Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. of Naruto is the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author of this story. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any previously copyrighted material. No copyright infringement is intended.

The cover art is courtesy of CoolBoySent. He has some amazing work, so feel free to check out his DeviantArt!

The morning sun rose over the rooftops of Konoha, bathing them in an orange hue. Kakashi Hatake stood before the grave and solemnly watched the sunlight dance around the inscription on the gravestone. He had cleaned Rin's gravestone the week before, so it shone brightly back at him in an almost cheery manner. He sighed, shifting his knapsack and turning to gaze at the endless rows of markers in the cemetery. Even though he couldn't see it from where he stood, he knew the precise location of another gravestone — one he'd been neglecting. His stomach churned in guilt as he took a few steps to his right. He stopped, unable to bring himself further. He gripped the straps on his knapsack tightly and turned about toward the entrance of the cemetery. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

—

"Some things never change, right?"

Kakashi rubbed the back of his head bashfully. "Sorry I'm late," he said. "I had a last minute errand to attend to."

Sakura Haruno crossed her arms and huffed. Kakashi glanced at Naruto Uzumaki and was dismayed by the serious look on his face. He seemed to be looking off into the distance at nothing in particular, unaware that Kakashi had even arrived. Kakashi had feared as much; Naruto hadn't been able to focus on anything since Sasuke had defected from Konoha. It took some convincing, but Tsunade had finally agreed to assigning Team 7 a mission.

—

"I don't like it," she had stated frankly. Kakashi had visited her office almost every day for the previous two weeks with the same request. He was delighted when she finally handed him a plain folder the afternoon before last.

"I think it would be good for them to take their minds off of everything," he said as he opened the folder.

"The Akatsuki are after him, if you haven't noticed," the Hokage said.

Kakashi ignored her remark and began to scan the mission briefing. It was short — only a single page. Only a C-Rank, from the look of it. A merchant carrying a small collection of valuable gemstones was looking for an escort to a village about a day and a half's journey to the east. It would be a three-day mission at most. His eye caught something interesting toward the bottom of the page. "He requested me specifically?"

"Yes. He heard about your dealings with the bridgemaker and said that he would feel safest having you escort him." Tsunade looked uneasy. Kakashi began to fear that she was second guessing her decision.

"If you think this could be the Akatsuki —"

"No," she said bluntly. "I did a full background check into this merchant. Everything checks out." She stood and faced the window. "I have faith that you can control him. If Naruto takes off to go after Sasuke, I'm holding you fully accountable."

"Right," Kakashi said glumly as he placed the folder back on her desk.

"And if there's so much as a whiff of the Akatsuki —"

"I know," he said. "I'll handle it."

—

The scene faded from his mind as his group approached the inn. Kakashi was pleased to see that the merchant was standing out front waiting for them. He was an older man with a slightly hunched back and a long beard that almost reached his knees.

"Ah you must be Kakashi," the merchant said warmly as he reached for Kakashi's hand. "The name is Masao Ito! I'm glad you were able to accept my request. The roads aren't as safe as they used to be … but with someone like you along I should be able to make it to the next village with no problems!"

The man laughed heartily and gave Kakashi a surprisingly strong clap on his shoulder.

"Of … of course" Kakashi said, rubbing his arm slightly. "These are my comrades — they will be accompanying us on the mission: Sakura Haruno and Naruto Uzumaki."

"Nice to meet you!" Sakura chirped.

"Nice to meet you, Gramps!" Naruto chimed in.

"Naruto —" Kakashi warned.

"Haha, don't worry about it!" the merchant said. "The kid didn't mean anything by it!"

The old man smiled and began to walk toward the main road exiting the village. Naruto grinned and shrugged as he followed.

Sakura jogged to catch up to Naruto. "Really Naruto, you can be so rude …"

Kakashi smiled and began to follow. So far things were going as he had hoped: It was a simple mission to take their minds off of Sasuke. For the time being, at least.

The first day of traveling was completely uneventful. The group made camp that evening as the sun was setting, and Kakashi gave Sakura permission to start a fire. Luckily, Masao was a very cheery man with a story behind every gem he carried. Sakura "oohed" and "aahed" at the stones as he held them to sparkle in the firelight; Naruto begged the old man to tell the story behind each one, which usually involved the gemstone being stolen and recovered by one brave shinobi or another. Looking at their smiling faces, Kakashi felt this was the closest team 7 had come to being whole again for the past few months. As the night wore on, Kakashi doused the fire and told the others to get some sleep as he took the first watch. About an hour after Kakashi had staked out a spot on a nearby tree branch, the sound of chirping crickets was interrupted by Masao's emergence from the campsite.

"Is something bothering you, Mr. Ito?" Kakashi asked as he looked down at the man. Masao shook his head. "Please call me Masao. And no, just an old man having some trouble sleeping."

With a little difficulty he lowered himself to sit against the trunk of a nearby tree.

"I always wondered something," he said nonchalantly. "What is it like to be a shinobi? There must be a lot of heartbreak in the profession. Watching so many comrades die for reasons that may not have even been fully explained to you."

Kakashi was taken aback by the bluntness of the question. He was, however, familiar with the interest outsiders possessed concerning the lives of shinobi.

"It's a more dangerous occupation than most. A shinobi must not only have faith in their own abilities, but also that of their comrades. That teamwork is the key to pulling off a successful mission," he stated.

Masao chuckled slightly. Kakashi wondered if he had been a little too dismissive in his answer.

"I'm sorry," Masao said, "that was a little out of place. This is the first time that I've spent more than a few minutes dealing with Shinobi, and my curiosity just got the better of me."

The two of them sat in silence for some time before Kakashi heard the grunting of Masao lifting himself up off the ground. The old man turned back toward the campsite, but stopped himself after taking a few steps.

"Tell me, Kakashi … Do you believe that you do good things as a Shinobi? That the missions you go on, the people you help, that everything you do is for the greater good?"

Kakashi studied Masao in the darkness. The merchant's attitude had changed after the others had gone to sleep, but Kakashi was familiar with the feeling of unwanted thoughts creeping up on someone when things became too quiet.

"I believe that what I do is for the good of Konoha," Kakashi said, "and that means protecting everyone in it from harm. The goal of the village is to facilitate peace in our nation, which is a goal I can stand behind."

Masao stood silently for a moment before letting out a chuckle.

"Spoken like a true shinobi," he said as he walked back toward the campsite.

Kakashi watched the old man crawl into his sleeping bag and lay still. After some time Kakashi relaxed and turned his attention to the stars twinkling in the night sky. He reached out a finger and traced the outline of the constellation of the one-tailed beast, Shukaku, directly overhead.

"The tail points southwest, toward the Land of Wind. I've only been there once; I was young, so I don't remember much, but I do remember finding sand in my shoes for over a week afterwards ..."

The girl's' voice echoed in his head as he stared at the sky. Kakashi felt a familiar knot in his stomach and he moved his attention elsewhere. After a few hours he leapt down from the tree to wake Sakura for her shift. A rustling sound emerged from the forest a few feet from camp. He turned toward the source, listening intently. The rustling stopped. He could sense no further movement, and in the air he could only pick up the smell of damp earth.

Probably just a rabbit. But still ...

He continued toward camp, now fully intending to wake both his teammates. As he passed by Masao, he glanced down to see that the hole where Masao's head should have been was empty. Puzzled, Kakashi unzipped the sleeping bag to reveal a cluster of woven bags packed tightly into the interior.

A substitution jutsu? How did anyone get into camp?

Before he could finish his thought, the middle bag began to glow from the inside. He leapt back.

"Earth-style: Mud Wall!" he yelled, his hands a blur of movement. He pushed his palms against the ground. The ground rippled, but remained still.

What?!

The sleeping bag burst into a series of explosions as each of the smaller bags inside ignited. Kakashi took the brunt of the blast. He was thrown back, his left shoulder and head striking a nearby tree with enough force to break his collarbone. As he hit the ground, he could hear Sakura and Naruto yelling his name, their voices sounding as if they were underwater. Blackness edged in as his surroundings became more muddled. He pushed himself stiffly onto his knees. A hand appeared from behind him, placing itself firmly over his nose and mouth. He tried to move, but found that his arms and legs were firmly stuck into the ground.

Earth-style jutsu. That's why before …

He choked. The hand covering his face was holding a poisoned-soaked cloth.

Dammit! Naruto! Sakura! I need to …

As he lost consciousness, he could feel himself being lifted from the ground.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of my fanfic! I'm shooting to update this a few times a week (M/W/F at the time being), since my chapters flow better in shorter segments. Thank you for reading!