"How am I supposed to wake Gaara up?" Naruto asked, looking at the Shukaku in front of him. Hanako looked at him for a second before returning her eyes to the beast in front of them.

"When the Uchiha immobilizes him, I will grab a hold onto him and you are going to land the strongest punch you can on him," said Gamabunta.

"Is just a hit going to be enough to wake him?" asked the blond again. The chief toad sigh and moved his pupils up to glare at the Genin.

"He isn't fully asleep yet, we have to do it fast before it gets harder to wake him."

Hanako looked firmly at the Ichibi in front of them. It was inhaling air again and Hanako frowned. The Susano'o still shone brightly around them. "Yasaka no Magatama," the Uchiha muttered under her breath. The arms of the Susano'o summoned a set of tomoes, at the same time the Shukaku shoot towards them another wind bullet. The wind clashed against the tomoes forming a small twister that uprooted several trees.

Hanako's eyes ached and blurred for a moment, causing the Susano'o to vanish completely. Noticing the withdrawal of her justu, Gamabunta looked up at the Uchiha. "Kid, are you okay?" Hanako closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath.

"Yeah..." When she opened her eyes again, she cursed. The Shukaku was ready to shoot his bullets again.

"Hold on, up there!" Gamabunta raised his arms to cover himself from the upcoming impact. Hanako's eyes were hurting, but she knew she could manage one more technique. Once the Shukaku shot, Hanako switched their places right before the bullet hit them, hitting the Shukaku instead. The beast growled loudly. Hanako felt light headed for a moment and fell onto her knees, coughing violently into her palm. When she pulled her hand away, she widened her eyes and immediately closed it.

Gamabunta took the advantage to jump back towards the Ichibi, and grab onto him. "Now, Naruto!" But they weren't fast enough. The Shukaku turned around in a moment and pushed the toad away. Gamabunta skidded back to a stop.

"Gama Oyabun! If you want me to land a punch on Gaara, you've got to get closer and give me time to jump!" Naruto nagged loudly.

"I'm a toad! I don't have fangs or claws to hold onto him, you have to transform me into something useful if you want that!" retorted the chief toad.

"Transform?"

"I lack skills in transformation techniques, so you'll have to transform both of us. It's simple, I believe you can handle it."

"Huh?"

"It's just a simple Henge, Naruto." Hanako rolled her eyes. "Think of something big with claws a fangs. Then transform."

"Why don't you do it, Nee-chan? It's kind of a lot of pressure for me right now." Hanako narrowed her eyes.

"No, it's on you." With that said, she teleported into a nearby tree. When Naruto noticed she was gone, he panicked. "AHH?!"

"Ready?" asked Gamabunta as he started to move towards the Shukaku once again.

"Big with fangs and claws... big with fangs and claws..." Naruto made the hand seals, while muttering under his breath.

"NOW!"

"Henge no Jutsu!" A large cloud of smoke covered them totally, before a large growl was heard and claws jutted out from it. Hanako's jaw dropped when the smoke dispersed to reveal the Kyuubi in the flesh. Sasuke stood with the Genso members. Pakkun had jumped towards their branch a watched the fight. "What in the world..." he muttered.

The Shukaku was just as surprised, Hanako noticed his shock and took the opportunity to cast a Genjutsu on him. The Shukaku's mind wandered back into his earliest moments, where the old Sennin was naming them. "You shall be Shukaku..."

"Woo!" The Ichibi yelled in excitement.

"Why are you so excited?" asked a demon fox with nine tails, looking at the one-tail with boredom, "You have only one tail, making you the weakest one of us..."

"Huh, just because you have nine tails doesn't mean you're the strongest, you damn cocky fox..." The Shukaku snapped at the Kyuubi.

The fox chuckled, "Maybe not, but that does make me nine times stronger than you, baby raccoon..."

"I will destroy you!" Right before the Shukaku attacked the Kyuubi, his mind slowly returned back to reality. The Ichibi was paralyzed as he saw the Kyuubi nearing. The fox punched him straight in his face, and gnawed onto him with both claws and fangs.

Hanako undid the Genjutsu and fell on her knees, still on the treetop. She was panting heavily, and coughing once in a while. "Well, that's all I can do for now." She looked at Naruto as he undid the transformation and punched Gaara square in the face, successfully waking him up.

* * *

The Chunnin Arena was still in chaos. Jounin fought each other down on the field and on the bleachers. Gai punched a Jounin from the Sound at the same time he kicked back another Jounin from the Sand, and knocked them both unconscious. He then jumped towards Kakashi, kicking away a Jounin from the Sound that had sneaked on him from behind.

"Thanks for that," Kakashi muttered to Gai once they were back to back.

"Kakashi..."

"Hm?"

"How many have you defeated?" Gai asked with a mischievous smile.

"Twenty-two."

Gai scoffed, returning his glance to the Jounin approaching them. "It looks like I am winning, that was my twenty-third."

"You don't have to make a competition out of everything, Gai..." Kakashi muttered tiredly, knocking out another Jounin from the Sand.

"Whenever I have a chance to prove myself against my eternal rival, I take it!" Gai punched another ninja from the Sound.

"When is this going to be over anyway?" Kakashi asked, knocking out two Shinobi at once.

"I don't know, I'm still processing how the Sound and the Sand are working together..."

"Well, that's what happens in a war," Kakashi punched one last Jounin before they all suddenly stopped their attacks. Asuma and Kurenai caught up to them.

"Why did they stop?" Asuma asked.

"We don't know," Gai answered.

The Jounin retreated back behind an ANBU, who was apparently another traitor. The Konoha Jounin readied their weapons, glaring intently at the man. The ANBU took his mask off, revealing the face of Kaito Hayata, former Jounin of Konohagakure. "Where is Hanako Uchiha?" he asked with a serious face.

Kakashi responded with a frown, "What makes you think we're going to tell you?" Kaito smirked, and let the mask fall to the ground and break into pieces.

* * *

'It looks like Hanako's vision will come true after all...' the Hokage thought to himself as he held Orochimaru by his shoulders as tightly as he could, stalling him from performing any jutsu.

"I think it's time you go to sleep, old fag..." Orochimaru muttered with a smirk as sweat ran down his forehead. He slightly moved his arm, controlling his sword to impale itself deeper into the Hokage's chest. Blood trickled down Hiruzen's chin as gritted his teeth to endure the pain. Even though his ape summoning was holding tightly onto the weapon, Orochimaru's chakra was still strong.

"I won't let this village be destroyed by your ambition..." muttered the Hokage.

"Nothing can stop my ambition," Orochimaru retorted back. "You are going to die here. I don't care if you're the Third Hokage, you're just a useless old man. You actually think you have the necessary strength to stop me?" Orochimaru gritted his teeth. "Do you even have the slightest idea of what's happening in your dear village?"

The Hokage narrowed his eyes, focusing his chakra to pull Orochimaru's soul out of his body. The Shiki Fuujin was having a hard time, taking his soul, but Hiruzen had risked his own soul for his student, so he would at least get something out of it. "Even as we talk, the Shinobi of the Sand joined my own men and made their entrance," Orochimaru chuckled. "Soon, your precious town will be annihilated, to the last woman and child. Konohagakure will vanish from the maps, right here, right now!" he finished with a devious laugh.

"Despite your cleverness, you still haven't understood. Have you, Orochimaru? Don't underestimate the Shinobi of this village!" Hiruzen retorted. "Even though the Shinobi of the Leaf stand against violence, they would give their lives for the village!" Orochimaru glared at him. "How little have you understood. Mastering all existing jutsu won't give you insuperable power... That was one of my first lessons. Until you protect someone important for you, your real strength will come to light." Hiruzen coughed out blood but looked up at his former student with determination. "Listen to this, we both know I don't possess enough strength to pull your soul out of your body. But, your ambition ends here and now."

"It isn't over yet!" Orochimaru snapped back. "Nothing will stop my ambition."

"Your problem is that you have an obsession," Hiruzen commented with a knowing smirk, "that need to constantly learn new techniques, and for that transgression you shall be punished. I shall take your beloved jutsu with me."

"What did you say?" With a loud growl, Hiruzen managed all his strength left to pull Orochimaru's soul arms out of his body. Orochimaru realized his plan in horror when he watched the spirit behind Hiruzen's back lift his sword over his head. "It can't be..." He widened his eyes, "STOP!" The spirit brought his sword down and dismembered his soul from its arms.

"FUUIN!" The Hokage sealed his pact with the Shiki Fuujin, and a seal appeared in his stomach. The skin in Orochimaru's arms slowly started to change into a purple color, and the limbs became useless. "My arms..."

"There you have it..." the Hokage said. "Your arms are useless now...And without them you'll never perform hand seals ever again. Ninjutsu is now out of your reach!" The spirit started to eat Hiruzen's soul as he spoke. "Your dream of eradicating this village ends here."

"Return my arms to me, you stupid old fag!"

"Your stupidity has no par, Orochimaru..." The Hokage smiled. "I only regret not being able to take you with me. Good-bye, my old student...We'll meet again...in the other world."

"You decrepit old man! How'd you dare take my jutsu...!"

The Hokage couldn't hear him anymore. He just closed his eyes and let his mind wander back in his memories. The last thing he saw was Orochimaru, when he was still a child. 'Your vision came true, Hanako. But I'm glad it ended this way...'

* * *

Hanako coughed again, and this time she couldn't help the blood that trickled down her chin. "Kuzo... my body can't stand it anymore..." When she looked up, the Shukaku's figure was entirely blurred. She couldn't even distinguish Gaara or Naruto. The Shukaku's figure suddenly collapsed and broke down into sand, and the chief toad disappeared in a cloud of smoke. At that moment, Kai and the rest of Genso appeared next to Hanako. Kai grabbed her by the shoulders. "Hey, you okay?"

Hanako felt an extra chakra signature and looked towards a bunch of trees. The chakra immediately disappeared. 'That was... Zetsu's chakra...'

"Hanako!" Kai yelled upon her lack of response. "I asked you a question."

"I'm fine." The Uchiha pulled away from his grasp and stood on her own. She could feel the world spinning around her, but she quickly gathered back her thoughts. "Hana-chan," Yuu spoke this time. "What's wrong?"

Hanako pressed her lips and shook her head. "The Hokage's chakra... it's gone..." She gritted her teeth. "It seems Orochimaru got what he wanted..."

They all remained silent as they watched Hanako stare down and clench her hands into fists. "What should we do now?" Yuu asked.

"We go after them..." said the Uchiha. She jumped from the tree, the others following her closely behind.

* * *

Orochimaru observed his fallen sensei on the ground. His body lay immobile, his eyes were closed and his lips had curved into a smile before his life left him. Orochimaru was trembling in rage after having his arms and jutsu taken away from him.

"Orochimaru-sama!" Once his subordinates noticed there was something wrong, they looked for their master through the number of trees the First Hokage had summoned before he was released from the Edo Tensei by Hiruzen.

Orochimaru gritted his teeth as sweat ran down the side of his face. "Let's get away from here..." he said in a low volume, but loud enough for his subordinates to hear him.

The Sound Five, as they were commonly known by the Sound Shinobi, were a group of five members carefully arranged by Orochimaru, specifically for becoming his bodyguards. It was formed right after The Six Elementals broke apart thanks to Guren's and Hanako's departure. Four of those members were the ones responsible to lift a barrier that trapped the Hokage along Orochimaru inside. The fifth, however, also their leader, had become ill, and was slowly being recovered by Kabuto in one of their hideouts.

The Sound Five broke down the barrier and hurried towards their master. Between two of the members, they managed to lift Orochimaru by his dead arms and take him away from the arena. The other two remained closely behind in case the ANBU followed them. They didn't.

Kabuto appeared in the middle of the arena after the barrier was released. "It's okay, Kaito-san. We're withdrawing for now," he said. Kaito stopped his battle with Gai and jumped away into the field. All the Jounin followed him and jumped over the railing, landing face to face in front of Kabuto and Kaito. "We don't want to extend the conflict more than we should, so we will back away for now."

"After what you've done, you think we will let you leave just like that?" Kakashi hissed dangerously, clenching his hands into fists. Kabuto smirked.

"Hanako is still out there, you know that right?" he asked with his eyebrow raised. Kakashi only narrowed his eyes. "I think you should check on her. Last time we met, she was a little...astray towards protecting the village. She seemed to have some other objectives." Kabuto chuckled at the look of disbelief in Kakashi's masked face. "If you know what's best right now, you would let us go." Kabuto's grin only widened. Kaito looked at his partner from the side and frowned. "I think we both know what that means..." Kaito and Kabuto disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Kakashi relaxed his muscles at the same time he let out a sigh. "What are you going to do now, Kakashi?" Asuma asked with a soft gaze. Kakashi just shrugged. He knew Kabuto wasn't lying. He knew because he had been noticing the same about Hanako for the last month. She had become distant, serious, power-driven, and even untrustworthy of her surroundings. She had changed. "I don't know."

* * *

The Sound Five stopped abruptly when they sensed a group of people further ahead. Slowly, the members of Genso started to emerge from behind the trees, looking at Orochimaru with serious eyes. "Well, aren't you a mess, Orochimaru-sama?" Yuu mocked once she noticed how he was being held by his subordinates. "The Hokage really did take a toll on you."

"Who are you guys, anyway?" Miyu asked, tilting her head as her eyes were fixed in Sakon, one of the members who held onto Orochimaru to carry him back to the hideout. "I don't remember seeing you in the hideout."

"They're our replacements," Kai responded coldly, his eyes were firm on Kidoumaru's mocking grin, who also helped carry the Sannin by holding onto his other side. "They used to be prisoners, part of Orochimaru's experiments. They were gathered together when each one of them defeated all prisoners in their own prison of origin: North, East, West and South; right after we left."

"After we left," Yuu retorted. "If I'm not mistaken, you stayed. Didn't you, Kai?" She laughed when the boy rolled his eyes. "Anyway, I know everything about you," she said returning her gaze to Orochimaru and his men. "The Sound Five. Kimimaro, your leader and former member of the almost extinct Kaguya Clan, has the ability to pull his bones out of his body and turn them into weapons. Kidoumaru, the member with six arms and two legs—making it eight limbs—has the spider-like ability to produce silk." Yuu made a disgusted face, then her eyes fell on the next member, a girl. "Tayuya, the only female; you can cause illusions when you play the flute. Jiroubou, the fatty; I don't really know what you can do. Are you like super strong or something?" Her eyes then moved to the last member, she smiled. "And the livid expression of Double Identity Disorder, Ukon and Sakon."

"We are twins," Sakon glared at Yuu.

Orochimaru ignored Yuu's comments, his eyes were fixed in the Uchiha girl. She was looking back at him with her regular Sharingan activated. "What do you want?" he hissed.

Hanako narrowed her eyes at him. "You should know by now what I want." Her voice was firm and determinate.

At that moment, Kabuto appeared along Kaito and they stood right in front of the snake man, as if covering him from the Genso. "Hanako Uchiha... I never thought you would dare follow us..." Kabuto commented with a smirk.

"This is not exactly the way towards the hideout of the North," Hanako frowned when she looked at Kabuto. "I can't guess why you would make a detour after our little encounter," she smirked. "I'm looking for that thing I mentioned earlier."

Kabuto's eyes gleamed. "I thought you said we had two days to give it to you—"

"I also said I needed a guarantee." Hanako cut him off before he could continue. "I know you lied to me about going to the North, Kabuto; so I lied to you about those two days. Now, give it to me." Tayuya recognized the threat in the Uchiha's voice and immediately pulled her flute out. Miyu was fast to react, and wrapped her vines around all of Orochimaru's subordinates, except for Kabuto. The latter chuckled.

"Your eyes seem more worn out than last time. You really are desperate, aren't you?" he asked with a notorious smirk in the edge of his mouth. "Either you have finally gone blind or the Akatsuki are already hunting you down."

Hanako clenched her fists at the side of her body, but her expression didn't change on the slightest. "Zetsu has been following me around for this last month, it won't be long before they send someone else."

"Are you afraid they'll send your ex?" Kabuto mocked.

Kai stretched his hand and silver surrounded Kabuto's throat in a moment. Kabuto gasped in surprise as he reached for the silver around his neck and tried to pull it away before it managed to suffocate him. Hanako raised her hand and Kai stopped, freeing Kabuto. He took a deep breath and looked at Kai with a glare. The latter only smirked and closed his eyes. "Don't tempt us," Hanako warned. "Especially not me. You won't live to tell others about it." Kabuto clicked his tongue. "We had a deal," Hanako continued, looking at Kabuto with a serious glare. "Give that info to me, and I will let you through without any harm. Right now, you're in no condition to fight, so I suggest you just comply with us."

They didn't move. The Sound Five only glared at the members of Genso as they glared back with the same intensity. "Give it to her," Orochimaru finally said, "we don't have time to lose right now. We can't get anything useful out of it, maybe they can."

Kabuto shook his head and reached a hand into his cloak. He pulled out a scroll and handed it to Hanako. Hanako frowned upon catching it. "You had it with you all this time?"

The Yakushi just shrugged. "Of course, information like this shouldn't be left unsupervised." He smiled when Hanako bit her lip in anger, and vanished along Orochimaru and his subordinates before she could say anything.

Kaito stayed behind, and Hanako then focused her eyes on him. "What are you still doing here, sensei?" she mocked. "They are going to leave you behind."

"What has happened to you, Hanako?" Kaito questioned with slight disappointment.

Hanako let out a dry laugh. "Look who's asking," she said. "Shouldn't you be...I don't know...dead?" she shrugged. "Walking zombies are uncalled for..."

Kaito sighed, "You heard about it..."

"Yes, I did," Hanako narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips. "You didn't even put up a fight, it was like you were looking or it. But you couldn't just die alone, you had to take Hiroki and Koharu with you."

Kaito shook his head. "I spent three years looking for you, I wanted to bring you back, but I just gave up..."

"You just...gave up?" The Uchiha questioned with a chuckle. "YOU DIDN'T LOOK HARD ENOUGH!" she yelled with brimming eyes. "I was just around the corner, and you just gave up..."

Kaito looked at her with surprise. "Hanako..."

"Maybe I wanted you to find me, but I believed you wouldn't even bother to look for me. Kazuki and Takeshi could have found me, but they didn't look for me. They waited for me to come back, but maybe I wanted them to bring me back. I had no motive to return, why would I? I had lost everything in one night. Do you have any idea what that is like?!" Hanako yelled and shook her head. "Now it's too late, I have no intention of continuing my life in Konoha. It's over." Hanako turned her back to him as tears rolled down her cheeks. "I'm sorry you died, Kaito-sensei. I really loved being part of Team 4, but let's face it. We have all grown up, and those happy days are over. This is the real world."

"Hanako, just promise me one thing..." Kaito muttered lowly, knowing that no matter what he said to her, she wouldn't change her mind. There were tears in his eyes and his body became paler and cracked all over. Hanako looked at him from over her shoulder. "Promise me..." his body started to break down into pieces, like if his skin was being torn from his body and then turned into dust, "you will look after Kazuki and Takeshi... Take care of those two," he finished with a smile and looking at her straight in her eyes. "I always believed you were the strong one, who didn't need anyone. I trusted in your strength, maybe too much and that's why I pushed you away. I'm really sorry I wasn't there for you, Hanako, but I've realized that even if I could turn back time, I wouldn't change a thing about it. I know there's still good in you and your actions, and I'm proud of you. That's who you are and I wouldn't change it for anything." Kaito's body started to slowly turn into dust. "Take care, Hanako."

When Kaito was gone, Hanako took a deep breath. Tears ran freely down her cheeks as she sobbed quietly. The other Genso members only watched her in silence, respecting the Uchiha in her mourning.

* * *

Hanako finished packing the essentials and arranging her room. Everyone was still out at the Hokage's funeral, so the village was quiet and somber. Hanako didn't even bother to go, or put on mourning clothes for the matter. She just remained on her ninja clothes.

"You don't seem in a rush to leave," Hayabusa commented while staring at his master from the window sill. "Or...could it be that you don't really want to leave?" he asked.

Hanako looked at him with a serious face. "You know I can't stay, stop pressing the matter," she responded hastily before returning to her bag. She closed it and sat on her bed.

"I'm not asking what you have to do, I'm asking what you want to do..." the bird flew towards her and perched itself on her shoulder. "It's time you start thinking about yourself rather than in the others."

"I don't want to stay," Hanako said firmly. "Just being here makes me soft. Makes me...care about others. And that only slows me down."

"Isn't that good for you?" he asked. "To fill that emptiness in your heart?"

"Not when there's people out there that want my head. It gives them something to blackmail me with, and I risk their lives more than protecting them." Hanako shrugged. "I can't afford to care, Hayabusa." The girl stood up from the bed with her falcon still holding tightly into her flesh. She looked at her bed and her eyes glued to her village protector, which lay extended over the mattress. "You don't have to do this to yourself," Hayabusa continued. "You can afford to be happy."

Hanako could feel tears in her eyes and shook her head. "Maybe someday..."

"Hanako," Hayabusa said firmly, clawing harder at her shoulder. Hanako hissed in pain and glared at the bird. "You have to think about yourself. You don't deserve to live a life as a criminal, when you're not really one, just because the elders don't want you here."

"Am I not a criminal, though?" she asked with a raised eyebrow. "You didn't know how I was before you met me."

"You couldn't have been worse..."

"I was..." Hanako pressed her lips together. "I am guilty of the Fourth Mizukage's death..." she said slowly. "I helped kill several Feudal Lords from other lands, including the Lightning Country. I destroyed a nearby town that belonged to Iwagakure. I have a bounty of 100 million ryou in my head, which will probably go up after Konoha's incident." Hanako sighed. "And now after the incident with the Shukaku, I don't think Sunagakure is too happy either. I have trouble with all Five Great Nations, I'm probably more wanted than that filthy snake himself!"

"I don't think the elders want information leaking about Orochimaru destroying the village."

"No, but the ANBU will definitely receive that update. They will be after me soon enough." Hanako stood at the window at the moment rain started pouring. Water cascaded down the glass and, in the reflection it formed, Hanako seemed to be crying. When she reached her hands to her cheeks, she found them dry. "I have to get out of here before that happens."

"ANBU can't be dispatched if there's no Hokage to give that order."

"Then we have to leave before they name the Fifth Hokage." They remained in silence for a moment, and Hanako turned away from the window. "Thank you, Hayabusa..." The bird looked at her strangely, but Hanako was only staring at the ground.

"For what?" asked the bird in confusion.

"I changed because of you, when I met you," she smiled at him with her eyes closed. "Raising you made me realize I actually enjoy having something to protect, thank you." Hayabusa was left shocked. He didn't know what had just happened, but his eyes softened upon seeing Hanako's sad look.

When Hanako looked back out the window, it had stopped raining and sunlight managed its way through the clouds and lit up the village. Hanako decided she should visit the Hokage's tomb. Hours passed after the funeral ended. At least, it would be empty by now.

Kakashi still hadn't left the Hokage's tomb, and Hanako stopped when she saw him. "Why didn't you attend the funeral?" he asked, without turning to look at her.

"I just...I don't like funerals. So, whenever I have the chance, I choose to avoid them." She smiled softly, remembering when Itachi told her the same during her father's funeral. This time, Kakashi turned to look at her. He was wearing a black yukata, his headband still on his forehead, and of course his mask.

"Where have you been?"

Hanako pressed her lips into a thin line. She continued her way to the tomb and placed a white flower, which she had picked on her way, with the rest other people had left for the deceased Shinobi. Kakashi was right beside her, and Hanako could still feel his eyes digging holes in her head. "Packing," she finally replied.

Kakashi twitched slightly at the answer and took a deep breath. "Are you leaving?"

Hanako closed her eyes and lowered her head. Her brown hair moved to the front, covering her face from Kakashi's eyes. "Yes."

Kakashi took a step closer and moved her hair out of her face and behind her ear. "For how long?" Hanako looked at him with firm eyes, which soon softened.

"For as long as it takes..." she muttered quietly.

She could feel a knot in her throat, when Kakashi asked the next question. "When are you coming back?" He placed his hand on her cheek.

Hanako shook her head. "I'm not..."

Kakashi took a deep breath and Hanako could tell he was trying his best not to snap at her. She knew she was being selfish, she wasn't thinking about Kakashi at all when she decided to leave. But it was for the best, for both of them. "Why...?"

Hanako smiled and grabbed his hands, lacing their fingers together. "I don't feel welcome here anymore. I want to leave, maybe I wasn't meant for a steady life." Kakashi bit his lip angrily under his mask and was about to pull away when Hanako stopped him by wrapping her arms around him. "Don't do anything stupid," she said against his chest. Hanako loosened her grip on the Jounin and pulled away, not looking at him. "I have already resigned from Team 7, it has been a pleasure working with you," she smiled and looked up at Kakashi one more time. "Thanks for this year, Kakashi, I will treasure it..." Hanako let go and turned away to leave.

Kakashi grabbed her hand and pulled her back. With the other hand, he pulled down his mask and crashed his lips against hers. Hanako wrapped her arms around his neck as she kissed him back. Rain fell over them again, soaking them as they continued locking their lips together. When Hanako finally pulled away, she leaned her forehead against the cold metal of Kakashi's head band. "Is this why you haven't been wearing the village protector since we returned from the Land of Waves?" Kakashi asked. "Because you knew you were going to leave?"

Hanako pecked his lips one more time with a sad smile and pulled away. "Don't make this harder on yourself, Bakakashi..." Kakashi was shocked at the nickname she had used; but before he got a chance to ask her about it, she was already gone.