"Long is the way and hard, that out of Hell leads up to light."
John Milton

Kurenai stared at the ground irritated as her fingers tapped her elbow. She was not really the type to cross her arms since she found the position a bit awkward; however, she could not be bothered by it now. She dimly realized that she was stressing about something she could not change. If only she could drag the purple-haired Kurosawa outside from where she was hiding and have the honor to bash the girl's head on the wall repeatedly…

That would be satisfying, she thought. If Ayame does not have the time to bash my head against the wall first.

With a sigh, the red-eyed girl closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose exasperatedly.

"Why are you so stressed? We already asked Kakashi, and he said she's not lost." Genma played with the senbon his mouth. His eye twitched when he felt a part of his gum bleed.

Yūhi Kurenai could not help but snort as she picked up a stone and threw it at him. "Not lost, but I'm sure as hell she's in a predicament she could not handle."

This time, it was Ibiki's turn to smirk. "You sure? Kurosawa's not that weak. We are also concerned about her wellbeing, but Yūhi, you're overreacting."

How could she not?

Kurosawa Ayame disappeared for a month, and they could not find any signs of her, even her shadow. The red-eyed girl did not have any idea of what was happening, but it all started when Ayame told her she would be visiting their instructor. The girl wondered if there was any connection with the rumors she heard inside the Academy and Kurosawa's disappearance.

Kurenai wished Ayame had told her where she'd gone so that she wouldn't bother to worry like this. Her friend was a very open person; though, you need to understand the way she phrased her words, or you'd misunderstand half of what she's saying most of the time.

"Anyway, where are the others?" The girl gave up and decided she should not waste her time worrying, with a grunt she continued, "I've not seen them for a couple of days, don't tell me they're going into hiding too?" She sarcastically said.

Morino Ibiki silently watched her as she grumbled to herself, he could not help but shook his head slowly. "Kakashi's preparing for his graduation. Asuma and Raidō are also with him, helping him to perfect his jutsus."

That was when everything dawned on Kurenai. Kakashi was about to graduate and if Ayame did not disappear, she should be graduating with him too. Both of them were geniuses in their own right; Ayame's fast comprehension was astounding while Kakashi's memory was nothing to scoff at. Now that she thought of it, the two's only difference was that the Kurosawa know how she should hold her composure while in distress.

"Adult-y?" The now five-year-old girl muttered to herself. "Is that the term I should use?"

There was this particular aura around her friend that she could not really explain. The girl rolled her eyes at her thoughts. Even if Ayame decided to act like another person, there would be no problem since she's her friend and she would stand by her side no matter what.

"Adulty what?"

The red-eyed girl almost fell on where she was standing because of shock and at the same time she smelled a hint of rusty-kind of smell.

"Kurenai, why are you so easy to scare these days?"

Kurenai breathed out a sigh of relief after seeing Asuma behind her. She nearly wanted to piss herself out of fear. Maybe she should stop overthinking. "None of your business, Sarutobi," she said with a hint of redness on her cheeks. "Anyway, how did Kakashi's training go?"

Ibiki decided to stand near them to hear their conversation better and at the same time offered Asuma the dango he was holding. With grateful face, Sarutobi Asuma wiped the sweat from his forehead before thankfully taking the dango. "Well, I could not really call it training. That boy was the same as always, checking if he could do everything perfectly—" he carefully bit the dango before continuing, "—and when I say perfectly, I meant literally no flaws."

"So… what's the problem then?" Ibiki decided to point out the problem while he sat on the ground and stared at the forest ahead.

"The problem is…" The Sarutobi decidedly inhaled and exhaled in front of them. "He's getting Raidō and I dragged on what he wants to do and is overdoing it. Do you know when we started training? We started at 5 o'clock in the morning."

"…huh," Genma who was sitting on the ground deadpanned. The boy was sure he was still soundly sleeping at that time, he loved to sleep after all. He crossed his arms while deeply thinking and answered, "You should have told us so that we could join you."

Asuma immediately replied, "No."

Kurenai, Ibiki, and Genma blankly stared at the Sarutobi boy's immediate reply. Although there will still be a long time until they graduate (they do not have Kakashi's genius, the three bitterly thought at the same time) they were still the best of their own classes. They're confident that they could join the other's training even though it's against them to wake up that early in the morning.

Asuma knew what they were thinking and all he could do was nervously laugh. "Do not get me wrong. We're not underestimating you—" the boy sighed and spread his hand in front of them, "—it's just… this is not a good time. You know that Kakashi's a little off because of Ayame's disappearance, and despite his father's assurance, it did not really 'assure' him. We all know everything's okay and Ayame would eventually come back but it's affecting him even just a bit."

There was an awkward silence. This became a sensitive topic, not because Kakashi's taking it sensitively but because they were afraid the boy would do something idiotic. They all knew that he was a genius and they acknowledge that. Nevertheless, it was still better to be safe than be sorry.

A long while passed before Genma decided to break the silence. "You mean his aim became off and every time you're talking to him he seemed a little distracted?" He removed the senbon from his mouth before staring at Asuma straight to the eye.

Sarutobi Asuma could only mutter to himself before tiredly replying. "Seems like you've noticed it too."

"Not only him. We all did." Ibiki raised one of his eyebrows. "Well, I don't know if everybody observed but we all acted like something's off."

It was the silver-haired chibi who first noticed Ayame absence. The boy lived with the Kurosawa after all and when the four-year-old girl did not return that night, he immediately told his father. However, out of his expectations, Sakumo only told him that Ayame was ordered to travel outside Konoha to distract her. Kakashi was no idiot and knew it was because the purple-haired girl was kicked out of the academy and his father must have thought that she was devastated.

"Raidō's even getting thinner, could you believe it? The glutton's getting thin." Asuma seemed as if he only realized it himself and started grinning widely. Everybody knew how much Raidō eat every day and to make him lose some weight because he was worried? That says something about how he cared for his own (forced) personal chef.

"So, back to the topic, Hatake's making both of you train like crazy?" Morino Ibiki slowly drawled out, making sure that none of his words were wrong. He then noticed the red liquid on Asuma's face and stared bemusedly at the coppery traces of blood slowly dripping from the boy's face. "Why is there—"

Kurenai could not keep her mouth to herself any longer and interrupted. "Why the hell is there blood dripping on your freaking face?" The boy was only showing her half of his face but she still managed to see the red liquid covering the space from his left ear to his jaw. Realization hit her; she now knew why she smelled the rusty kind of smell earlier. It was Asuma's blood all along.

"Ah." The boy calmly raised his hands to touch the side of his face which was injured. "It's because of my carelessness. I was distracted when Kakashi attacked me with a kunai."

"Attacked you?"

"We're trying to test our skills in live combat. It was Kakashi's idea, thought it was good, so I agreed."

Kurenai snorted. "He should've injured you."

Asuma was flabbergasted. "Are you still angry when I accidentally burned your comb? That was weeks ago!"

"Told you, Asuma. Girls hold grudges over little things," Genma slowly said while he raised the corners of his lips.

"Little things, huh." Kurenai thinned his lips as she slowly drawled. "How is your Mom, Genma? Did she find out who broke her tea set two weeks ago?"

Genma slowly blinked before smiling sheepishly.

Hatake Sakumo was bound to leave that night for another mission that would probably take him days to finish. It was natural since he was a shinobi with a jōnin rank. Their mission, as ANBU, was to go to Kumogakure. They would escort an ambassador to discuss the peace treaty that was signed right after the founding of the shinobi villages. However, the mission this time might prove to be difficult, since he was informed that Kumogakure no Sato detested the Leaf for being "peace-loving little shits."

The silver-haired jōnin had to give it to them, they had a weird naming sense. The man could not deny but he was amused, it was hard to find fault in Konoha after all and yet they were still being disliked because they prioritized peace over war.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, the man walked into the small room; he did bother to stealthily walk inside and instead he comfortably listened to the echoes of his footsteps. It had been a long time since he had the chance to enter his son's room, he did not want to bother Kakashi (in the first place, he did not have the opportunity to inconvenience him since he was not always present inside the house) since from what he knew, growing kids hate nosy parents.

Slumping a little, he stopped in front of a desk and curiously picked up an inconspicuous book. Reading its title, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes then disappeared in an instant. The book was specifically requested by the silver-haired chibi from him when he turned four, and now it was left on the desk gathering dust. Wiping the dust off, he did not react when he heard the door of the room being opened and instead tilted his head before looking at the person right at the door with mirth.

"Kashi-kun, don't you find my gifts valuable anymore?" The older Hatake smiled, his face without its mask.

Kakashi who just arrived, creased his forehead before his gaze landed on the book on his hands. "Tou-san," he lazily greeted. "I became busy these days and forgotten about it, forgive me."

"Shinobi handbook." The jōnin sluggishly spoke as he read the title of the book. "You must have been really busy," he sighed with a fake grievance. "I remember the time when you really wanted this book. You even told me you're willing to abide and remember everything in it."

The four-year-old boy secretly rolled his eyes. His father is teasing him again; he sometimes wondered if his tou-san had taken this as a habit. "The Academy graduation's coming, and I need to focus on passing it," he smoothly replied. "I could not afford to be distracted."

Sakumo raised his eyebrow, of course, it did not escape his eyes that his son effortlessly lied through his teeth. He decided he should let it go since he never really cares about the handbook. No one really read it nowadays since some of its parts were just for formality. On the other hand, some shinobis strictly follow it and he guessed that there might be some problem in their heads.

Saa, it's none of my business anyway, he said to himself as he carefully placed the book on his son's desk.

"Anyway tou-san, you'll be leaving today?" Kakashi observed his father wearing his full ANBU attire albeit without his mask. "I thought you'd leave at the start of the week. It's the end of the week already, did something happen?"

The silver-haired jōnin clicked his tongue and replied, "Ah, something came up, but do not be concerned about it." The man smiled as he saw understanding in his son's eyes, he knew his boy understood what he implied.

Restricted information. It was shinobi protocol to never talk about a mission to anyone, even with the members of the family. The silver-haired jōnin tiredly sighed before patting the shoulder of his son and went out of the room. He should start preparing his things, it had always been a pain in the ass packing bags and sealing them on a scroll.

"Don't forget to clean the house when I'm gone, gaki!" The older Hatake shouted outside the door before he entered his own room.

Ayame blankly stared at her right arm for a long while before she directed her gaze at the masked man in front of her. The man's gaze flickered before he paid her his full attention.

"Heal yourself."

They had been inside the forest for a month and it had not really been hard per se… if you did not consider experiencing her first kill. Right at that moment, all Ayame wanted to do was to bury her face in her hands. However, with a broken right arm, it seems that for the meantime it was impossible to do so. They were at the boundary of Land of Rivers (川の国, Kawa no Kuni) and Land of Fire (火の国, Hi no Kuni) and had set up a camp for the night. The group consisted of the mysterious Fox-san, a member of the ANBU, and Nara Shikaku, the heir to the Nara clan.

Oh, how Ayame wanted to get out of her predicament.

The Kurosawa lazily stared at the ANBU before her. For the girl, healing herself was out of the question. She knew what she could and could not do and even though she had the medical knowledge, she did not have the skills. The girl could only sigh and observe her deformed arm.

"Ah, that's troublesome." A voice appeared behind them. When the girl turned her head, what greeted her was the slouched posture of the Nara.

"Shikaku-san," she greeted the man with a nod as she saw the Nara looked at her with his half-closed eyes.

Ayame wanted to agree with him. After learning that she was to be kicked out of the academy, she was then encouraged to travel outside of the Konoha. She could not really reject the offer since she felt that not agreeing with them seemed to have dire consequences. The girl returned her gaze to their small campfire. The flames flickered once in a while and it reminded her of lightning.

The Nara lazily sat beside as he eyed her, turning to the masked man opposite of him he said, "Fox-san?"

The man only replied with a grunt as he motioned for the Kurosawa to follow him. Ayame tried her best to maintain her facial expression despite her conflicting emotions. It had been earlier that day when they surprised her about their mission. The girl thought the only thing she needed to do was hunt inside the forest as a sort of "training."

Well. That was what they were supposed to do because that was the only thing they were briefed.

The purple-haired girl blinked as she gazed at the petite man walking in front of her. She was no idiot. She already guessed what they came here for. The girl had an inkling but it was not confirmed until they encountered a group of shinobi from Land of Rivers. They were on a mission for an ambush and they brought her— not even a genin –to a mission for at least chūnin.

Whatever.

The girl resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Thankfully, she had gotten out of their predicament with only a broken arm and possibly some internal injuries. It was her first real fight and it was exhilarating at that same moment. If she was even a little distracted, it might cost her her life. She killed one of the chūnins using a surprise attack with a chakra scalpel on the gut and injured another one using the same method. However, after seeing that, the other enemies became well-prepared and that resulted in her injured arm.

"I'll heal you here," the ANBU said without much enthusiasm while he glanced at her with the same coldness he did when they first met.

Ayame could not guess who the man was but from what she could gather, he did not display any signs that he is a part of any clan from Konoha. That left her to three possible reasons: he is a foreigner, he is from a civilian background or his parents were both shinobi but did not belong to any clan. It was impossible to find an outsider in the black ops since it was hard to guarantee their loyalty. From what she can see, most Konoha-nin from civilian backgrounds were afraid to enter ANBU, which left her to the only possibility that this guy in front of her have shinobi parents that do not belong to any clan.

The healing process was long and it was not painful— if you do not count the moment when ANBU Fox forcefully aligned her bones. The Kurosawa silently watched as the man slowly reconnected her bones and healed her wound from cell to cell. It fascinated her seeing her own body changing.

A cough distracted her from her line of thought as Ayame slowly lifted her eyes to looked at the masked man. "Tell me what you felt after your first kill," he commanded as if he was just ordering her to fetch a glass of water.

The purple-haired girl blinked as she stared at the man before her amusedly. "Are we supposed to do the standard procedure after the first kill?" She glanced back at her healed arm then slowly raised it to check for abnormalities.

"…yes." The man looked at her for a moment before continuing, "Do you feel that it was against your morals the moment you realized you had killed someone?"

The question was hard for her right off the bat. In her past life, she was raised in a peaceful community, so it perfectly made sense if she was to answer no to his question. But then, she was currently living in a different place, where child soldiers where nothing to stare at and killing enemy shinobi was the norm. Ayame realized that she was in an awkward position before she sighed.

"I may have struggled against some of my morals, but you do not have to worry, Fox-san. There's nothing in my reaction that was worth noting."

The ANBU stared at her silently for a while before he stood up and brushed the dirt off his clothes. "If you have any problem, you can freely talk to me. There had been some occasional nightmares in my experience and in your case, it should be worse."

"Well, on the positive side, there shouldn't be monsters under my bed since we would be sleeping on the ground." The Kurosawa replied as she smirked.

Fox snorted as his gaze landed on the purple-haired girl. He diverted his gaze before Ayame could notice him looking and walked towards their camp.