Soon, too soon, Tazuna was done building his bridge, and the two teams, Kirijin nukenin and loyal Konohajin, stood side by side on its stones despite the differences that should have pitted them against each other. The bridge had been named in Naruto's honour: Hitomi had heard that, before joining them in battle, he had gone door to door in the city to give the people their courage back, in a way only Naruto could. They hadn't forgotten and didn't want to forget it.

The Land of Fire's representative who had just taken the lead of what had once been Gatō's company had arrived three days prior, escorted by a Chūnin team Hitomi didn't know. He had a redoubtable kind of cleverness in his eyes and, when they had been introduced, he had told her he knew her uncle quite well. She would have to ask Shikaku if she wanted to learn more about him, which she did, just in case. She knew she'd have to swim in political waters if she wanted to destroy Danzō completely, if she wanted his fall out of grace to be unquestionable and unquestioned.

She never quite lost sight of that goal.

Haku and Hitomi had decided to keep what had started to grow between them secret. It looked like a relationship, but they hadn't dared name it that. Hitomi wasn't emotionally ready to love someone fully and she knew it. She loved, yes, Haku's kisses and his surprisingly strong hands on her hips, the sweet smell of his hair, the tender music of his voice when he whispered her name in a sigh brushed against his lips like her fingers would. But this was nothing like loving him the way she wanted to, the way she was reading about in novels. She couldn't, not so close to her break-up with Hinata, not when she was due to go back to the Land of Fire, where he couldn't follow.

So they settled for seeing each other in secret, holding hands when they watched the stars on the roof, often after a midnight dip under the moon and stars' benevolent watch. Kakashi suspected something: one morning, he had caught a strand of Hitomi's hair and taken a good whiff of hit, before watching her with a false severity in his eyes. However, he hadn't said anything, and she preferred for things to stay this way – for her link with Haku to stay theirs, and theirs alone.

He was there, of course, standing on the bridge next to his master. Just like Team Seven, the duo had decided it was time to go back home – if there was even a home for them. They had received funding, probably from Jiraiya, to launch a new coup against the Mizukage in place and bring someone else to power. Had the Hozuki brothers fallen into Orochimaru's hands yet or did they have time to join the rebellion? Kisame, Hitomi knew, had turned rogue years ago, several months before Itachi. The adults hadn't wanted to talk about it in front of their children, but Shikamaru was a master eavesdropper and had heard his father discuss the matter with his former teammates. The Seven Swordsmen of the Mist were no more.

Sasuke's farewell to the two deserters was quiet but warm; he didn't quite know how to tell people he was going to miss them, or that he was going to worry about them. As for Naruto, he didn't have that problem and hugged Zabuza with all his might – the swordsman looked like he needed rescuing, but Hitomi and Kakashi were too busy snickering to help him.

"Hitomi-san?"

A faint blush on her cheeks, the teenage girl turned to Haku. She walked to him – he had stepped away from Zabuza and Naruto's effusive farewell with a grace that only he possessed – and stopped at a polite distance from him. Now that they were leaving, appearances didn't matter that much anymore, but it was hard to change a habit. "I'm gonna miss you, Haku," she said with a sad smile. "But, first, I have a gift for you."

He looked at her curiously as she unrolled a tiny storage seal, not larger than her little finger. She had worked hard on the compressions as Kakashi tried, without knowing the proper vocabulary, to explain how they added up to what she had already mastered. A spark of chakra and one of her communication notebooks appeared between her hands. For him, she had picked one with a dark blue cover, his name engraved on the spine in silver-foiled kanjis. She had had a hard time finding a craftswoman willing to do that work on such little notice, but a heavy purse of ryōs had been enough.

"What is it?" the teenage boy asked.

"It's a way to stay in touch. I left you a letter inside to explain how it works. I'll write so I can tell you what's happening in Konoha and, if you want, I'd like for you to write back."

The boy was clearly dumbfounded by such a gift. The last Seal Masters had disappeared very long ago from Kirigakure and, unless a miracle happened, the art was forever lost to the village. Even an ally village wouldn't offer its own Masters, if it even had some, to an entity that could one day become an enemy once more. Nothing could compensate for such a risk. He shook off the surprise and smile, his brown eyes softening as he stared at the girl he liked so much. "Thank you, Hitomi-san. I'll take great care of it."

She nodded in approval and watched as he put the notebook in one of his pockets then fidgeted, for once unable to keep his nerves in check.

"I-I have a gift for you as well," he finally said. From his other pocket, he took a little pendant on a steel chain. The pendant itself was a delicate-looking flower in whitened silver, with a transparent jewel in its centre. Hitomi had never received a piece of jewellery before in her life. She couldn't help but blush when Haku walked the polite distance she had left between them, so close she wanted to kiss him. "My clan once lived at the base of a mountain that was renowned for its chakra stones. I got a little reserve of those, just in case Zabuza-sama or I need money urgently. Those stones absorb chakra, no matter its nature, and preserve it for later use. They can't store much, however. I'm not sure you could use it in battle."

"I won't want to use it in battle, silly," she said tenderly, trying to overcome her astonishment. Those stones had to be very rare for her to never have heard of them. "If your chakra is inside this stone, it'll be like you're never too far away from me."

He made her turn with a small touch of his hand. She had to suppress a shiver when she felt his fingers brush against her neck, his breath caressing her cheek. A moment later, the silver flower and its chakra stone rested against her skin, catching the sun's light delicately. Haku's fingers lingered on the nape of her neck as she turned back to him and, suddenly, as if he had decided something, he pulled her in an embrace.

The kiss he gave her was nothing like the ones they had exchanged until then. This one tasted like farewell, tenderness, hope, and the smell of Haku's hair as a few strands escaped his bun and rolled on gentle waves along his cheeks. When Hitomi parted her lips to give him access to her mouth for the first time, he let out a hoarse moan and that sound intoxicated her with power. When they separated, they were both breathless, their cheeks red and eyes gleaming. Behind the young Yūhi, Kakashi was firmly gagging Naruto, his infamous eye-smile flashing.

Their hands brushed against each other for the last time, then Hitomi forced herself to turn away from him. Haku and Zabuza would go by the sea to Kirigakure – the swordsman would have probably been able to make a boat obey him in his sleep with that uncanny mastery of water jutsu of his – but Team Seven couldn't afford such a luxury. The representative from the Land of Fire had ordered them to go back by the bridge: this symbol would be very strong for the people they had contributed to save by killing Gatō. Hitomi just selfishly wished she could spend a little more time with Haku.

"Don't look back," Kakashi ordered gently as she stepped next to him. "You have to appear strong and proud. Don't forget how important symbols are."

She obeyed him, her heartache soothed by his quiet, assured voice. She fought her desire to look back, to see even one last glimpse of long black hair or dark teal fabric, focusing on one point on the horizon instead. In the Land of Waves, she left the delicate shadow of a burgeoning romance, around a litter of blood and the memory of an exalted jump off a cliff. Her adopted brothers, by her side, gave her the strength to say goodbye, to renounce without bitterness nor distress what had defined her life on those beaches.

For a long time, the quartet stayed silent. They didn't feel the need to fill the void with words, which, considering Naruto was amongst them, betrayed a particular, shared mood. They had all left some piece of themselves behind. Hitomi worried it would be this way each time they went on any mission outside the village, at least for her blonde brother. He was so quick to create friendships everywhere he went, and at least out of Konoha no one knew he was a jinchūriki. Without that stigma, he was just an adorable bundle of joy. Alas so easy to hurt.

"I'm sure we'll see them again," she said after a while.

"You can't wait to see Haku again, can you?"

Hitomi couldn't help but blush. She knew she couldn't deny it, not after the show she had put on for her teammates with the boy. "I wouldn't have anything against it. At least I can keep in touch with him through the notebooks."

Silence came back then, for a long time. Naruto was the one to break it, by asking Hitomi about a flower he thought was pretty. Hitomi answered his question, Sasuke added something she didn't know about and Kakashi confirmed. It happened several times: they were now free of a client to protect, which allowed her to share her knowledge about the Land of Fire without a risk of distracting the boys from their task.

Night found them at the border of a lake. They took some time to reaffirm the team dynamic they had carefully built through training and previous missions, now that they were on their own again. Quickly enough Sasuke got them two rabbits and Kakashi joined in with a pheasant he taught them how to prepare. Hitomi added that knowledge to her Library, a shudder running down her spine. She hadn't spent any more time than necessary in her mental sanctuary since her first murder, but she missed it dearly. She had to trust herself; her mind wouldn't betray her again and, even if it happened, she knew how to handle it now. She had grown, she had learned.

She took the first watch that night and no one disputed her claim this time. Sitting next to the fire, she created a shadow clone that kept its eyes open and took her notebook out of her pocket. She wanted to write – she knew which one of her pen pals would read her letters no matter how late the hour was.

Dear Gaara,

We're heading home. I told you about our mission when I had time to write, but there are things I didn't put in my previous letters. I didn't feel ready then, but I think I do now. Remember Haku, the youngest deserter of that team we fought against then bonded with? We spent a lot of time together during the last days of my stay in the Land of Waves. I really like him and I think he likes me back. We even kissed a lot.

Despite that, despite how cute and gentle and easy to talk to he is, I don't feel really open to the possibility of another romance, and especially not a long-distance one. I don't even know when I'll see him again. He understood, as you may have guessed, and didn't try to force me or even to convince me. He just kissed me harder when it was time to say goodbye.

I don't think I have a right to be sad, because I made this separation happen, but my intellect doesn't seem able to make my feelings bend. I can't stop touching the necklace he gave me, just to feel the chakra he left for me there. I really wanted to allow myself to fall in love with him; it's like something could have happened but didn't, and I'm left to wonder. I know you're even less experienced in relationships, but would you have any advice to give me?

Kisses,

Hitomi.

After sending her letter, she stood up and walked around the fire to stretch her legs. She was hungry again, so she snacked on some leftovers while lost in thoughts before going to see her clone, who confirmed with a nod that everything was alright. She should have been tired after such a day of traveling, but her heart was beating fast and her mind was alert, no matter what she tried to appease it. When she sat back next to the fire, her notebook got cold between her hands.

Dear Hitomi,

I can't tell you I understand what you're going through, but Temari is standing over my shoulder and she told me to repeat this to you: in Suna, and probably in Konohagakure as well, shinobi live their love stories as if tomorrow didn't exist. They decide with their hearts rather than their brains, because they know death is never very far and don't want to have any regrets when the time comes. I have to say I agree with this vision. It's too late to go get this Haku but, if you meet again, you should make sure you don't have any regrets.

I can't wait to see you again.

Love,

Gaara.

No matter how concise this letter was, it gave Hitomi a lot to think about. The morality she had followed so far on the subject of love and relationships belonged to the Previous World, even if she hadn't ever experienced them there. She had wished for someone to love until the end and hadn't had any interest whatsoever for temporary arrangements.

But this world was different, so different from the one she had lived a whole and yet short life in. She couldn't bring herself to see her few days with Haku as bad or even futile. Their stolen moments mattered to her, as if she had loved, even though she knew it wasn't quite the case. She had liked being in his arms, having his lips on hers, and she knew that, if they had both been older, they wouldn't have stopped at kissing. Could she forget the morality that had guided her, admit that the principles she had followed so far weren't coherent with the world that was now hers, and could she find new, better fitting ones? Was she capable of that form of forgetfulness? She hoped so. It would make her life easier.

A faint smile on her lips, she stared into the night. The kind of agitation that had hunted her since her feet had left the Land of Waves wasn't totally at peace yet, but progress had been made, she couldn't deny it. She could now sit still, her eyes lost in darkness quietly tracking any disturbance without finding any. When Naruto took her place next to the fire and she closed her eyes under her blanket, sleep found her easily.

Going back home was far quicker than going to the Land of Waves had been, now that no civilian slowed them down. In merely two days, Team Seven had covered almost all the distance separating them from Konoha, and Naruto was starting to show serious signs of impatience to the idea of seeing his friends again. Hitomi had heard that he had become friends with Hiruzen's grandson, Konohamaru, and that the kid was developing, towards his self-assigned mentor, feelings of rivalry and admiration. The whole thing was putting a smile on the lips of any tough and experienced Jōnin who saw them interact and plan pranks.

In the morning of the third day, Team Seven finally walked through Konoha's gates. Izumo and Kotetsu were standing watch in the post that had almost become their second home. Their faces lightened up when they saw Kakashi, who greeted them with a nod. The three Genin learned to file the appropriate paperwork for the end of an out-of-village mission, Kakashi patiently guiding them through the process. Hitomi didn't have much trouble with it: no matter the subject, paperwork was paperwork, it worked all the same. Once they had signed and completed all the necessary documents, they were free to go. Despite that, Kakashi held the young Yūhi back with a hand on her arm, stopping her from following Naruto and Sasuke right away. "I'll come and get you at 4PM for my session, you'll take my spot today and then make your own appointments if you like her. Be at home at that time, I don't want to have to hunt you down through the village."

She nodded and only then did he let her go, watching her walk away until she disappeared in the flow of civilians who were roaming the streets, busy with their own problems. He was relieved that things had mostly gone well during this mission, even if the lack of information about the politics in the Land of Waves had almost cost them their lives. He would have to dig up some dirt on that. It wasn't normal for shinobi to be put in such situations for a lack of information – they provided the intel, for fuck's sake! No, Kakashi was afraid it had been done on purpose, and in that case… In that case, he could only hope to be a match for the threat.

Without even needing to think, Hitomi took the path towards training ground number six. She knew that, at this time, she would find her mother and Team Eight, immersed in their morning training session. Kurenai believed in the importance of a healthy routine for her students, and even more so when they weren't working on a mission – Hitomi missed her dearly. Yet, when she arrived at the training ground and saw the four silhouettes of her mother and peers, she didn't go to them, content enough with sitting against the fence and watching them.

Shino and Kiba seemed to have teamed up against Hinata. Hitomi knew that, in the canon, the mere idea of fighting them both would have paralysed the girl with fright, but even from where she was sitting, Hitomi could see the determined crease between her eyebrows and the power in her stance. She got Kiba in the sternum with the Gentle Fist, eased her shoulders to dodge an attack from Shino and took advantage of his momentum to make him trip. The rhythm of her movements looked perfect; the fact that Hinata didn't rush to her teammates' side apologising was another sign of her immense progress since their first year at the Academy.

She had only been gone for a month and yet everything seemed changed, her former girlfriend as well as the pain she had expected to feel upon seeing her. The feeling was still there, but numb, more melancholia than real sadness. Maybe the mission in the Land of Waves had happened at the perfect time, after all. Without looking away from the fight that was starting again, she took one of her notebooks and started throwing ideas for a seal on the paper.

"Like what you see?"

Hitomi looked up with a jump, her left hand ready to unsheathe her sword, then relaxed. It was only her mother, staring at her with obvious amusement. The young Yūhi had known, of course, that she couldn't go under the radar, not with a Jōnin to stand watch. It was her fault, for letting her guard down. "I missed you, Mom," she said with a smile.

"I missed you too, sweetheart. How was the mission?"

"Hard. The intel we had was completely wrong and we ended up fighting ninjas several times. I think the whole mission will be upgraded to A-rank."

"Oh, fuck! And you and your brothers are fine?"

"Yeah, we were lucky. I was injured twice and the boys got a few scratches and bumps, but we had time to heal."

"I'd like to know more. Report to me, please."

Since she wasn't in the habit of disobeying her mother, Hitomi did report to her. She started telling her about the Demon Brothers, and how Hoshihi had killed one of them without hesitation, then she talked about the first fight against Zabuza, and then the second one. She told her about Haku, too, blushing and hesitating all the while. Kurenai's eyes on her were gentle and understanding the whole time. When she was done, the woman wrapped an arm around her shoulders tenderly.

"I see… I'm relieved to hear that nothing too serious happened. I took Team Eight on two C-ranked missions, true ones, while you were gone. We didn't have any problem, but perhaps it was because we didn't leave the Land of Fire."

"Hinata has made a lot of progress. The others too."

"I know, right? They'll be awesome ninjas when I'm done with them, it already shows. I'm particularly proud of Hinata. I thought your break-up and the circumstances surrounding it would break all her confidence, but it was the opposite."

"It's the best thing I could wish for her."

On those words, mother and daughter went to meet up with the Genin of Team Eight, who were enjoying a well-deserved break from their unending spars. Akamaru yipped happily when he smelled her, attracting the three ninjas' attention on her. She smiled and waved at them, suddenly intimidated. Why did she feel so shy out of nowhere? She couldn't think about it further: Kiba was hugging the living hell out of her, strong enough after a month apart to pick her up and make her yelp in surprise when her feet left the ground. The sound was so piercing it made poor Kiba whine as the others laughed. At least, it made the damned boy release her.

"Hum, welcome back, Hitomi. Do you feel good?"

The girl answered Hinata with a grin and a nod. She wasn't even lying, not really: with her family and friends, safe behind Konoha's walls, she could pretend to forget what was to happen in the days and weeks to come and, for once, she felt really at peace.