Yo, my lovelies~ Here's an update again. Heh.

missfites - Thank you so much! I hope you keep loving it~

Dark Rose Charm - Soon! They'll definitely meet, but have some Kakashi x Nao for a moment. *wink wink*

Thanks for everyone who dropped a review! Keep 'em coming~

Noooow, moving on to the story! Action!

Oh, what good timing Minato has, like always. Naoko had gotten used to the said older male suddenly popping out of nowhere during the past month. He always end up scaring the crap out of her when he does that. She was glad that she did not have a heart problem at a young age though.

"Sensei," she and Kakashi said at the same time upon seeing the blonde walking up to them, with his signature 'dumb smile' as what Naoko decided to name it. The two of them looked at each other, confusion surfacing on their expressions.

Naoko's eyebrows immediately furrowed at the unexpected situation that she was in. When Minato finally stopped a few feet in front of them, she cut him off with a question when he was about to speak. She was getting used to that routine now, as well. Heh.

"So, we're supposed to train together?" The child motioned to the silver-haired boy before her. Kakashi's eyes, on the other hand, seemed to narrow at her question and the somewhat disrespectful tone in her voice that she used on their teacher.

"I knew you'd immediately get it, Nao-chan," Minato grinned at her and patted her head as if she was some sort of fluffy animal to be petted.

She just cringed at the affectionate gesture, and gently slapped his hand away from her red hair, that was now sticking up in odd places.

Over the past month, Naoko had also learned how to trust only a select few people after getting to know them. It was mainly Minato, Taji and Inori whom she trusted among the people she had interacted with so far.

"Minato-sensei, do you mind explaining all this?" The neglected boy spoke up, after seeing Minato and Naoko bantering with each other playfully and completely neglecting his presence.

"Oh, I figured that it would be good if my cute students could meet and get to know each other. After all, you're both of the same age and you two could get to learn from each other too." Naoko doubted that though. Kakashi did not look too happy with this arrangement, as far as she had observed despite half of his face being covered by his black mask.

"...I don't think he likes it, Minato-sensei." She glanced at Kakashi who was now glaring at her because of her side comment. Minato ended up ignoring the tense atmosphere between the two children. Instead, he reached for both of their heads and tousled their hair.

"Okay then, let's start training!" The children's teacher cheerfully clapped his hands and motioned them to follow him in the middle of the training ground.

"Oh god, he's not even listening." Naoko muttered under her breath. She sighed, deciding to yield to her fate—which is, to follow her teacher's instructions. She listlessly trudged after Minato, with Kakashi following behind her.

It was only a matter of time that Naoko got used to this attitude of Minato. She had been resisting at first, but now, she decided to give up on it because what goes in on one ear, goes out of the other.

Only an hour and a half had passed, and Minato was glad at first to see how his students were interacting with each other. But, as the time passed they were slowly becoming after each other's throats.

And it all started when Naoko had said something out loud about how Kakashi had a stick up in his ass, for always muttering under his breath on how inept the girl is.

"Like I said, it's not supposed to be like that!" Kakashi half-yelled in irritation as he corrected his fellow student's fighting stance. Minato had assigned him to guide Naoko on using basic taijutsu stances that was being taught in the academy, while he observed the two.

"And like I said, you don't need to shout. Plus, I told you already that I'm a beginner to this shinobi-thing." Naoko harrumphed as she lifted her hand up, in an attempt to smack Kakashi in the head. Sadly, he had dodged her hand beautifully.

"Sensei, can you teach her instead. This is not working out, like how you had hoped," the silver-haired boy complained, his hooded eyes glinting with annoyance.

"No can do, Kakashi. You teach her the basics, and build a good relationship with each other." Minato grinned at the both of them, who sighed in exasperation before returning to their tasks of teaching and being taught.

When the blonde ninja saw them not looking his way anymore, his facial expression morphed into an unhappy one. His mind wandered to one of the mysteries that the world has. Why people who do not deserve to experience such things in life are being made to go through heartbreaking experiences—like the kids before him.

Realizing that his mulling over things won't take him anywhere, Minato shook his head and plastered on his usual, happy-go-lucky expression which he was known for when he's off duty.

Naoko panted as her legs gave out under her. She could feel her muscles cramping and hurting all over. The sun was setting when training finally finished. The way Kakashi had taught her those basic taijutsu stances and whatnot were spartan.

He had scolded her at every chance he could get when she did something wrong—like how she was supposed to step out her right foot forward, instead of the left one or how she was supposed to put her left arm up for an upper block and so on.

Beside her, Kakashi was still standing up though, but he was sweating like crazy. Teaching Naoko had almost drained the life out of him. It was unbelievable how unreasonable and stubborn she was. However, she would still end up doing what he asked her to, despite glaring holes on his head.

Dark, gray eyes observed the form of the girl sitting on the grass and who was now massaging her aching legs. Minato clapped his hands once, earning the children's attentions.

"Good work you two. And now, to further deepen our bond, let's go to Ichiraku!" He announced, smiling widely at the both of them. Kakashi deadpanned, and Naoko groaned out loud.

"Can't you let us go home now? Training with Kakashi just shortened my lifespan by ten years," Naoko frowned, as she struggled to get up just like a new-born fawn.

"My sentiments exactly," Kakashi quietly shot back, his eyes observing the girl's movements closely. Her sharp ears picked up on his comment, and she shot him the evil eye.

"Now, now. Don't say that," Minato pacified the two before continuing, "We better get going before it completely gets dark." He said and started walking towards the exit of the training grounds.

Despite grumbling, Minato's students followed behind him. They were unwilling to spend more time than they were required to, with the people they dislike. But if they complain too much, Minato might get mad at them instead.

The two of them involuntarily shuddered at the same memory of Minato smiling down at them. It was a bright smile, but it was all a farce. He had emitted a sadistic atmosphere then. And let's just say that what happened afterwards to them wasn't exactly the best getting-to-know-each-other story to tell.

They finally arrived at the stall after a few minutes of walking. The three of them ordered and ate ramen while making small talk—or more like, Kakashi and Naoko bickered about today's activity as Minato looked at his students fondly and acted like a referee once in a while. The two had nearly gotten into a serious fight when Naoko had thought that it was fun to tease Kakashi regarding his mask.

"Knock it off," he coldly said as he dodged Naoko's hand who was reaching for his mask. Her hand hang in mid-air before she retracted it to her side. Naoko figured that it was enough messing around with him for today. Instead, she decided to stare at him when he was about to shove a mouthful of noodles in his mouth, still waiting for him to reveal his face.

Kakashi sighed and set his chopsticks down on the table a bit too loudly, before turning to look at Naoko with displeasure. He didn't speak, but she could tell he was annoyed because of her by now.

"What? I was only watching you," she shrugged nonchalantly, acting as if she wasn't doing anything wrong. Behind her, she could hear Minato snickering silently.

"Exactly. Stop watching me, because I can't eat properly with you staring." Naoko could only raise an eyebrow at that before saying her piece, "How about you remove that mask so you could eat peacefully?" She suggested, grinning at him innocently.

It irked Kakashi all the more, upon seeing the silly expression on her face. He could not deal with her antics anymore, so he decided to ignore her instead. Naoko, on the other hand, decided to finish her bowl of ramen quickly upon noticing the change in the atmosphere.

"I'm done, so I'm going home. I hope this is enough socializing for today, sensei. Thanks for the meal," and with that she shot her teacher a wide, sarcastic smile before nodding her head in acknowledgment at Kakashi.

"Nice meeting you. So long, whitey~" The young girl turned around and waved at them without looking back as she made her way to her humble abode.

Minato and Kakashi only looked at each other before staring at Naoko's retreating figure in the distance. The elder sighed, feeling disappointed at himself for not being able to make his students get along. Hopefully, in the duration of their time together, they would finally be able to have a good relationship.

When Naoko arrived home, she was greeted by a middle-aged woman. She would have been pretty if it was not for her thin frame or sunken cheeks. The woman had pale skin—translucent, almost. And she had black hair, that reached the small of her back. At first, the young girl had thought that she was a ghost when she first met the woman, who assumed the responsibility as her caretaker. But she had gotten used to her appearance and presence after a month of living with her.

"I'm back, Shinju-san," Naoko said, as she entered the facility she was currently living in with other children around her age and a few years older than her.

"Oh, it's Nao-chan!" A little boy, whom she remembered as Satoru called out upon seeing her. He ran towards her and immediately clung to her side. Her eyes softened a bit, before she shook her head and gently pried the kid away from her.

"I'm tired, so I'm heading to bed early." She coldly said as she trudged to the room she shared with three more girls. Shinju looked at her with concerned eyes and asked, "What about dinner, Nao-chan?"

"I already ate," she responded with a clipped tone and shut the door behind her. Naoko leaned on the door for a little bit before plopping on her bed, face first. Saying that she was exhausted, was an understatement.

Today had drained her physically and mentally. 'I should have refused to eat outside, even if it means facing sensei's wrath,' she thought grumpily, mulling over how draining it was to be forced to socialize.

Naoko turned over her bed, and was now looking up at the bed above hers. She put an arm over her eyes and drifted off to sleep shortly afterwards.

"Nao, you know, your father and I are really glad you are born," Naoko smiled brightly, relishing in the feeling of the gentle hand that was stroking her head.

"Nao too! Nao is happy that father and mother are my parents," her eyes formed crescent moons, as she smiled wider at the woman before her. The woman's fiery red hair was swaying along with the wind blowing in the night. Pale, red orbs similar to hers stared back at her, but it held kindness and affection for the child.

"We love you, Nao."

Before the young girl could respond, the scene suddenly shifted so she was now looking at a crimson-colored scenery. Oddly enough, her lungs felt like it was about to be ripped off, upon inhaling a good amount of smoke that surrounded her.

Violent coughing racked her small body, as she made her way through rows of houses. Her pale, red orbs watered when smoke entered her eyes. She looked around, trying to find the people she was looking for. But there seemed to be no single soul around.

The child could hear people screaming in the background, but at the same time she could not hear anything as she could only watch the scene unfold before her eyes. After all, she was only a helpless child. A helpless child, who could not do anything on her own.

Naoko gasped for air as her eyes shot wide open, revealing a pair of pale, red orbs that was all too familiar to her. Cold sweat covered her forehead as she panted, and gripped the sheets covering her body. She could feel the way her hands turned clammy, and when she looked down to see it, it was trembling violently.

Her eyes watered, and soon enough, her tears were falling continuously as if it were like water when a faucet is open. She hugged her legs close to her chest, and buried her face on it. As much as she tried to stop herself from crying, quiet sobs couldn't help but escape past her lips.

Seeing that dream after so long, Naoko ended up sleepless throughout the rest of the night, until the sun had risen once again. A lone thought surfaced in her mind, upon seeing the reflection of the sun's bright rays.

'I miss you so bad—Mother, Father.'

[A/N]: Yo, my lovelies! ヾ(*´∀｀*)ﾉ

Rui-chan is on a roll. /bricked. I was writing this update since last night and I just finished it today while waiting for my alternative classes in uni. Buuuut, I got too lazy to attend and so, here's the outcome. ㄟ(￣▽￣ㄟ)

Anywaaay, here's some little Kakashi x Nao scenes, as well as some angst in the end. Hehe~ (•‾⌣‾•)

I hope y'all liked the update! Thank you so much for your support for this story~

So long, my lovelies~ (◡‿◡✿)