CHAPTER FOURTY-SIX

A NEW PATH

The battle against the assassins was sort lived, thanks to the combined efforts of the Konoha ninja, the former Akatsuki members, and Kim, Jade, and Ren. Deidara had to admit that Itachi's exploding shadow clones were beautiful works of art, which probably had more to do with the fact that he got to see his stoic rival explode multiple times. Kim, much to everyone's surprise, turned out to be a pyromaniac as she performed fire jutsu after fire jutsu, even managing to combine fire chakra with wind chakra and create a flamethrower-justu of sorts. Jade's sleep-mist jutsu, combined with Sakura's chakra scalpels proved deadly; the redhead would make their opponents drowsy while the pink haired girl would incapacitate them. Kakashi and Sasuke fought side by side, cutting the enemy down at dizzying speeds, armed only with a pair of kunai and the Kusanagi. Assassins kept getting mummified in Konan's paper, and skewered by Nagato's chakra receivers. Hana was limited in her arsenal of Jutsu since she did not have the Haimaru triplets with her, but that didn't seem to hinder her in any way as she brutally tore through enemy ranks.

When the battle was over, everyone worked to gather the dead bodies of the fallen assassins in a pile to be dealt with. As it would turn out, the leader of the assassins had not retreated as they were lead to believe when he made his escape, and fired a single bullet in Kim's direction before ascending the rope ladder that had dropped down from the last operating helicopter. Ren used the body flicker technique, and used his body to shield his daughter.

Everyone could only watch in abject horror as Ren took the hit that was meant for his daughter.

"I love you," Ren whispered before he was rendered unconscious from the excruciating pain.

Kim let out a blood curdling scream as she father's body fell limp in her arms, causing her to fall over onto the ground. The girl tried to regain her wits about her, and attempted to stop the bleeding in his chest by placing her hands over the open wound. She cursed herself for not bothering to learn Medical Ninjutsu when she had the chance. She was vaguely aware of being bodily restrained and lifted up and away from her father as Sakura, Hinata, and Hana took over her father's treatment.

Jade collapsed to her knees sobbing for fear of losing the man who was like a father to her. Deidara knelt down and pulled the redhead's shaking form into his arms. Naruto let his tears run down his face as Sasuke silently stood beside him, both hating themselves for not being able to do anything. Itachi wrapped his arms around the two sullen boy, in an attempt at comfort. Nagato sat with his legs spread out in front of him, intently staring a head. Konan kneeled behind her childhood best friend with her arms wrapped around his shoulders. None of them could take their eyes off of the three medics as they worked to save the life of the man who had so graciously and warmly accepted them into his home. They were so consumed with their thoughts about the felled man, no one even noticed that they had been returned to their original ages or the fact that a few of them seemed to be five years younger.

Kakashi moved out of the clearing, taking a kicking and screaming Kim along with him. He threw her onto the ground when she somehow managed to knee him in his stomach, knocking the wind out of him. When she tried to crawl back to her father, the man had to pin her to the ground, which only seemed to make her fight harder against him. As she thrashed beneath him she hysterically begged him to let her go back to help.

"You can't go back," Kakashi reasoned, talking hold of her wrists and holding the down high above her head as he was forced to use his full body weight to keep her still. "You're not trained in Medical Ninjutsu, and you're clearly in shock. If you try to help, you'll only make it worse." He released the hold he had on her wrists as she seemed to calm down. "Sakura will do her best, you know this."

When she opened her eyes, the white haired Jonin was startled to see her eyes glowing a blood red and instead of the three commas, there were three rings connected by a thin line and the three rings seeming to swirl into the pupil like a pinwheel. The appearance of the Mangekyo Sharingan didn't surprise Kakashi as much as the hollowness he saw in her eyes.

"What can I do," she asked in a choked sob, grasping the front of Kakashi's torn shirt in her fists.

"You can believe that Sakura knows exactly what she's doing," he supplied, touching his lips to her forehead.

"I have no idea what I'm doing," Sakura cried as she fluttered around Ren's prone form. Never before had she dealt with a gunshot wound. Back in the Elemental Nations, a shot to the chest usually meant sudden death. Gunshot wounds were new territory, and that was exactly why she had Itachi, sitting off to the side, doing quick research.

At some point, they had managed to move Ren from the clearing in the woods to his bedroom where they had set up a makeshift operating room. Everything Ren had on top of his dresser was cleared away and replaced with all the medical equipment Sakura carried in her scrolls. A tv table was set up beside the bed carrying a tray sterilized surgical instruments.

Hinata's pale lavender eyes roamed over Ren's chest. "Sakura! Stay still! Try not to move him to much," the quiet girl ordered, causing everyone in the room to still and fall silent, even Itachi's furious typing. "The bullet is just about an inch away from hitting the carotid."

"It says here, to be carful when performing the extraction because any wrong movement could cause the bullet to discharge," Itachi spoke up for the first time since they had remodeled the room. He then launched into a detailed recollection of his findings.

"Alright then," Sakura exhaled after the Uchiha had finished dumping a boatload of new and terrifying information on her. She looked over to Hinata who stood beside the medical tray with her Byakugan activated. Then she met Hana's intense gaze. Holding out her gloved hand to the Hyuga, she called out, "Ten blade."

Jade couldn't stay still. Despite he boyfriend's best intentions, she was filled to the brim with nervous energy. She knew from the moment those men had broken in that they would no longer be able to stay at the loft. With that in mind, she busied herself by packing up everything and sealing it all into scroll she had nicked off of Nagato. First she started packing away everything in the two downstairs bedrooms and bathrooms along with the tiny laundry room. Then eventually she made it to the kitchen and living room areas of the house.

It was as she was sealing away the last of the cookware, Hana tiredly made her way down the staircase. Seeing the girl was like a stick to their senses as they all rushed over to her desperate for an update. The first thing they noticed was the blood splatters covering the front of her clothes. Her tired eyes coupled with the blood, made them reluctant to hear what she had to say, already fearing the worst.

"How is he," Kim asked from behind the others, Kakashi keeping a steadying grip on her upper arms.

"There were some complications," Hana started, beginning to hate herself for what she was about to say. "And we had to place him in a medically induced coma. Kim, I'm sorry."

"But, he'll wake up, right," the ebony haired girl asked, clutching at straws as she backed up into Kakashi's chest.

"Yes," Sakura answered without a shadow of doubt as she entered the living room. "But he needs around the clock medical care. He needs a hospital."

Any hospital was out of the question. It was only a matter of time before the assassins returned, and it wouldn't be fair to put the hospital staff and the other patients in danger. On the other hand, a hospital in a different dimension whose staff was littered with trained combatants some even being assassins themselves seemed like the optimal choice.

"I guess it's time for you guys to go," Kim spoke softly, making her choice. All that mattered was that her father was going to live, even if it was in a different dimension... even if it meant never seeing him again. She trusted they would take care of him.

"You're coming with us," Sasuke stated. "We can't just leave you here."

"My father was a double agent. He infiltrated their ranks on orders of the government. He was loyal and would do anything to ensure that his country was safe," she explained. "Their leader got away, and he's more than likely to find more men to replace the ones that he lost tonight."

"You want revenge," Sasuke surmised, not liking the way the word felt on his tongue. Once upon a time, he would have been all for the notion of revenge, but after finally achieving it, he couldn't say he felt the same. It left him broken and alone.

"No, I don't," Kim replied, looking in to the younger boy's eyes. She flashed him a kind smile. "Revenge only leaves a person feeling empty, and it won't undo what's already been done. If I did, what would happen once I've gotten my revenge, what would be left for me other than loneliness and misery? I want to continue what my father started, and I can't do that if I'm not here. I want to protect the people he fought so hard to protect."

Jade was at a loss, she didn't want to leave her best friend behind. Now that Ren was heading for the Elemental Nations along with the others, Kim would be left all alone.

"I'll help you," Jade stated with absolute certainty in her voice. "It's the least I could do after everything he's done for me."

"Jade," Kim said softly, turning to face the girl. "You don't have to do this."

"And your father didn't have to treat me like I was his own daughter, but he did," Jade reminded her best friend.

"Thank you," the dark haired girl whispered.

"I'll stay here as well, un," Deidara announced, shocking everyone with his decision. "Don't worry Weasel, Sausage; I'll keep your sister safe." He chuckled at the twin glares he received from the two brothers. It was his last chance to piss off the Uchiha, he wasn't going to waste it.

"Where will you guys go," Konan asked. "If you stay here, you'll be sitting ducks. We were under surveillance for weeks and didn't even notice."

"My father was always prepared for the worst. He has a safe house somewhere in Nevada," Kim explained. "All of you guys have made my life... well crazy, and made me feel things I never thought I could these past few months. I'm really going to miss all of you."

"Awww, nee-chan," Naruto cried, tackling the dark eyed girl in a bear hug.

"You will make an awesome Hokage someday, Naru-chan." She then lifted her head to look at Nagato and Konan. "The Akatsuki, Yahiko's Akatsuki will be the bridge to peace, and Naruto will be the one to lead everyone across that bridge."

"Thank you," Nagato and Konan said in unison.

"I know that you two don't exactly like to express yourselves in front of others," she said after she had lead the two over to the small hallway for some semblance of privacy.

"You don't have to stay," Sasuke tried. It felt like he had just met her, and now he was about to lose her.

"Sasuke," Itachi chided, laying a hand on his foolish little brother's shoulder. Although he felt the exact same way as his little brother, he wouldn't stop her from doing what she believed was right.

"It's okay. I don't want you guys to go either, but this is something we have to do. I'm really going to miss you guys," and with that she threw her arms around the two Uchiha brothers and pulled them into hug. "You guys are the best brothers a girl could have ever asked for! Please remember, that whatever you guys decide to do with your lives, I will always love you."

"There's no chance that I could change your mind," Kakashi joked that night, walking into her bedroom and shutting the door behind him.

"I'm afraid not," Kim replied with a small smile, which he returned. She threw all caution to the wind as she ran and jumped on Kakashi. She wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist, bringing her body as close to his as possibly. Kakashi lost his balance and landed on his backside. He pulled down his mask and breathed in her scent trying to commit it memory, before firmly planting his lips on hers in a searing kiss.

"You know that I can pull a Deidara, and stay behind as well," Kakashi murmured in between kisses. She pulled away and gave him a stern look which the man didn't see as he was too distracted by her heaving chest pushed up in his face. When she had lost her shirt, he didn't know. What he did know, was that the red lace was exponentially distracting.

"With the Godaime Hokage in a coma, and Danzo dead, Konoha is going to need a new Hokage, and Naruto is still not ready." She continued after Kakashi gave her a look of distaste. "You're the only one that can do it, and you've already been nominated. Besides, I think you would be the hottest Kage to have ever lived."

"I wish you would change your mind," she gave him a sad look and he had to fight the urge to look away, "but I understand and I respect what you're doing."

"Maybe if things were different then we could be together. Maybe in some alternate universe we're able to be together." She leaned her forehead on his and looked deep into his eyes.

"You know, I think I might love you," Kakashi whispered making her eyes go wide, before placing a kiss on her lips. He lifted himself up off the floor, taking her with him. Tossing her on the bed he smiled as she let out a giggle when her back hit the bed making her bounce. Removing his shirt before crawling over her, he leaned in close and whispered, "No... I know I love you."

"I love you, too."

The next morning found everyone was standing in what was left of the clearing. Deidara, Jade, and Kim, stood off to the side, while the others stood in its center. Sasuke and Itachi were giving Kakashi dirty looks that promised lots of pain, Nagato was wiggling his eyebrows at the white haired male, and Naruto was clueless as ever.

Kakashi began to form the needed hand seals, and just as he was about to perform the last few Naruto asked, "Kakashi-sensei why do you have a flower in your hair? I almost didn't see it." The glares the Uchiha brothers were sending him intensified and Nagato doubled over laughing.

Sakura, along with everyone else that heard the blond's question, looked at her sensei's hair and saw the white flower, and slipped into teacher mode. "The carnation, in general, is a symbolic flower that has to do with the bonds of affection. It's a symbol, also, of health and energy, along with fascination and love. White carnations symbolize sweetness and loveliness. They are also symbols of innocence and pure love," Sakura explained. "A carnation that is a solid color means "Yes."

At that last statement, a big dopy smile seemed to take over Kakashi's features, and caused his heart to soar. As he performed the last of the hand seals, he felt as if he could take on the world. With the last hand seal in place, a swirl started to take over everyone's bodies and they were gone in a brilliant white light.

"Hey Kim, did you see that smile on Kakashi's face? What was he so happy about," Jade prodded her friend for answers.

"I don't really know," Kim answered, confusion clear as day on her soft features.

"Whatever, let's go to Nevada! I hope your father built that safe house near Las Vegas, un," Deidara shouted, the prospect of finally know what was so amazing about Las Vegas to much to resist.

"I'll catch up to you guys in a little bit," Kim told her friends. Jade gave her a knowing look, before dragging Deidara away to go and pack what was left of their belongings along with the everything else in the loft.

Kim stood in the center of the clearing. The wind blew her hair into her face, but it did not bother her. The rays of the rising sun warmed her body. A new day was about to begin, and with a new day, life goes on. Her father may be off to another dimension, but she had the feeling they would see each other again, someday.

In the early morning light, Kakashi looked down at the ebony haired girl laying peacefully beside him with her head resting on his chest and a leg thrown over his hip. Her lips were cherry red and swollen from his kisses, and her hair was a wild mess tumbling down her back. She had never looked more beautiful than she did in that moment.

"If things were different, and we could be together, what would you say if I asked you to marry me?" She didn't respond to his question. Her eyes were watery as she pulled out a flower from the vase beside her bed and gently placed it in his hair, placing one more kiss on his lips as he pulled her closer.

END