Chiisai shifted in the bed, the sheets rustling underneath her. "Before he left the village, he was my best friend," she whispered.

Tomo's tail flicked back and forth as she said, "I made a deal with Sasuke."

Chiisai paused for a moment, her eyes still on the Uchiha. He looked like his mother, she realized. The shape of his eyes and color of his hair. But his facial expression reflected his father's demeanor- serious and stark, like the sky before a storm. Chiisai parted her lips and said, "You want to know about Itachi. So you want to see my memories."

Tomo nodded as Sasuke took another step forward and said, "You were there during the Uchiha Massacre. I want to see it myself."

"I'm as responsible as Itachi was for the loss of your clan," Chiisai replied. "Are you sure you won't kill me after seeing it?" She had heard rumors about Sasuke during the war. Apparently Naruto was the only reason the Uchiha was on their side, and it had taken a lot of convincing to let the Uchiha roam free and not pay for his crimes. Sasuke wasn't Itachi, that she knew for sure.

"Not unless you pose a threat to the Village," Sasuke said.

"That part remains to be seen." Chiisai flexed her hands, sighed, and met his gaze. "You deserve to know. You're the last of your clan."

Sasuke stood before her, his hair covering one eye. He nodded once, and then his black eye was suddenly red, the Sharingan spinning in place. His eyebrows furrowed as he watched her. "I recognize your chakra."

There was an intensity in his voice now, as if his words were a threat. They made eye contact, and before she could respond, he was already inside her mind, unfurling her memories like a scroll. From the first time Itachi saw her in his dream, to Shisui, to Tori, all the way to when she had very first been sealed after the massacre. Sasuke viewed every moment of her teenage years, and all the while his expression never wavered- even as he watched her slip into Uchiha's minds and kill them.

A few minutes later, Sasuke flickered out of her mind. He blinked, though his eye remained bright red. No one moved as he sifted through the new information.

Maybe she'd never remember her times with Kakashi- maybe she'd die right here at the hands of his student. But didn't she deserve it? She had killed so many. After a moment, Chiisai whispered, "Your brother wanted to bear the burden alone, and I couldn't let him do that. Shisui wouldn't have wanted him to."

"You were with Shisui," Sasuke replied. He remembered Itachi's best friend. There was something to be said of the woman in front of him if she had captured Shisui's heart. "And you knew Itachi better than I did."

"Everything he did, he did for you. All he wanted was your safety," she replied in a soft tone. If he was strong, he was safe, and that had been Itachi's driving force with his actions toward his brother.

The room was silent, the air suddenly thick. Sasuke straightened and said, "When I killed Danzo, he had Shisui's eye."

Tomo took in a harsh breath as her gaze flickered to Chiisai.

Chiisai's eyes widened at the statement. Time slowed as she took in his words. Sparks lit in the back of her mind, fragments of Danzo's face appearing in the back of her eyes. Tsunade in danger. Bones breaking. Kakashi. And Chiisai had forced herself into Danzo's mind. He had been responsible for the Uchiha massacre. He had Shisui's eye.

And Kakashi had died.

Sasuke gripped her shoulder as she squeezed her eyes shut, the pain tearing through the back of her head. She could feel the energy inside her flare up, trying to break past the shield blocking her memories. Sasuke's voice filled the room. "Your chakra is eating away at the seal."

She gritted her teeth and clutched her temple, her feet twisting under the sheets. Hadn't Itachi said the same thing once?

Sasuke used the Sharingan and pushed back her chakra. Another wave of pain passed, but it was an ache deep within her. It swelled in her chest, a longing she had only felt with Shisui. No, not just with Shisui, but with Kakashi.

"I want Kakashi," she said through gritted teeth.

Tomo nodded, her eyes lingering on the woman in front of her. "I'll get him." She turned to Sasuke and said, "If you harm her, Kakashi won't let you leave free." And with that, she bounded out the window.

Sasuke tensed and cursed under his breath as the doorknob suddenly turned. Naruto and Sakura burst through the doorway, only to pause as their eyes landed on a familiar figure.

"I thought I heard-"

"Sasuke?!"

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Chiisai frowned and said, "You two aren't supposed to be here."

"Well, neither is he!" Naruto yelled back as he pointed to his comrade. "What are you doing here, Sasuke?"

"It's none of your business," he replied in a gruff voice. "And I could say the same to you."

Sakura remained silent, though her gaze never left Sasuke. Naruto walked over to the bed and said, "We're here to convince her to date Kakashi again!" His eyes narrowed on the Sharingan and he added, "You're not here to convince her too, are you?" Genjutsu was never a good way to convince someone to do anything, after all.

"Really?" Sakura took a step forward and said, "Something must be wrong for him to be here."

Sasuke's eyes lingered on Sakura before he gestured to Naruto. "Have you sensed her chakra?"

The both of them now looked to Chiisai, who shook her head in frustration. She glared at the Uchiha and then turned to face Naruto. "How did you know I dated him?" How did everyone know more about her than she did?

"He still likes you, you know!" Naruto replied. "I don't know what happened between you two, but you should give him another chance!"

Her eyes lit up at the statement, her heart fluttering in response. But the pain inside hadn't fully subsided, and her chakra expanded once more. She cringed as Kakashi's voice echoed in her mind.

"I've been in love with you for quite some time I'm afraid."

Tears sprang in the corner of her eyes. Light hit the back of her eyelids as she squeezed her eyes shut. Chiisai leaned back in surprise as Naruto changed before her. His appearance began to glow a bright yellow, and when he opened his eyes, the pupils had transformed into a plus sign.

"Wait," he frowned. He bent down in front of Chiisai, looking her up and down as he said, "Your chakra's the same as the God Tree's- everyone's chakra was inside it like a rainbow."

"She can absorb everyone's chakra," Sasuke said. "Just like the God Tree."

"Look," Chiisai struggled to say, "I specialize in dreams, not chakra."

Sakura's face lit up and she replied, "I remember you now. You saw my dream before. I thought you were psychic then. But you see dreams…you collect them."

"A dream collector?" Naruto asked. He frowned and said, "I've never heard of a jutsu like that."

Pain seeped inside her again. "It's not a jutsu. My chakra's always been like this," she explained. "It won't allow me to do ninjutsu, but it sends me somewhere else when I sleep. And he's here to safely unseal me."

Sakura frowned and replied, "What do you mean?"

But Naruto was the one to say, "The Sharingan can repress her chakra."

Chiisai nodded and said to Sasuke, "And now you need to keep your end of the deal." Another memory flashed behind her eyes, and she squeezed her eyes shut.

Waking up in a windowless room, a machine thrumming beside her. Needles in her skin, her head turning to see stacks of books- sixty-two books. Kakashi had kept his promise. At one time, she hadn't been forgotten. He had waited for her.

Chiisai cried out as something ripped inside of her. Fear and love and pain dug themselves inside of her skin, weaving through tissue and bone, clutching and suffocating her heart. The tears flowed freely down her cheeks, and Sakura rushed to her side, her hands already glowing to assess her injuries.

"I can block most of the pain," Sakura said, "but whatever Sasuke needs to do needs to be done now." Her green eyes met his.

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Is this safe? What we're doing...Is she linked to the God Tree?"

"If you want everyone to be safe," Chiisai yelled, "then you need to unseal me before my chakra does!"

Sasuke replied, "Tomo said something about Kakashi possessing a medallion that will help. For now, I'll suppress her chakra. Naruto, I could use your help breaking the seal."

He hesitated for a moment, and he shook his head. No, Naruto thought, Chiisai was the librarian that bought him ramen after he broke into the library all those years ago. She had read to him story after story when he was a kid, and even now she was helping him study to become Hokage. He didn't know her well, but what he saw was the character of a good person. And whatever was wrong with her chakra, they would fix it as a team, together.

Naruto nodded and placed a hand on Sasuke's shoulder. His chakra poured into Sasuke as the Uchiha slipped back into Chiisai's mind. Her chakra flared in a cascade of rainbows around the seal. Rips and tears scattered across the dark symbols. The writing overlapped each other, and Sasuke lifted his head as he studied the seal.

Chiisai suddenly appeared beside him and she stumbled forward. "Damn," she muttered as her eyes locked on to the seal.

Sasuke took a deep breath. The Sharingan spun as he lifted his hand and placed it on the barrier. Her chakra dove for him as if it had a will of his own, and his Sharingan sent it flying. He poured Naruto's chakra into the seal. Cracks rippled and thundered in Chiisai's mind, and Sasuke had to use the Sharingan to suppress her chakra leaking out. The flickering rainbow pressed against the invisible wall of his Sharingan, and Chiisai gasped as she felt him push against her will. She couldn't just stand and watch, she realized.

This was the seal blocking out her chakra and her memories. She shook her head, knowing that what she sought lay so close on the other side.

She pushed by Sasuke and slipped her fingers between the cracks of the seal, pulling and yanking as she dug her way through. Kakashi was on the other side, and if she had to cut herself open to find him then so be it. Her arms jerked, her toes digging into the floor as she helped force the seal apart. The chakra from Sasuke's hand tore through the symbols, and soon light seeped through.

"Wait," Sasuke said. "This is dangerous-"

A crack rippled down the middle of the seal, and a noise escaped Chiisai's lips as her chakra spilled back into her. White light flooded her vision. It was silent for a moment, as if time stopped. And then the memories spilled out of the gaping hole.

Cries of pain, sarcastic remarks, whispers in the night- they collided and split her eardrums. Memories of Danzo, of Hitoshi, the horrors of her past- icy cold poured through her limbs at the horrors, but it was soon replaced by something warm and sweet and what she had been searching for these past few days- no, the past few years. It was his calloused hands on her skin, his lips against her ear. His eye crinkling up into a smile, his constant sighs at her remarks. His voice, begging and pleading with her.

"If I ever called you a demon, if the thought ever crossed my mind, it would be because you constantly plague it. You tempt me without trying to. You've taken a hold of me, and no matter what I do, I can't break free."

Her chest heaved as her memories finally connected to her heart, the pieces sliding perfectly back together. She had stayed with Kakashi, lived with him, and fell in love with him. So much had happened, so much pain and sorrow, and blood and tears, and laughs and kisses. It was too much, but oh how she reached for it, craved it, and she let it flood her from the inside out.

Gods, she loved him, she had loved him so much.

She heard Kakashi's voice echo inside of her then, and her lips parted at the realization that it wasn't a memory from the past- it was a moment in the present.

Chiisai pressed herself into the wall of her mind and melded back with her body. The union was weak, and Chiisai found herself struggling into consciousness as her limbs spasmed and shook, her teeth biting down on her tongue. Hands were on her arms and legs, restraining her as the rest of her chakra flowed like blood in her veins. The portal to the dream world buzzed behind her eyelids, newly awakened, and though her instincts told her to escape, to finally rest inside the dream world, her heart ached with the need for something else- for someone else.

Time stretched as her memories and chakra finally rested comfortably back to where they belonged. Something heavy rested on her chest, and her fingers slowly curled around a medallion. Her vision blurred as she blinked, her eyes focusing on the faces in front of her. No, there was only one face she saw, and it was hidden under a mask.

His left eye no longer glinted red like from her memories, but the familiar pink scar still ran down from his brow and under his mask. She saw the searching in his gaze, the relief at seeing her awake like so many times before. His hand rested behind her head as he cradled her. The warmth of his breath caressed her as he whispered her name, a question lingering underneath his mask.

Tears spilled from her eyes, and a smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.

"Hey, Farm Boy."

A laugh escaped his lips, and his forehead pressed against hers. The cool metal of his headband rested against her skin as he said, "You real?"

Five years. Five years of being alone, but now she wasn't.

Her thumb grazed his jawline and she nodded, her voice caught in her throat. Kakashi's eyes closed in a smile, and there were tears in his eyes, and he pressed his masked lips to her. She laughed and kissed him back, this time no longer afraid. The love she had dreamed about was real and now in front of her, and she was going to savor every bit of him.

Sasuke and Sakura's eyes met as the two embraced, and Naruto grinned at seeing his sensei and the librarian together. Tomo stood on the bed in a knowing smile. Kakashi and Chiisai pulled away, their eyes never leaving the other's. Naruto leaned back and placed his hands behind his head in satisfaction, saying, "I'd say that's a mission complete!"

THE END

Thank you so much for reading! This trilogy would not exist without you wonderful readers. I really hope you enjoyed Kakashi and Chiisai's journey. It's been a long ride, and it's finally over. Oh, are there tears in my eyes? This fanfic is my baby, ya'll, and it means so much that people have read it, and actually enjoyed it, and invested emotions into these words. I wasn't sure whether to give the story a happy or a sad ending. Hence the epilogue. XD I think I love them too much to keep them separated. Thanks for reading!