Amaya ran at full speed through the forest as she was being pursued by a large hound. Fortunately for her, it was not a summoned ninja hound, it was just a regular dog. It was large and black, having floppy ears and a white chest. If you looked closely you would see a slight dappled look to it, much like a Catahoula Leopard Dog. But at the moment the only remaining Irtahata didn't care, she was too busy trying to outrun the hound. Suddenly she smacked right into someone, falling back with an 'oof'.

A familiar chuckle sounded in the air, and spiky white hair appeared in her vision. "Running away from your problems?" He asked, extending a hand out to her. An book was in his other hand, its cover familiar. Seriously? How many times could he read and reread that awful series? She took it gratefully, standing up.

"There's a dog." she panted. "Chasing me."

An even more familiar bored look came over his face. "Is it Shadow again?"

"Yes, he won't stop chasing me. Do something," she asked the Jounin, "Just don't let it get me."

"You're still afraid of dogs?" Kakashi Hatake exclaimed before he could help himself. "I thought we solved that issue last time."

The large black dog, now known as Shadow, bounded into the clearing after her. She leaped behind Kakashi. "No, we didn't. We just temporarily got rid of the issue."

"A ninja must fight his own battles." The white-haired Hatake told her, stepping aside so she was once again in the dog's direct path.

"Kakashi, help me!" She pleaded. "I'm tired, I can't fight him." In truth, she probably could, but her chakra levels were going down.

A brief look of concern passed like a shadow over Kakashi's face, and he rolled his eyes, stepping forward into the dog's path and making several rapid hand signs. The dog disappeared, and Amaya gulped. Even though she disliked dogs, she didn't want anything bad to happen to it. "What did you do with it?"

"I transported it back to the village." He replied, turning and walking away. "I can't save you anytime you see fit, Amaya. If I'm away on a mission, you need to know how to take care of yourself. You've been lucky these past few times. Lucky." He shook his head. "Luck runs out eventually."

Skittering after him, she caught up. "Where are you going?" She asked.

"To get assigned my team." He reminded her. "They'll fail, just like the others, I'm sure."

"Maybe you should go a little easier on them." Amaya murmured.

Stopping, he turned to her and put his hands on her shoulders, giving her a little shake. "No!" he growled. "They need to know how to work as a team. Otherwise, they won't be any good. They wouldn't be able to work with each other in a battle, they'd end up tripping over each other."

"Right." She said, wondering why he still had his hands on her. Sure, they had had close contact before, particularly when she tried to commit suicide, but still. Backing away, she mumbled, "I have to go." Leaping up into the trees, she darted out of sight, back to the village. She hoped he wouldn't try to track her down-she needed a bit of time alone- although he probably would. It wouldn't bother him if he was late to finding out who his new team was. Climbing to the top of a tall tree, she sat down on a branch, tears slipping down her face, which she roughly brushed away.

"Why?" She asked herself, quickly saddening. She would never be able to have a team, because she herself had never had any official training. Sure, Kakashi had spent hours upon hours of his time teaching her how to effectively control and use her chakra, and many hand signs and jutsus, but that wouldn't be enough for anyone.

She let out a shuddery sigh, a feeling of longing washing over her. She knew she would never fit in or belong. The village simply ignored people like her. Nothing would ever work out, she'd never be able to truly be accepted.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to her, Kakashi was watching her silently from an opposite tree. A grim expression of pure determination spread across his face, and he stood up, brushing his hands off on his pants before setting off for the village, straight for the Lord Hokage.