Author's Note: I'm baaaack! Did you miss me? I missed you guys! This is the (official) reboot of Curiosity and the Copycat. For all of my old readers, thank you for sticking with me and this story for a year. A year, guys, a year. Wow - you're incredible. I'm sorry it took so long. I never gave up on it, I swear, and I really did keep working on it. There are over 50 documents in my Google drive to prove it. Thank you so much for your follows, favorites, and of course all the lovely reviews. They were a serious motivator, guys, I can't even tell you. The story now has an actual plot (kind of important, no?), complete with a middle and end. It's just the beginning that needed real motivation, but now that ball is rolling.

Main changes: As I mentioned, Takara is now slightly older at age 20. Kakashi is three and a half years older than her. I backtracked the story another year, so you'll be seeing some extra stuff from canon~. All of Takara's relatives previously mentioned remain the same but names have been changed. Major events and developing relationships in the previous story remain much the same but have been rearranged, so you'll see them again in the future soon. The biggest change of all? Longer chapters. Hoo, boy, this is gonna be fun to write.

As for new readers, welcome! I hope you enjoy the story. I apologize for any confusion, as the original first chapter was present for a while before I could get this monster uploaded on here. Let me assure that THIS is in fact the real reboot of Curiosity and the Copycat.

PSA: Takara (the OC) is a Perfectly Normal, Average Civilian and will stay that way, here on and forever. Meaning no cool jutsu, no fancy ninja moves, nothing. Zip, nada. She isn't a shinobi nor does she come from a shinobi family; there are no Hidden villages where she's from. Her home Aomori is a prefecture of the Land of Fire, fictional and created by myself but slightly based on real life Aomori Prefecture, Japan. My Aomori's history and traditions - while based on Japanese culture and certain pieces of the Naruto universe - are mine as well as the OC's present in this story

And now - on with the show!

Curiosity and the Copycat

...a Naruto fanfiction story...

Curiosity and the Copycat © Mx. Irony

Naruto © Masashi Kishimoto

Takara is a Bisexual Badass

chapter one

Warm Strangers

"Your opening can be the most human part of the call. It can be the most personal. You can be the most awkward and uncomfortable. It can be the most gracious and fun. It can be many of these things at once. It is always telling."

Perfect Selling by Linda Richardson

The silence was far more telling than any words.

Light filtered through the leaves, casting shadows across the porcelain dog mask. The Anbu agent perched on the highest of branches. There was only quiet but he felt the presence of a purple-haired Anbu behind him. No words were exchanged; neither heard so much as a breath between them. They watched the open road, waiting motionlessly.

A cart dipped into view as it appeared at a turn in the road, curving alongside it. The driver jerked the reins, prompting the horse to a brisk trot. Behind him, a stained tarp covered the cart's contents.

The purple-haired Anbu tensed; a small shift - attentive, not restless - from her made a leaf quiver. The other Anbu held up a hand, his fingers twisted in Anbu sign. He made no other movement, no sound, no change in the air.

A single breath.

The horse stalled, distracted. Its driver pulled the reins harder, cursing in a distinctive Land of Rivers accent.

He made another sign.

Feet barely touched the branches as they leapt from one to the other, nearly flying through the forest. Even as they whisked by birds nests, there was not a single sound - only the flutter of the leaves, easily blamable on the wind.

It was like an itch between her shoulders, that unsettled feeling gnawing at the back of her mind.

Jolting to a stop, Takara's chin jerked upward as she stared up the trees. A strong gust of wind blew her long bangs around, blocking her view, and forced her to push her hair aside. She shaded her eyes against the afternoon sun, squinting, but found nothing.

"Sumthin wrong, Hina-san?" her guide asked. The old man set his cart on the ground and peered over his shoulder. Sweat collected on his red face, a product of the summer's growing heat and the long hike.

Takara's eyes lingered on the high branches, searching the fluttering leaves. She spoke carefully. "...no, Morioka-san. Not at all."

"Ya getting tired? We can stop for a bit, if ya like."

"Thank you, Morioka-san, but I'm fine." Takara smiled reassuringly at him while her hand rubbed absently at her collarbone. She could feel her heart pounding under her shirt. "How far off are we?"

The fruit merchant gave her a gummy smile. "Just up ahead by a few miles, I reckon. We'll be there 'fore evening. On my honor."

Her stomach lurched. It felt like a social of butterflies fluttered in the vacant cavern, making little room for the breakfast she forced down that morning.

"Alright, Hina-san?" He'd been asking her since that morning.

"How will we know we're there?" Takara wanted to know.

Morioka's eyes twinkled. "You'll know. Can't miss it!"

"What won't I miss?"

"You'll see."

"Morioka-san," she complained. Her lips pushed together to form a slight pout. "You can't just not tell me. That's rude."

"Dun wanna ruin the surprise." He sent her a wink.

"What if I just act surprised? You won't know the difference."

"Nope!"

"Only a little hint?"

"Nuh-uh, Hina-san. Notta thing!"

"Pretty please?" She gave him her best Bambi eyes.

"No."

"Pleeease?"

The old man laughed, his broad grin nearly disappearing in the folds of his face.

Takara huffed petulantly. "You're teasing me."

"Ya make it fun," he countered impishly.

She made a great show, crossing her arms and heaving childishly; she turned her sullen face away. Pout evaporating, green eyes darted around the surrounding brush. The itching on her back worsened.

Humorous, the old man placated, "Mah, mah, no need ta get inna tizzy. You'll see it soon. We're so close, I can taste it!"

"I can't wait," she said, eyeing a nearby tree. When she turned back to Morioka, Takara was smiling. "Thank you so much for taking me this far, sir. I don't know how I'd have made it without you."

He waved his hand. "Notta thing, notta thing. It's the least I can do after all your family's done."

She ducked her head modestly and looked at the trail, lips taking on a sheepish curve. "Still. Thank you."

Takara watched the ground as they walked. She didn't realize Morioka had stopped until she bumped her hip against his cart.

"There it is," he announced, pointing.

Her gaze shot up to take in the high, broad walls peaking over the treetops. Takara's eyes popped open wide, shining, and she took a few tentative steps forward. She never saw a structure of its size before.

"So? What d'ya think? Pretty cool, eh, Hina-san? Wait until you see - eh? Hinamori-san!"

Takara moved quickly, long legs combining with quick steps as she practically sprinted towards wide open gates. Her feet scuffed as she jerked to a stop yards away from it, the large rucksack on her back bouncing. Stunned, she gaped. The gates themselves were massive, painted green in color and with red hiragana streaking "hermitage" across the front. At its head, there was carved symbol of the Konohagakure leaf. Ahead of her, Takara could barely make out the lone figure standing within the gate's interior. Before she could get closer to see, they were gone - vanished. There was only an unrecognizable blur which Takara easily missed when she blinked.

Ninja.

Staring, her wide eyes remained on the spot where the shinobi previously stood. Looking up at the leaf symbol, her lips parted.

"Hina - hah, hah - Hinamori-san!"

Yelping, Takara jumped. "Ah, Morioka-san!"

She hurried over to him, putting a hand on his shoulder. He looked ready to collapse, and for a moment, Takara feared for his old heart. "Are you alright?"

Panting, Morioka wheezed, "Hi -hah - mori-san! Don't run off like that. Not here."

He paused, glancing furtively at the shinobi village walls. With a gesture of his hand, he had Takara lean down and whispered, "You're a stranger to this village, and this village is not so trusting a strangers. And rightly so, given its...occupation if ya get me meaning. Try not to draw attention to yourself."

Takara's features went blank. Slowly, she nodded.

"I don't think you'll have a problem but it's best to tread carefully around...them," Makioka said lowly; he squeezed her arm for emphasis.

"I'm not worried," Takara said, voice at normal volume. Louder actually - chipper. A wide, eager grin spread across her cheeks and crinkled her eyes. "I don't have anything to hide, so there's no reason to be so nervous. Chin up, Morioka-san." She returned the squeeze firmly, harder.

Morioka only had time to blink before Takara ushered him along. She moved with long, sure steps that he could barely keep up with on his shorter legs and he was nearly dragged behind her. She gripped his cart with one hand, pulling it behind them.

Now who's the guide? he wondered. The girl was practically leading him now! Morioka marveled at her ability to pull his cart behind her with a single hand; maybe he should have let her pull it on their journey.

The entire time, she babbled away cheerfully - louder than before, practically chirping her excitement. A brief look at her showed a sunny grin yet he felt her side stiff and rigid against his.

"Hinamori-san - " he tried before she released him.

Takara paused briefly in front of the gate, looking up at it. She took a deep breath and then that final step forward. Takara swore she felt shivers shoot up and down her spine as she walked underneath the gate. Her eyes were trained ahead as she kept walking, pace increasing.

There were so many buildings - she could actually see the village itself. Everything was all so new and different and she hadn't even seen it all yet. She only had to run ahead and -

"Hey, where do you think you're going?" a voice called out gruffly.

Takara froze, arms in mid swing. With a high-pitched "Eep!", she tripped over her own feet and fell face first into the dust. Nose pressed against the hard ground, she simply laid there as a new pain throbbed to life. The added weight of her heavy, overstuffed travel bag squashed her beneath it.

Morioka cried out her name, hurtling over like a flustered mother hen. Against the protests of his joints, he bent down and asked, "You alright?"

"Ooowww" came her muffled response. Wincing, she slowly lifted her head to reveal a very red nose. Her dirt-smeared face twisted in a grimace as she pushed herself up, blinking back tears. "Ow," she mumbled faintly.

"Let me help you up -."

"No, no! I mean - no, thank you, but it's okay," Takara quickly said. "I'm okay. Just...give me a minute. Please."

"Pfft."

She looked up to see two men sitting at an outdoor desk. They stared at her with faces strained with barely contained laughter. The one with the messy black hair audibly sniggered when he saw her lost, wide-eyed expression. His companion elbowed him in the side although his own mouth twitched uncontrollably.

Takara's face burned an ugly maroon color.

The one with bangs covering his right eye cleared his throat, returning to his former professional demeanor. "Miss, you can't just run into - "

A snort came from the messy-haired man which earned him another sharp jab to the ribs.

"You can't just run into the village," he continued calmly. "We need to see some identification."

She looked at Morioka with furrowed brows. He whispered, "This is the security checkpoint, Hinamori-san. They need to see your passport. Remember?"

"Umm… Oh. Oh, right. I mean, yes. That. I remember that." Takara picked herself up, dusting off her pants. With a signature grin, she seemed to skip over to the two men. "I'm sorry about that. I got a little ahead of myself. I was just so excited. It's my first time in Konohagakure, you know. Which is beautiful, by the way. Well, at least what I've seen of it - but I'm sure the rest of it is, too! I know the ground is at least. What nice cobblestone. Don't see that too much where I'm from. We just have dirt roads there so the cobblestone is nice. Except it doesn't hurt as much when you fall on a dirt road."

"Uh, right." The man sweatdropped as his colleague covered his mouth, cheeks inflating. "May we see a passport?"

"Naturally!"

"...can I see it?"

"Oh, uh - right. I mean, of course. Absolutely. One moment, please," she said, holding up a finger. "I just need to get it out..."

With effort, she managed to clamber her bag off her bag and set on the ground with a loud crash; odd noises came from it as its contents jostled around. Takara couldn't resist the chance to stretch a little, popping her shoulders.

The shinobi tapped the desk, waiting. He and the black-haired man continued to watch with varying expressions of disbelief as Takara carefully searched through each outer pocket one by one. Her search started with ease, unrushed as she calmly filtered them, but soon her hands quickened.

Gradually paling, she knelt down and unzipped the bag.

"Hina-san…" Morioka nervously watched the search as it took even longer. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the two shinobi observe her every move like two hawks perched above a mouse.

"Do you have a passport? Or any identification at all?" the brunette stressed.

"I - I know it's in here somewhere," she said. Letting out a shaky breath, Takara then proceeded to take everything out. Articles of clothing soon sat folded neatly on the dusty ground. So much for arriving in Konohagakure with clean laundry. Added to the growing piles were books, cooking ware, folders filled only with photographs (she double checked), and spare papers. Half desperate, Takara flipped through the books.

"I know I had it somewhere," she said, turning the bag upside down and shaking it. Pencils and small coins tumbled out, followed by bits of lint and lingering dust from her travels. Takara looked at the two men helplessly. "It was here, I swear."

One of them sighed. "Miss, if you don't have any, we'll have to do a security search."

The black-haired man seemed far less amused now at the prospect of added work. Frowning, he stood up.

"W-wait! Please," she said. She held up her hands. "It might be in with some of the luggage in the cart."

"Miss…"

"Ya lose it?" Morioka asked hurriedly, already white-faced. He flipped through some of her books. "Maybe you left it back at the inn?"

"No, I checked for everything this morning," Takara said quickly as her mind raced through the daily check of all their belongings. It was hard to think clearly with a tall man (ninja) looming so close. She really did not want to know what a security search would entail. "I put it with all of my - my…"

"Your?" he pressed.

"Miss," the brunette called.

The other man sighed, exasperated. "Izumo, let's just - "

Takara patted her hips, feeling a reassuring weight in her right pocket. She reached in and pulled out a familiar booklet. Cheeks bright pink, she turned to the ninja and smiled. "Heh. Found it."

All three men stared at her.

Morioka facepalmed.

"Seriously?" the unnamed ninja asked.

Izumo tried to maintain a polite smile, lips twitching. "That's great. Now can I see it?"

"Yes, absolutely!" Takara nearly tripped to the desk. "I am so, so, so sorry about that inconvenience. It must be have been so obnoxious - I really didn't mean it. I just usually keep it in the outer pocket of my bag and if not there, the other pocket. But then I thought about pickpockets - not that I'm worried about being pickpocketed here. I mean - um, just in case, y'know? So then I thought maybe the outside pockets of my bag wasn't such a good idea. But then my actual pants pockets didn't seem so good either 'cause the actual inside of my bag would have been harder to get to. But then that would have been harder for me to get to, too, so I decided on my pocket after all. Because we were only half a day away from Konohagakure, weren't we, Morioka-san? Anyway, that's the only reason I - "

"Lady," the black-haired man interrupted. "We get it."

"I - oh." Takara immediately clammed up, realizing her chatter. "S-sorry. I talk a bit much when I'm nervous."

"A bit?"

She cringed.

Izumo swatted him, eliciting a yelp. Giving the woman a pleasant smile, he said, "It's fine."

He opened the passport to the first page. The kanji appeared in bold print: 日奈森 宝. Hinamori Takara. Underneath it was her date of birth (May 14), gender marker (female), and the prefecture from which she came (Aomori). The photograph showed a long, sun-kissed face with a pert, freckled nose and bright green eyes. The wide, friendly smile seemed to take up half the picture. Glancing up, Izumo saw its real life likeness beaming down at him.

It was a smile he couldn't help but return. "Welcome to Konoha, Hinamori-san."

Coming behind her, Morioka released a sigh of relief. He handed his own documents over, both a passport and a permit allowing trade in the village. "You boys are new," he said. "What happened to ol' Sakamoto-san and Chiba-san?"

They certainly knew how to treat a young lady at least, Morioka thought.

"Rennosuke was promoted, and Takuya...retired early," Izumo said. "Kotetsu and I are security for now."

Morioka noted the lack of honorifics with disdain. Noticing it as well, Takara's eyebrows shot up but she brushed it off as the mentioned men being close friends. She wondered at the hesitation when he talked about Takuya.

"It won't be for long," Kotetsu added.

"Ah. I see," Morioka said slowly. He gave them a good-natured smile. "How nice."

Eyebrows climbing higher, Takara's eyes snatched a glance at Morioka before flickering back to the guards. Her smile wasn't unlike Morioka's, polite and measured, as she said, "Ah, that's a special job. Thank you for keeping the village safe."

Kotetsu gave her a strange look. "Uh, you're welcome?"

She bowed. "Have a nice day."

Blinking, Kotetsu watched the old man usher the girl into the village as she pulled the fruit cart behind her. He shook his head. "Farmers. Always so damn polite."

"They're Northerners," Izumo said dryly. "There's usually a hidden meaning in their 'politeness.'"

He faced adversaries from all five of the Great Shinobi Nations. He successfully completed nearly one thousand missions by his early twenties and copied as many techniques and jutsu throughout those missions. From the time he was a young child, he trained and honed his skills everyday to become stronger. Graduate of the Academy at age five, promoted to chunin a year later. At thirteen, a jonin and inducted into ANBU soon after. Now a captain of his own squad. By the time his voice cracked, he was a veteran of war.

He was Kakashi of the Sharingan, Konohagakure's renowned Copy Ninja.

And he couldn't will himself to walk up the damn stairs.

Kakashi sighed, his drained body sagging beyond its usual slouch. For once, his tired-looking eye showed real exhaustion. The only thing that stood between him and his bed was the three sets of stairs ahead him.

Muscles protesting, Kakashi forced himself up. His calves tightened painfully with each step as his last stores of strength begin to drain away. The first set of stairs was bearable but then came the second. Kakashi began to seriously consider the floor as an alternative to a mattress. Hand resting on the stair rail, he mentally prepared himself for the third leg of the trek. Then he paused, staring in an almost uncomprehending way. His half-lidded eye slowly registered what was blocking his way.

She was tall, standing at about 175 centimeters or so, and had a slender, willowy build. A long, bright orange braid trailed down her narrow back. The woman moved with slow, careful steps, shuffling her feet to feel for the next stair, as the three cardboard boxes blocked her line of vision. Kakashi concluded that she was all long limbs and zero coordination.

Watching her struggle, Kakashi's sense of good citizenship wrestled with the more primal need to sleep. To help or not to help. She didn't even know he was there, so…

The boxes wobbled. The woman stumbled, one foot stepping back over the edge of the stair.

Kakashi heaved another sigh. His decision was made.

A firm hand pressed against her waist while the other steadied the wobbling tower. Kakashi's chest pressed against her back; he felt her body jolt at the contact and heard her quiet gasp.

She craned her neck, tilting her head back and giving him a good look at her face. Her features were nothing memorable, pretty but a little on the plain side: high cheekbones, a longish nose, and a weak jawline. Large green eyes blinked up at him.

Kakashi met her gaze stoically. "Careful."

"Uh…" was her articulate response.

"Let me take these."

"That's - " she began. He lifted the boxes out of her hands. "...nice?"

Sensing her stare on his back, Kakashi continued up the stairs but stopped when he reached the end. Glancing back lazily, he saw her almost dazed expression. "Which way?" he prompted

"Oh, ah - um, I'm on the...next floor?" It sounded more like a question than he liked but Kakashi was going up anyway.

The woman - so painfully obvious in her civilian status - scurried after him as he continued up the next flight of stairs.

"Oh, no, you don't have to, y'know, I got it!" she said, rushing to match his stride. Her accent was from the Land of Fire but different than Konoha Standard. Kakashi heard it in the way she drew out the last word in her sentences in a drawl and stretched out her vowels into two separate parts. It gave her words a musical lilt, indicating that she was from the more rural parts of the Land of Fire. Possibly from up north.

"It's no trouble," he said in a dull tone.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

A sudden smile burst open, sunny, lighting her entire face up. It made her seem more girl than woman. She can't be any more than twenty, Kakashi thought. Just a kid. Though she wasn't much younger than him, he felt decades older next to her bright, open demeanor.

"Thank you so much! You have no idea the mess you just saved me," she said. After days of silence, her voice was loud in the open hallway.

"Don't mention it."

"My name's Hinamori Takara. What's yours, if I may ask?"

So formal. It actually made him feel a little old.

"Hatake Kakashi."

"Hatake Kakashi," Hinamori repeated, a curious expression crossing her face. She perked up. "That's a nice name. It's nice to meet you, Hatake-san."

Okay, now he really felt old.

"Nice to meet you," Kakashi said offhandedly.

As they continued the climb, Hinamori kept sending glances at Kakashi through the corner of her eye. He pretended not to notice, uncaring, solely intent on his original objective: getting reacquainted with his bed.

"Sorry if this comes across as rude or if I'm assuming things. But I was wondering..." she ventured cautiously.

"Hm?"

"Are you a ninja?" Hinamori asked quickly.

"You could say that."

"Ah, I thought so!" She gleamed, pleased with her (very obvious) observation. She tapped her forehead. "I could tell by your forehead thing. All the shinobi around here seem to be wearing 'em. At least the ones I've seen."

"You mean our forehead protectors," Kakashi drawled.

"Ooh. So that's what it's called. Huh. Does it really protect your forehead?"

Already Kakashi felt a prickle of annoyance. His patience really wasn't the best right then, given his current mood, but he explained, "It's a symbol of the Hidden Leaf, showing our loyalty to the village."

"Loyalty? Ah, I see, I see. Y'know, I've never really met a Konohagakure ninja before" - he could tell - "You're the first. Well, almost. Not counting the two men at the front entrance," she mumbled, looking at the ground. "They seemed nice enough. Eh-heh..."

"I'm flattered," said her almost first ninja with only a little sarcasm.

"It's really strange. Being here. Going from no ninja at all to seeing y'all jumping all over the rooftops everywhere. Guess that's what you call culture shock, huh?"

"I guess so." Kakashi paid only half attention to her babbling. He never was one for small talk. Or any talk, to be blunt.

"I mean, I've only heard stories about you. Some of the craziest things. So I didn't know what to expect when I got here, you know? But everybody's been so nice. At least so far. I've only just gotten here today." And she continued talking.

Kakashi's thoughts wandered. Hinamori only paused her one-sided conversation when they reached the end of the stairs and even then, it was merely to point the way. Immediately, she went back to babbling away to an apathetic Hatake.

Then she stopped, pulling Kakashi back to reality. He glanced around lazy and stilled. A sudden sense of dread filled him as he recognized the familiar section of the hallway.

They were next his apartment.

Mechanically, Kakashi's head turned and he watched as Hinamori (still talking) fished out a key out of her pocket and slipped it into the knob. Her mouth kept moving but for all of his sharp senses, he heard nothing but a dull roaring in his ears.

"Ah! Here we are. This is my new place. Isn't it nice? Well, sort of. It does need a bit of work but I think it's a good place to start out. First apartment and all, I mean. By myself, that is. The landlady said I couldn't paint the walls which I was a little sad about but pictures will do. Good thing I have a ton. Just photos and stuff my little brother's drawn - you'll have to see them some time, by the way; they're gorgeous - but anyway, I still need to do some cleaning after I finish getting all my stuff which isn't really a lot. Those are the last boxes. I didn't pack a lot 'cause I don't really need much. It doesn't look so bad as it is right now. A good dusting and mopping should do. And it's not very big so it'll go - "

Even that much went unheard, as Hinamori went on...and on and on.

Where was his old neighbor? When did the landlady rent out the apartment next to his? She should have warned him ahead of time. It was a custom to alert shinobi residents of any new neighbors - a practical, safe custom.

Hinamori pushed the door open and walked in, making enough room for Kakashi to trail behind her. The apartment was an unfurnished version of his own, small but room enough for some furniture. The tiny kitchen on the distant wall mirrored the one next door.

"You can put them wherever you like. I'll unpack later," she told him.

Relieved to rid himself of the burden, Kakashi set them down next to the door. In a way, he was briefly glad that his new talkative neighbor lived next door: It meant he didn't have to stay conscious much longer to get to his apartment.

Of course, before he could leave, he was intercepted by the civilian. As soon as he turned around, there she was - blocking his path. He twitched.

She offered him a smile so bright it made Kakashi blink. "Thank you so much for your help. I really appreciate it."

"It's fine."

"I would offer you something to drink but..." Hinamori gestured at the stacked boxes crowding the entrance.

"Seriously, don't worry about it." He wouldn't have accepted the offer anyway. Already the copy nin was backing away, edging discreetly towards the door.

"Thank you again for helping me. I really appreciate it."

How many times can a person say thank you?

"No problem." Kakashi started to head for his own apartment. "If that's all..."

"Um, actually..."

Kakashi stopped. Slowly, robotically, he looked over his shoulder. Hinamori bit her bottom lip.

"You see, I have this one last thing downstairs. A dresser. It's not heavy at all, especially since it's empty and all, but it's pretty big and hard to get a good grip on. And I don't think I can bring it back up by myself so easily..."

He deadpanned.

"I really hate to ask because you've already been such a big help and it's such a nuisance but do you think you could maybe...help me? Please?"

Civilians.

Kakashi's hearing was an invaluable asset on missions. It picked up the barest traces of sound from yards away, detecting everything from small, skittering rodents hidden under leaves to enemy shinobi waiting in the shadows. He saved (and ended) lives with his sensitive ears.

The resounding din of pots and pans rang through the thin wall separating his and the new girl's apartments. Seconds later, muffled complaints followed.

Kakashi sighed.

Great.

The constant movement continued on into the early evening and then later still as he tried to sleep. Sharingan eye closed, Kakashi's other bloodshot eye stared up at the ceiling.

An hour of tossing and turning later, Kakashi curled into a semi-comfortable position on his side with one ear pressed against the mattress and a pillow shoved flat against the other. His breath slowed to an even, steady rhythm; his eyes drooped. The fog of sleep settled over his restless mind, finally allowing him some reprieve….

Kk-crack!

"AAAH!"

Kakashi bolted upright, kunai (previously hidden under his mattress) in hand. Then he recognized the shriek. Groaning, he collapsed back onto the bed and glowered at the conjoined wall.

She must have dropped something. Kakashi silently - viciously - hoped that, whatever it was, it was breakable. And expensive.

"Ow, ow, ow!" Takara hopped up and down on one socked foot while clutching the other. The recently polished floor was slippery. Gasping, Takara suddenly found herself staring at the cracked ceiling. The pain registered a second later.

"Ow..." Takara sucked in a breath through clenched teeth, letting loose a soft hiss. She took in another deep breath; a small sob clogged her throat but she swallowed it. Stinging eyes blinked rapidly as she kept breathing.

"What am I doing?"

Her previous excitement faded and all that was left was a pool of nervous energy, the same that had made her pace around the room like a caged animal after she realized there was nothing else to do really.

Everything was unpacked and rearranged into neat temporary piles until she found more furniture. Shelves dusted, windows washed, kitchen organized, bathroom cleaned (now that took some time), and her new futon stretched out in waiting for her. The floor was swept, mopped, and polished until there was a shine to it and Takara found her reflection grimacing back at her. She even finished adding what few decorations she had: Hiraku's drawings hung neatly beside the door. The framed family photo sat on the shelf above her bed next to the few books she brought. Overall, the apartment looked better but there was an emptiness in it as she looked around and realized this was it...this was all hers.

Just hers.

It was so quiet: Absent of Rikuto's laughter and Hotaka shouting after him to do his chores, Hiraku's snarky remarks murmured under his breath just for her to hear, her father's teapot whistling as he gestured for her to come and sit with him….

The question nagged at her once more: What was she doing here? A little farm mouse among the ratters, a scornful voice said. Clenching her hand into a fist, Takara pressed it against her forehead and shakily inhaled. She wanted to move, to do something, go somewhere; she wanted to go on a walk but it was dark out and she didn't know her way. This wasn't the farm where she went wherever she pleased, weaving through familiar paths even in pitch black. Here there were tall, crowded buildings and twisting roads, filled with people she didn't know. Complete strangers.

It was a sobering thought: she was completely and utterly on her own, starting from scratch. New place, new lifestyle, new people. It was all hers. The thought made her shudder, cold and startling as if someone dumped a bucket of icy water on her own head. Takara had no one in the village. She knew nobody.

Then she remembered her new neighbor, the tall man with the uncombed silver hair who seemed the definition of strange. He smelt like sweat and dirt and something metallic; it was the iron-like smell that made her jolt when she felt him so close to her out of nowhere. But his hand was warm where it touched her back. As she spoke, he didn't interrupt her; he was quiet, unnervingly so not in speech but in how he moved. His walk was lazy, a saunter really, but completely silent. Stealthy. Takara guessed she would not even had known he was there, walking right beside her, if she hadn't kept her eyes trained on him the whole time.

But he was kind. He helped her. A stranger (who really was very, very strange - did most ninja wear masks like that in their own village?) but warm in an unexpected way. A warm stranger.

Hatake Kakashi. A strange name for a strange man but it was the only name she had to hold onto in this village of nameless strangers. A familiar name. It brought her an odd comfort. How funny it was that the farmgirl moved next door to a ninja with a farm name.

Scarecrow in the farmland. It sounded a lot like home. The thought made her lips curl.

Maybe she could call Konohagakure home.

Author's Note: Again, thank you so much for reading, guys! I really appreciate it. You have no idea. Please keep following, adding to your favorites, and - most of all - sending in those reviews. I love hearing back from my readers. I welcome any kind of critique, praise, keyboard bashing, or simple gushing over our favorite characters.

Here are some questions for you guys: Older readers, how do like this compared to the original? What do you think of the changes? What did you guys think of Takara and how she was introduced? How about Morioka? Any ideas on how Kakashi and Takara's relationship will develop? What got you guys into Naruto? What do you REALLY look like? I'm doing this thing where I ask a question in the end author's notes and then answer them in the next chapter, so maybe we can get a discussion going. See you guys next time ~. :)