Farewell For Now.

Onyx and Ivory

Hoshiko inhaled sharply as she sat up. Her hand automatically went to her throat; her first thought being that she had been killed. But then she came to realize that she was in fact alive and breathing. She could hear the pouring rain around her and noticed that above her a blanket had been set between two branches so that she had shield from the rain. That meant she couldn't have been out too long as it had still been raining in Konoha when she had confronted Danzo.

Hoshiko sensed someone nearby, only a few feet away from her. She recognized the chakra and sighed deeply. This was exactly what she didn't want happening by anyone finding out that she was alive. Hoshiko got to her feet and lifted the blanket up a little to duck under it and out into the sprinkling rain. The rain wasn't as torrential as before, now it was just a light splatter. Hoshiko saw him sitting on a small boulder. The rain had flattened his hair somewhat, and raindrops dripped off his dark cloak.

"How did you find me?" Hoshiko asked him.

He barely glanced over his shoulder at her, his uncovered eye showing disappointment in her. "I had Pakkun track you."

Hoshiko smirked. "Forgot about that little mutt. So what, you decided to save me? To try and divert me from the path of revenge?"

Kakashi rose from the rock, he stormed over to her. His tall frame towered over her short one. Hoshiko had to crane her neck back to look at him. "How could you even think about trying to take Danzo on?"

"He had to pay for what he did to me!" Hoshiko shot back.

"Revenge is not the way, you know this."

"It's the only thing that's been keeping me going all these years. You shouldn't have interfered! Now I'll never have another chance at him. Danzo knows I'm alive now, what do you think he's going to do to my mother? Did you ever think about that?" Hoshiko was shaking her head at him. She let out a breath of frustrated air and turned away from her old friend.

"Your mother is safe, I assure you," Kakashi told her. Hoshiko glanced back at him. "I had a feeling that something like this would happen. After our conversation at the arena I knew you had to be back to get revenge on whoever hurt you. I took her to a safe location, no one will know where she is."

Hoshiko bit down on her bottom lip, she had never been more thankful for Kakashi in her life. He truly had taken care of her mother when she had not. "Does she know why?" Hoshiko asked timidly.

"No," Kakashi stated. "I…I couldn't tell her. All she knows is that I believed someone may hurt her. You should go to her, tell her what's going on."

"I can't," Hoshiko whispered. "I can't risk it. Danzo is probably searching everywhere for me now. He wont stop until I'm dead, I know it."

Kakashi sighed. "What will you do?"

Hoshiko smirked and shrugged her shoulders. "Do what I've been doing the past four years."

"No one should live like that, especially not you, Hoshiko," Kakashi said sincerely. "What of your mother? It's not fair to keep her in the dark like this. She'll be scared and worried."

"It's better than being dead," Hoshiko snapped. "Take her away from the Village. To another country if you must. Danzo must never find her. She can return when either one of us is dead."

"Hoshiko!" Kakashi exclaimed, horror on his face.

"It's the truth!" Hoshiko retorted. Hoshiko looked around, seeing that it was getting darker. She needed to go; she didn't know how many ANBU Danzo would have dispatched already. She couldn't risk Kakashi being found out. "I need to leave."

"Where will you go? Danzo has spies everywhere. If you go to any of the Hidden Villages he'll know."

"Then I won't be going to the villages," Hoshiko said smartly, crossing her arms. She rolled her eyes when she saw Kakashi's blank expression. "Look you don't have to worry about me. I've been getting work from outlying villages. Sometimes they have problems and they pay me to help out. I know what I'm doing."

Kakashi sighed and relaxed his body. "I believe you…it's just…the last time you said that—we lost you."

"But not really," Hoshiko said sarcastically. She cleared her throat awkwardly when she saw the dark look Kakashi gave her. "Sorry—but it's true! I'm hard to kill apparently." Kakashi gave her a perplexed look. Hoshiko waved her hand in dismissal. Kakashi let out a small chuckle.

"You really haven't changed much."

Hoshiko grinned back. "I have. This is just a face. I'm really burying four years worth of anxiety and trauma. I'm sure it'll all come to a head soon enough." Hoshiko realized she was stalling. She did have to leave, she had screwed up her plan, and now she needed to go. Talking to Kakashi had given her a sense of purpose again. It was like she was finally waking up from her dream.

With that, she stepped towards Kakashi and threw her arms around his torso. She had surprised the Jonin as he let out a surprised grunt at the force of her hug. After a moment he returned her hug, wrapping his arms around her and squeezing her tightly. "Thank you," Hoshiko whispered into his damp jacket. "You looked after her all this time. I wish there was something I could do to repay you." Hoshiko felt his fingers brush down her hair. She relished in it, it had been so long since she had felt normal human interaction.

Kakashi sighed. "Just…come home—one day." Hoshiko remained silent. "I didn't tell you before but…Hoshiko…I'm really glad you're alive. And even though you were a pain in my ass most days—you're a good person. You have a good heart, and you deserve to be happy."

Hoshiko pulled away and wiped at her eyes quickly, she didn't want Kakashi to see her crying. She knew that it would've been hard for her close friends to learn of her death, but to hear how much she had been missed really struck a chord with her. "Kakashi, can I ask you something?" She stared up at him, meeting his dark eye. "Can I have your Icha-Icha book?" There was a moment of pure silence before the older ninja started to laugh. "It's not for that!" Hoshiko defended herself with a glare.

"Then what for?" Kakashi asked her, holding his stomach as he continued to quietly chuckle.

Hoshiko crossed her arms and pouted, turning her face away from him so he wouldn't see her slight blush. "I just—I wanted to…oh forget it!" She turned her back on him stubbornly and started to storm away when she felt a hand grip her shoulder tightly and spin her back around. Hoshiko gasped as a little green book was shoved into her hands. Her eyes shot up to stare at Kakashi. He was looking down at her with a soft gaze. She could see by the lines at the side of his eye that he was smiling down at her too.

"Be safe, Hoshiko."

Hoshiko gave him one final smile before she turned and sped off into the trees. Kakashi watched her go until he couldn't see her anymore.

X

Hoshiko slowed her pace after she deemed herself far enough away from Konoha. She dropped down from the treetops and landed in a small clearing. It would be ideal for her camp for the night. She got to work at setting up traps around the perimeter. She wanted to be warned if any of Danzo's lackeys came looking for her. After that was done Hoshiko set up her small campfire and laid out her bedroll that she kept in her pack. She fished out a few packets of ready cooked food that she had picked up at the ninja stores in Konoha and started eating with her fingers. That was the one thing Hoshiko missed about being in a village, having proper cooked meals. It was very rare that Hoshiko would stop somewhere in a village and have steaming ramen or other wonderful food. Konoha's food had been a welcomed luxury, and now it was back to reality. Living on the road and eating whatever she managed to hunt during the day.

After her belly was full of pre-steamed rice Hoshiko sat back on her hands and extended her legs out before her. The fire warmed them, it was slowly turning to winter once more in the Fire country, and so the nights were growing darker quicker and becoming much more cold. As she flexed her fingers they brushed against something to the side of her. She glanced over her shoulder, seeing the little green book camouflaged against the grass. A small smile came over her face as she reached for it and held it in her hands. She examined the cover of the Icha-Icha book. It was tattered, probably from many reads over the years. Some of the cover had ripped at the edges. Even though Hoshiko abhorred the series and what it was about, she couldn't deny that I quelled some of the homesickness that she felt. She began to flick through the pages, her thumb running along the paper when something suddenly dropped out from the pages. Hoshiko caught it between her legs as she shut the book and put it down to the side of her. She reached for the little green leaf that had fallen as she pinched it between two fingers and held it up to her face.

Hoshiko smiled. Trust Kakashi to do something like this. On the leaf, the village symbol had been drawn onto it. Hoshiko guessed that this was Kakashi's ways of letting her know that she wasn't alone. That Konoha would always be her home.

In the early hours of the morning Hoshiko made her move. She didn't want to stay in one place for too long, not with Danzo probably out looking for her. Her best chance was to leave the Fire Country as quickly as she could. She stuck to the forest when travelling; she wasn't going to take any chances using the roads. Danzo has a lot of connections, and she wouldn't be surprised if he had civilian looking people on the roads watching for her. No, her best chance at survival was to keep as far away from the villages and towns as possible.

Her travel was long and arduous. She ran for thirteen hours straight before she arrived at her destination. Her legs were sore and her back was aching but she felt relief. Hoshiko was positive that no one would know about this place. Her eyes settled on the cabin poking through the foliage of the trees and bushes surrounding it. It had been a long time since she had been here. It was the last time she had seen Jiraiya before she had returned to Konoha. She used the last of her energy to check her surroundings for any enemies, and to her relief she sensed none.

A small feeling of sadness washed over her when she realized she was alone, there had been a tiny part of her that had hoped that maybe Jiraiya had been waiting for her. Maybe he might have realized she would come back here and come to meet her. She pushed the feeling away, she couldn't start getting attached to people again. Look at what happened to Ren, Aishi and Sadao. Just because she had seen Kakashi and Jiraiya again after so long did not mean that she had forgotten what happened to those she once had bonds with.

Hoshiko approached the cabin, her feet dragging through the long grass. A gust of wind blew around her, and blew ash up into the air.

Ash?

She paused, looking down at the fire pit. Sure enough, fresh ash was swirling in the wind and some was still under the branches. Hoshiko felt her spine tingle; someone had been to the cabin recently. It couldn't have been Jiraiya, she had gotten here too quickly from Konoha, and with the third dead, and she assumed that he would need to stay there to help out with repairs.

Hoshiko used her senses one last time, making sure that she truly was alone in the forest. She was. She passed by the fire and went to the door of the cabin. She pushed it open hesitantly with her foot, making sure that no traps or anything would be activated from the door being opened. When there was none Hoshiko had to tell herself that maybe it was just a traveller that came across the cabin and stayed for the night. Its not like Jiraiya owned the place.

Hoshiko entered the dark room. Her eyes quickly adjusted to the dimness as she used a quick fire jutsu to light the two hanging lanterns in the room. Once she had light she turned her gaze to the floor. True enough there were footprints in the dust. The single bed looked like it had been turned down and even one of the windows was cracked open slightly, leaving the clear air to freely come in.

Someone had been here, but they had left probably almost a day before Hoshiko had got there. She was safe, for now. Hoshiko wouldn't truly feel safe until she was out of the fire country.

She dropped her bag onto the floor and locked the front door. It may not keep Shinobi out, but I did make her feel a little bit more secure. She didn't have the chakra to put up any barriers around the cabin; she just had to hope that during her sleep she wasn't going to get attacked. Her next stop was the window; she closed it and locked the latch. She fished out a packet of rice from her bag, she didn't have time to heat it up so she just ripped the top off and ate it stone cold.

She flopped onto the bed belly down, her head hit the pillow as she gripped onto her kunai and slipped her hand under the pillow. She was out cold after a minute.

Two figures walked steadily along the road. Two single bells jingled with each step they took. Both were draped in long black cloaks, decorated with red clouds. One of the men was considerably taller than the other; he had a large sword strapped to his back. The other was smaller, no fancy weaponry on his back. His face was hidden beneath his straw hat. Both men were silent until the taller of the two finally spoke.

"Man this sucks. My back is killing me, wish we could've found another one of those cabins around here," his head tilted a little, showing off his jagged teeth and remarkable blue skin.

"Hn," the shorter of the two replied back.

"Well, makes sense seeing as you're really from around here. You'd know where all the little hideouts would be." He didn't receive a reply from his partner this time. The large blue man sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "So how long until we reach the village?"

"I thought we agreed no questions, Kisame."

Kisame chuckled. "About why we're going to Konoha, I'm asking about how damn long it's gonna take. You're in a weird mood, Itachi-san." Kisame smiled. "Oh, I know why. This is the first time you're heading back after killing your family. Itching to finish the job, eh?" Kisame grinned, showing his sharp teeth once more. Itachi didn't bother to reply this time. He had been dealing with Kisame's persistent attitude for almost a year now. The best way to deal with Kisame was to not reply to him, soon enough he would get bored.

"Say…" Kami, Itachi really wanted Kisame to shut up now. "You were some sort of hot shot back in your village." Kisame looked down at the Uchiha and waggled his eyebrows at him. Itachi wasn't looking to witness the horrific move. "You have a special person that kept you company at night?" What Itachi would give to use some form of Genjutsu on the man.

"No," Itachi replied.

Kisame chuckled, "Shame that—"

"I killed her." Kisame halted in his tracks. He watched as Itachi continued on as if nothing had happened. Kisame wasn't really surprised. The kid had killed his own mother and father, why was that girl any different? "We're here, Kisame." Itachi called out from up head. True enough, Kisame caught up with the Uchiha as they both saw the perimeter wall of Konoha appear before them.

"Where is he?" Hoshiko hissed harshly at the Sound lackey. Her kunai poised at their neck. Her other arm held their hands to their back painfully.

"He's not here!" The young boy said. "He left to his southern hideout yesterday!"

"Good," Hoshiko said darkly. "Thanks for the help." With a quick and effortless slash, Hoshiko cut his throat. The boy gargled and gasped for breath as he collapsed to the floor. Hoshiko watched the blood pool around his body for a moment before wiping the blood on the boy's clothes and moving on. She ignored the fact that the boy had been younger than her. In her eyes, he worked for Orochimaru, which meant that he was bad. She didn't feel any remorse for ending his life.

She had scouted out some of the hideout before she had entered, but the place so was huge that it was impossible for her to find each and every person in the base. Now thanks to the kid, she knew that Orochimaru wasn't here, she had free reign on his base.

It had been by chance that she had found this place. She had been travelling around when she had stumbled across a small village. She was about to leave when she saw two sound ninja's leaving the village. She tailed them, and they led her right to the base. She had then scouted it out for a few days before finally entering it.

Hoshiko hurried down the dim corridors. She scratched the walls every time she turned a new corner; she wanted to be able to find her way back once this was done. The base was huge and it would be easy for her to get lost in it.

She found a door down one of the corridors. She approached it and peeked in quickly. The room was dark but she could see tubes filled with what looked like green water. Hoshiko checked over her shoulder and entered the room, shutting the door behind her and running over to the candles and lighting them with a fire jutsu. She lit it so that she could see into the room without squinting. She deduced that she was in one of Orochimaru's lab. Thankfully there were no bodies in the test tubes. Hoshiko saw a wooden desk with a pile of books on one side. Covering the opposite wall to the door was a huge bookshelf, full of scrolls, parchment and books. It would've taken Hoshiko years to read every one of them. She ignored the bookcase and went to the desk; she guessed that maybe the important things would be on the desk.

She didn't know what she was looking for, just something that help her try and defeat the snake man or help herself. Knowing a few forbidden jutsu's might come in handy one day. She started going through the thick books. They were mostly filled with information about all the clans throughout the countries. She found information on nearly all the clans in Konoha, including the Uchiha. She wasn't surprised to see nothing on her own clan. They had been very secretive, just like the Hyuuga. The Byakugan wielders had one paragraph. Her Ginyoru clan had nothing.

Hoshiko sighed and slammed the book shut forcefully. She was annoyed at herself for thinking she'd be able to find a weakness about Orochimaru in these type of books. The good stuff he'd probably have hidden deeper in the base. From the force of her book slamming, a lone piece of paper flew off the table and floated to the stone floor. Hoshiko saw it and bent down to pick it up. What she saw on the paper had her frowning.

'Possession of the Sharingan – Failed. Motives compromised. Abandoned post in Akatsuki.'

Possession of the Sharingan? Orochimaru was trying to obtain the Sharingan, but for what purpose? What did it mean by motives compromised? Hoshiko saw at the top corner of the page that the date had been scribbled in. This had only happened about a year ago. But the only people with the Sharingan left were Sasuke and Itachi. It couldn't have been Sasuke. There had been no word of Orochimaru ever being near Konoha during that time period. She knew this because last year he had been seen last in cloud country. So it must have been Itachi…

Akatsuki…she knew that name. She knew it because she had managed to get her hands on an updated Bingo Book recently. She hadn't been surprised to see Itachi's picture in the book. It had listed him in league with an organization called the Akatsuki.

Well, whatever Orochimaru was up to. It seemed that not even he was skilled enough to get his hands on Itachi's Sharingan. Hoshiko set down the paper and turned so her back was now facing the desk. She took another look around the room and shocked herself when she saw another desk in the corner of the room that she had missed previously. She hurried over to it, and then clamped a hand over her mouth to stifle her shocked gasp.

On the desk was an old and rotted hand. It was held up on a stand. Hoshiko didn't even want to know the reasoning behind him having this hand. The interesting thing about the hand was that on the index finger was a small silver ring. It had a red circular base and the word 'Void' on it. Hoshiko wondered what the hell the importance of the ring or hand was?

A door slammed from down the hall. Hoshiko flinched, knowing that her time was up. Without giving it too much thought Hoshiko pocketed the ring. Nothing bad seemed to happen when she took the ring from the hands finger. She expected it to clamp down on her or suddenly jump to life to strangle her, but nothing. Turning on her heel Hoshiko quickly hightailed it out of Orochimaru's base.

X

Hoshiko's eyes opened slowly. She winced and moved her face away from the sunlight that had been streaming in through the window across from the bed. She shifted around on the bed, the springs beneath her squeaking as she sat up slowly and rubbed her face. Even though she had slept over thirteen hours it seemed, she was still completely exhausted. Her non-stop travelling was wearing her thin it seemed. Hoshiko sat on the edge of the bed for a few minutes, going over the dream she had just had. It hadn't really been a dream, more of a memory. A memory of a year ago. She wondered why her subconscious had thought of it at that moment. Why now? What significance did it hold?

Hoshiko remembered the ring. She turned her head to look at her backpack on the floor by her feet. She bent down and started looking through the little pockets until she finally found it. Hoshiko laid the ring in the palm of her hand as she examined it once more. She hadn't really thought about it since stealing it from Orochimaru's hideout a year ago. Honestly it seemed like junk. She sensed no chakra from it, no indication that the ring was special in any way.

She wondered what the 'Void' meant. Hoshiko held it up to the sunlight between two fingers as she brought it closer to her eyes. Maybe there was something else inscribed along the metal.

Nope. Nothing.

She sighed and dropped the ring onto the blanket next to her. Looks like she picked up a dud. Maybe it was sentimental to Orochimaru. It was hanging off a dead persons hand…maybe it was a relative's ring? In any case, Orochimaru hadn't managed to track her down and steal it back from her; did he even know that it was gone?

"Ribbit!"

Hoshiko frowned, hearing the familiar noise as suddenly something slimy and wet slapped the side of her face. "Urgh!" she groaned, flicking the orange frog off her and onto the floor. She glared down at the little amphibian. "You're disgusting."

"Ribbit!"

Hoshiko rolled her eyes at the creature. She noticed the little pack on its bag as she leant down and untied the scroll from the bag. She knew who had sent the frog. There was only one person in the world that she knew that could summon these type of frogs and have them find her anywhere in the world. Jiraiya. Hoshiko unfurled the curled paper, her eyes skimming over the scribble.

Kid,

What the hell did you do? I'm just going to cut right to the chase. The village elders know that you're alive. With the Sandaime dead I was called into a meeting with the advisors when Danzo appeared and announced that you had been seen in the village!

Just tell me the truth, did you really try and kill Danzo? What the hell is that about? Look, I know you never told me much about why you left Konoha and everything. The only thing I heard was that Uchiha Itachi 'killed' you. If that's the case then why go after Danzo? Is he a threat to the village?

By now you're long gone from the village I hope. The advisors and Danzo have all agreed to keep your status a secret from the rest of the village. Well, actually it was Danzo that suggested it. My guess is that he's going to be having his cronies looking for you. You better be watching your back. I'm afraid I won't be able to meet up with you again for a while. There are a lot of things I need to take care of in the village.

I shouldn't have to tell you, but be careful. I've known Danzo a long time, and he has spies everywhere. You can't trust anyone you meet anymore. Stay away from villages for the time being, take the back roads and get out of Fire Country if you can, that's if you haven't already.

I wish you all the best Hoshiko. Stay safe, and remember what we talked about. Never give up. Only the weak choose to give up, the strong fight to live on.

Jiraiya.

Hoshiko dropped the letter into her lap. She forced her bottom lip to stop quivering. It wasn't because she was sad that she was getting emotional. It was the fact that it had been so long since someone had looked out for her. Had expressed concern for her wellbeing. The frog croaked to her left once again, jolting her out of her stupor. Hoshiko glared down at the little beast.

"I'm not replying. Its for the best." The frog continued to stare for a few more moments before its croaked again. It suddenly jumped up onto the top of Hoshiko's head as she yelped and tried to brush it off. Before she could even reach the frog it had disappeared in a puff of smoke. Hoshiko grumbled and ran her fingers through her slimy hair. "Urgh, if I ever see a frog again I'm going to be sick."

It took her two weeks to finally reach Stone Country. The travel had been long and rocky, no pun intended. Hoshiko had never actually travelled the to Land of Earth before, so the terrain had come as a shock to her. Instead of rolling hills and abundant forests, Hoshiko was greeted with steep mountain paths and humid weather. Not a patch of green was seen within the Stone Country, and Hoshiko hated it. To be fair she should love it, considering her clan actually originated from Stone.

It had been a while since Hoshiko had thought about her Ginyoru clan. They had been recruited during the Third Shinobi war by Iwagakure to infiltrate and assassinate Konoha Shinobi. Hoshiko had only been three at the time of this happening so she really had no memories of her early childhood. All she has been able to remember is fire, a lot of fire and then having to walk for days and being extremely exhausted. Anyway—her father had pleaded with Konoha Shinobi to spare her and her mother's life. Her father had refused to take part in the war and thankfully they were the last three to not be slaughtered. Technically there was only two. Hoshiko's mother had married into the clan so she didn't actually posses the Mizukiri ability. Then Hoshiko's father had died and that meant she was the last one alive. But to the world, the Ginyoru clan had finally become extinct, just like the Uchiha clan had almost become.

Once the weather had become to hot and humid for her to bear, Hoshiko had ditched her long black cloak. She stuffed it into her bag, exposing her sleeveless black top and three quarter black pants and ankle sandals. She swept her long hair up into a ponytail, allowing the back of her neck some much needed air.

Hoshiko trekked it up to the top of a steep mountain. It wasn't the tallest in the ranges by far, but she wanted to stand somewhere high to get a scope of the land. She had a rough idea about where Iwagakure would be, but she didn't really want to head to the heart of the land if Danzo had spies waiting for her in all the major cities. No, she needed to head to the smaller villages first for what she wanted to do.

At the top of the mountain Hoshiko had to crawl the last few paces until she was able to stand up tall and scan the horizon. What she saw had her catching her breath in surprise. As far as the eye could see it was mountainous ranges. They stretched from one side of her peripheral vision to the other side, and even further after that. It was amazing. She had never seen anything like it before. Even though it was still hot up on the mountain, there was a strong breeze that kept her cool for a while.

Hoshiko loved watching the world from high places; she had done the same thing for years atop the Hokage monument. This place sort of reminded her of that too.

She stayed there for a few more minutes, just taking in the view. Until she knew that she needed to make a move on, unless she wanted to be camping for the sixteenth day in a row. She finally set to work on trying to find any indication of a small village around where she was. A smirk grew on her face when she spotted some plumes of smoke rising into the sky west of her position. If it wasn't a village it could be travellers or natives to the land who could point her in the right direction of a village. And so she started her descent back down the mountain.

It took her less time to reach the bottom of the mountain then it did for her to go up it. After she got her bearings she headed off in the direction that she saw the smoke coming from. If she had to guess, it might take her around an hour to find whatever it was that she had seen.

And she had been correct, and very lucky. After an hour of walking Hoshiko finally came across a small village. From the looks of it, it only seemed to hold around ten houses or so. Seven of them were residential. The other three were broken down into a teahouse, a market shop and a butcher. Even in the village the terrain was barren and dusty. The handful of people who wandered around the village looked tough and their skin looked weathered from the dry humid heat. It was hard to believe that once upon a time, Hoshiko's family had once lived like this.

The houses were made of stone (of course) and mud. Each house had a flat sheet of rock for the roof. It was a strange comparison to what she was used to seeing in Konoha and the other villages. The village was situated in a cluster of mountains, and it looked like some of the houses even extended into the rocks.

She could feel the eyes on her as she entered the village. They probably didn't see many travellers around these parts. Most would've stuck to the main road through the country and headed straight for Iwagakure. Hoshiko wouldn't be surprised if these people started chasing her out of their home with pitchforks.

When no pitchforks appeared in her vision, Hoshiko made her way to the teahouse. It was a painful reminder of Hanabira, but she pushed the memories away as she entered the room. She groaned under her breath, it was just as hot in the teahouse as it was outside. She had been hoping for some relief, but at least it wasn't as humid. Hoshiko spotted a man behind the counter and she walked straight up to him. The man was middle aged, bulky and dark skinned. He greeted her with a nod. Hoshiko leant on the counter.

"I'm looking for the Akatsuki, I want to join them."

Major apologies to all of you for having you wait this long for a new chapter. But what did you think! I know heaps of you wanted it to be Itachi that had snatched her away for an almighty reunion but no! It was Kakashi! Hoshiko and Itachi's reunion is coming soon, I promise. One or two chapters away, depending on how much I write before that! And what's this? Hoshiko want's to join the Akatsuki? Tell me you saw this coming xD But what are her plans?

We'll actually be going into more of her clan history in a while so I just added that little refresher in there. Also, because of my lateness I gave you all a little Itachi treat! I have a feeling I'm going to enjoy writing Kisame xD

But yeah, sorry for the lateness this chapter just didn't want to be written for a long long time but I hope you enjoyed it! See you all next time!

Guest (Kris) - Man if it had been Tobi that had gotten her that would've been amazing, but no haha just lil old Kakashi, my fave. Poor bloke, now he's got to keep this secret...or will he? dun dun duuuuuun

bluerimartian - Danzo is damaged BEYOND repair. the guy is a grade A Jackass. I think i've said i before but I can't wait to kill him off. THERE WAS ANOTHER KAKASHI REUNION IM SORRY. Itachi is coming soon!

Doodles - I'm sorry this one took me even longer to get out then the last one! My life has been prety hectic but it's settling down now thank god so hopefully i'll have more time tto write from now on!

AugustRush - Thank you! Sorry its so late!

machiaveIIian - yeah she is lol

greymoonhuntress - Thanks, the letters had been something random that had popped into my head when i thought about how to start the chapter lol! I'm glad you enjoyed it! I seem to love the relationship between Jiraiya and Hoshiko more then i thought i would fuck. A lot of people thought Itachi and obviously i understand why but nope, not yet. He'll have his magic moment to swoop in and save our heroine...or not, he is in his jackass mood right now.

prismrootstarlight - Thank you! I love her realtionships with them too, more then I thought i would hahaha

Deise A.C - Oh wow thank you! Honestly I feel really bad that i've had to make everyone wait but thank you so much for the compliment!

ElisforLacey - Aw thank you! Good job on binge reading it, I know it's not a short story and we're probably not even half way yet...oh lord what have i done hahaah

Amy - Ahhhh i know im horrible for making you all wait. This story was always in the back of my mind but I just couldnt sit down and write for the longest time! Literally it has taken me like almost three weeks to write this chapter!

edrch - Thank you! Yes she is strong but she does have her weak points, and we'll be exploring more on them once Itachi comes back into the picture (fyi that's very soon!) The Sasuke reunion won't happen for a while but he may find out about her, we'll never know...well I do...anyway-toodleoo!

Again so sorry for the lateness but thank you everyone for sticking with me and reviewing and evrything. you guys are amazing and I can't wait to ride out this story with you all 3