try..."

Hasuka came out of her memory, recalling how he had explained this technique to her. She hiccupped as her shoulders began to shake and tears fell once more. No more would he appear in her dreams to give her advice or train her. She would no longer run through the forest in the day in a small skirt and bare feet, waiting for nightfall. She no longer felt his comforting presence that always seemed to be beside her, urging her on in training.

Coming up with a name, she focused a little more energy into her eyes, pushing the limits of what the could hold. "Taming Technique: Fauna Force." Even as water streamed from her eyes, Hasuka pushed more energy into them until a searing pain erupted through her skull. She screamed, unable to bear it. Then, just as suddenly as it had come, the pain faded away, leaving a curled up, sobbing Hasuka lying on the damp ground.

Finding the strength to open her eyes and dry her tears, she looked at the forest around her. She didn't know what had happened, but suddenly new things popped out at her. Her vision seemed heightened somehow, able to pick out the smallest details on a tree several meters away. Not only that, but if she focused on one thing for a few seconds, it's aura was revealed.

For a while she just sat and stared at her new surroundings, not quite understanding what had just happened. If she had been taught by an animal who knew the energy of eyesight, she would know what had just happened, that she had poured too much energy into her eyes. When too much is applied, one of two things can happen, either the eyes evolve and change to get rid of that energy so they can hold a greater store, or they very literally explode.

From a distance, she noticed the figure of someone approaching the training grounds, and if the silver hair was any indication, it was Kakashi. As he drew closer to her, she noticed that his aura seemed almost barb like, with silver spikes pointing outward in every direction. It made her uneasy, seeing that. Most auras were only spheres of energy surrounding a person that told of their inner or outward feelings but his seemed to have grown on and in him, covering, filling, and consuming his entire being.

"You're early," Kakashi comments once he got close enough.

"I was training," Hasuka replies easily, standing up to meet his height.

"Sure you were," he sneers, stalking away to go sit on an old log and wait for their teammates.

A short time later, Rin walked up to the duo, a little surprised to see Hasuka there. "Well you're certainly up early." It was normal for Kakashi to be there before anyone else arrived, especially Obito, but she wasn't expecting her to be there yet.

"I've been up most of the night," Hasuka replies truthfully. At her shocked expression, she explains, "Nightmares."

Rin glances towards Kakashi momentarily, feeling his gaze on her. Suddenly, she straightens her posture, muttering, "Good," her eyes suddenly cold.

"The erm, animal you summoned called you by a different name."

"Yes," Hasuka relented, releasing her transformation jutsu.

"Why?"

"A different body, a different name, a different life."

"O-oh..." she comments, eyes softening momentarily before hardening again.

"I was a different person when I met Garoma, with this form and the name he still calls me," Hasuka explains further.

"So you changed your identity for what purpose?" Kakashi butts in, his dark grey eyes frigid and stern.

"I don't think I have to tell you, after all," she pauses, redoing the transformation jutsu. "My name is Hasuka Iryou and I am a Chunin of Sunagakure."

The look in his eyes changed ever so slightly, whether in anger, defeat, or boredom, she wasn't sure. "If you're a Sunagakure Ninja then you don't belong on this team or in this land. Maybe you need another persona to hide behind."

"Kakashi-" Rin tries, only to be cut off when his gaze swiftly changes to hers.

During the next hour, they wait silently for Obito to show up, Hasuka's question of where he is or why is he late going unanswered by either member. Only when the sun has almost reached it's zenith does Obito finally arrive. "Sorry guys, I was helping an old lady carry groceries..."

"Come on idiot, you're late. Let's begin."