Hey there! Once again, I want to thank everyone who read and reviewed Walk the Path Stained with Light.

Secondly, I would like to point out that I am editing/writing this story, so updates will be super slow until I can find time and inspiration. SCHOOL IS KILLING ME! I have started this story over at least 3 times because of writer's block. Nothing I do seems to work, so hopefully soon it can start flowing and I can update again.

This first chapter is the prologue, so it's pretty short. LightMidnight: Thanks for your recent review! I had a plan to explain that, but then I decided that it would make more sense if he wasn't her father. I was also confusing myself lol.

There's a good chance that I've made too many mistakes to ever redeem myself

But if I spend my whole life trying to fix the past

Then I might as well give up hope of happiness and the will to go on

I'd rather find fulfillment in what I am than be lost in what I'll never get back.

Kakashi woke up to a slight breeze blowing his silver locks around. It was late morning, and even though he'd had a chance to sleep in, he couldn't enjoy it. It had been a restless night, but he'd managed to finally fall asleep. He normally wouldn't have gone to bed without knowing Kaiya was safe at home, but with the outburst she had the previous night, it didn't surprise him that she hadn't returned by the time he'd fallen asleep. Kuro Kensei appeared to him around two a.m. and promised to find her, so against his better judgment, he succumbed to his exhaustion.

Kakashi blinked, rubbing his neck as he stretched and turned toward the open window, lowering his eye.

He'd closed and locked it last night.

Pushing his sheets aside and standing to his feet, Kakashi approached the window and examined it closely. The curtains were pushed back, and the window was opened just enough for a small person to slip through. Did Kaiya come back through my window? That wouldn't have seemed so strange, except for the fact that she wouldn't have been able to unlock it from the outside.

He couldn't help but be suspicious, but he decided to check Kaiya's room before he came to any conclusions. He knocked softly on the door, just in case she was still asleep. "Kaiya," he called through the door. "Are you awake?" When no answer came, Kakashi's brows furrowed, and he pushed it open. "Kaiya, I know you're angry…" His sentence faded when he saw that the room was empty. Her bed was made and her window locked, so he knew she didn't sneak out. The light flooding through the window hit a metal surface, giving off a reflecting glare.

Kaiya's forehead protector.

Kakashi's eye widened as he approached her bed slowly, surveying the folded headband. She always wore it when she went out, and she'd always kept it in the drawer beside her bed when it wasn't in use. Something isn't right… Kakashi searched her room carefully for any sign of where she might be. He opened her closet and noticed that a few outfits were missing. Since she was good about keeping up with her laundry, there shouldn't have been any reason for a few to be gone. A few other small things were missing, like her backpack, blanket, her brush, and some random toiletries.

Kakashi frowned under his mask. He was starting to get nervous, remembering what she told him the night before.

"I don't want to stay here with you anymore."

"I hate you, and everyone else in this stupid village! I don't want anything to do with the Leaf anymore. All it's caused me is heartache."

That was the last time he saw her. Did she really run away? No, that was impossible… Kaiya would never resort to such a thing. Besides, where would she go? Asuma's? One of her teammates' homes? The Nara compound? Surely she was still in the village. She wouldn't leave the only home she's ever known.

Would she? He'd made that mistake with Sasuke, believing he would stay. He didn't want to take a chance with her.

Kakashi quickly dressed and headed to the training grounds. Empty.

He went to Ichiraku Ramen. There were a few customers there, but Kaiya wasn't one of them.

No matter where Kakashi went, he couldn't find Kaiya anywhere. He asked her friends on the occasion he ran across them, but they hadn't seen her either. He tried not to sound alarmed, but he was getting anxious. He went to Ronin, who was training Kioko and Usagi. They'd given up trying to convince Kaiya to come back to team training, so for the time being, it was just the two of them. While the girls were busy, Kakashi appeared, asking to speak with the young sensei.

"No, I haven't seen her," Ronin told him with a shrug. "It's been about a week or so, I think. You've checked everywhere else—including the Uchiha Estate?" Kakashi nodded, closing his eye as he let out a discouraged sigh.

"The only place I haven't looked is the Hokage Mansion," he answered. He saved it for last, just in case he wasn't able to find her; he'd have to report it to the Hokage—as the worst-case scenario. As he feared, it had come to that. Ronin's eyes narrowed, and he bowed his head in thought.

"Maybe she just needed some air and took off into the woods for a few days or something." Although…she would've left a note, even if she was angry. He tried not to think of the worst, but as he studied Kakashi, who had almost always remained cool and collected in a crisis, he was beginning to worry. "In any case, we should inform Lady Tsunade. Maybe a couple of the ANBU making their rounds spotted her."

Ronin dismissed Usagi and Kioko for the day then headed to the Hokage's Mansion with Kakashi. The two of them were silent as they hastily made their way to the large, red building overseeing the village. They absentmindedly glanced around them, hoping that Kaiya would be amongst the faces that passed them by. Ronin's heart was heavy, and he could only imagine how much more Kakashi's weighed.

Tsunade was in her office finishing paperwork when she heard a pressing knock on the other side of her door. Her lips curved into a frown. "Enter." Her eyes lowered when she saw Kakashi and Ronin walk in together, a sort of urgent seriousness evident in their eyes. Tsunade knew that if the two of them came into her office, it could only be for one reason. "What happened?" she questioned. Kakashi and Ronin shared a look, before the silver-headed Jonin took a step forward.

"Lady Tsunade, I have something to tell you." Tsunade bit her thumb pressingly as she ushered them further inside. They stood before her desk, tense and edgy.

"It's Kaiya, isn't it?" she guessed. Kakashi nodded heavily, his eye lowering.

"It appears she isn't anywhere in the village," he explained. "She left her headband on her bed, and a few of her things are missing—things she used for travel. She never came home last night. At least, not while I was awake."

"Hmm." The Fifth closed her eyes to think for a moment. "Do you think there's a chance she might have followed Sasuke after all?" Kakashi's visible eyebrow furrowed.

"Kakashi? What would you do…if I chose Sasuke?"

"She wouldn't wait this long to do that, would she?" Ronin wondered, incredulous. "I mean, his trail is long gone by now, and unless she knew the exact location of Orochimaru's lair, she couldn't possibly…" Kakashi clenched his fists, indicating to the other two in the room that he knew more than what he was letting on. "What is it, Kakashi?" The latter stared at the wooden floorboards guiltily as he let out a deep sigh.

"Last night, Kaiya was angry; I've never seen her so upset. She said things like she hated me and everyone in Konoha, and she didn't want anything to do with the village anymore." Ronin's and Tsunade's eyes widened. "She ran out after that, and I haven't seen her since. She knows it's too risky to go after Sasuke now. I don't think that's the case."

"So she's just wandering aimlessly to who-knows-where?" Ronin clarified. Kakashi nodded.

"It's a possibility," he answered. "I doubt she has anywhere to go, and she doesn't know the land outside our borders well enough to navigate it on her own. She may not have anywhere in particular she wants to be…just anywhere other than here." Tsunade growled, slamming her fist on her desk, almost breaking it in two. She stood from her desk and called Shizune into her office loudly.

"Y-yes, M'Lady?" The Hokage's assistant rushed in, fearing she'd done something to upset her. When she caught sight of Kakashi and Ronin, her personal fear subsided, but her alertness rose substantially. "Don't tell me this is about—"

"I want the ANBU to search the perimeters around the village, as well as the nearest towns within three days travel from here. Tell them not to rest until they find Kaiya Umachi and bring her back to the village immediately. Is that understood?" Shizune stiffened, nodding her head.

"Yes!" When she ran off to deliver the command to the ANBU, Tsunade turned her attention back to the two men.

"Don't breathe a word of Kaiya's disappearance to anyone," she ordered. They nodded. "I don't want rumors to spread, though word will eventually get around that she's gone. Until the ANBU find her, go about your daily routines as if nothing's happened. If they can't find her trail, then maybe she'll come to her senses and return shortly. If not, well…I'm not really sure what we're going to do. Let's just hope Orochimaru doesn't get word of her leaving."

Kakashi closed his eye, gritting his teeth as he fought to keep his emotions down. "Lady Hokage, I think you should know something else." Tsunade frowned. "Kuro Kensei came to me late last night and told me he'd talk to Kaiya. I was skeptical, but I was hoping that he could talk some sense into her. I wasn't thinking about it earlier, but just now I had a thought: What if Kaiya is—"

"With Kuro." Tsunade crossed her arms and turned to look out of her window at the people hustling about on the verge of noon. Tapping her foot, she cursed under her breath before turning back to the two Jonin. "It wouldn't be beneath him to do something like this. His trail is hard to follow. It could be months—even years—before we catch him. If she's with him, they're long gone by now."

"That sneaky bastard said he was going to do whatever it takes to get Kaiya out of the village," Ronin remembered. Kakashi nodded in agreement as he recalled the same thing.

"I intend to take Kaiya out of this village one way or another, so don't be surprised when you wake up one day to find her gone. I will train her; she will become powerful enough to kill both Sasuke and Itachi Uchiha and put an end to their cursed clan once and for all. Before either of them becomes too strong, Kaiya must become stronger. She won't be tempted to follow either one of them down the paths of destruction that they walk."

"He's going to train her," the silver-headed Jonin added.

"Damn that Kuro. He was already two steps ahead of us, and now…"

"What do we do, Lady Hokage?" The latter looked up at Ronin blankly for a moment, before letting out a sigh.

"I won't label her a missing-nin," she decided uncertainly. "Not unless she gives me a reason to. Kuro, however, is a different story. Until then, there's nothing we can do other than keep an eye out for either one of them. At least she's in capable hands and not roaming around alone like a walking target. Kuro will protect her; that I'm sure of." Kakashi closed his eyes, his hands trembling at the thought of Kaiya being gone for good. How could he ever face Naruto or Asuma or anyone else? He was responsible for her, and he couldn't handle that duty. It would haunt him forever.

Whenever you're gone away

The darkness hides the day

Whenever you're gone, the bleeding won't stop

It hurts until you come back

Everything goes black.