"What happened?" she asked. The man in the corner of her room turned and looked at her.

"We removed the curse seal from your body. It holds no power over your body now."

"But how?"

"It's a long complicated process kid. Don't concern yourself over it." Jiraiya turned to leave.

"It was you wasn't it?" she asked. He looked back at her. "You brought Iruka back, when I was fighting with Orochimaru?" A small nod had her frowning. "Why?"

"To keep you honest," he replied. "Orochimaru saw the same darkness in you that we all saw in him, but tried to ignore. He didn't have any family to keep him in line, to teach him to care," she held his gaze evenly, something not many people did. The old man's frown lifted a hair.

"Are you saying I'm like him?" she asked. Jiraiya shook his head slowly.

"Yes, and no," she scowled at him, and waited for him to go on. "You have a frightening amount of power," he explained. "Perhaps more than he did at your age. You just don't know how to control it."

"What can I do?" she asked. Jiraiya eyed her carefully.

"I know a man who could train you," he replied. "What you still need to learn can be taught in about two years."

"Where is he?"

"Answer me first. Are you willing to give up two years of your life away from your brother, away from your friends to learn?" she hesitated. That would mean two years away from Iruka, away from Kakashi. She bit her lip, the image of Kakashi standing in front of her, body trembling in fear as he stood between her and her sensei.

She wasn't going to let them protect her anymore. Her parents had protected her, and died. Kakashi and Iruka had protected her and had been hurt.

It would never happen again.

Jiraiya's expression didn't change when her face settled into a determined glare. "Yes."

Kakashi looked up at the sky as the wind blew through the gate. Something felt different. His heart suddenly felt lighter, like it had before she'd left.

Frowning, his eyes trailed down from the open blue of the sky, and down at the figure walking through the gates. He stopped dead in his tracks, mouth falling open.

She'd changed in two years. She was twenty years old now, no longer a scrawny teenager.

He wanted to move, to run over and wrap her in his arms, swing her around and hold her until she became part of him, but his body wouldn't respond. The only part of him that seemed to want to move were his eyes.

She had grown. Everything about her was long. Long, lean legs supported a longer, leaner torso. The tight black shirt did little to hide her breasts either.

Shoving that thought immediately out of his head, he lifted his eyes to her face. There was something different about the look. A smile pulled at the corner of his mouth (not that anyone could see). He looked in her eyes, the eyes of a confident kunoichi, a true ninja.

He met her eyes, and a little piece of him died somewhere.

He knew right then that she no longer needed him to protect her. She no longer needed anyone to protect her.

But when her eyes lifted to his, and lit up like someone had turned on a switch, he forgot entirely about that small piece.

"Ka-chan!" she shouted, and let out a wild yell as she pounced, tackling him to the ground. He laughed, getting to his feet and lifting her into a hug, spinning as she squeaked.

"Masami-chan!" he held her as tight as he possibly could without suffocating her. "You're back!"

"I'm back!" she held onto him even after he'd let her feet touch the ground again. She made a face, squinting up at him.

"You've grown a lot," she murmured. He grinned at her.

"And you haven't grown that much," she glared at him, stepped back and whacked him on the shoulder.

"That's not very nice!"

"Well, whoever told you I was nice was lying," he said with a smirk. She grinned back, eyes lighting up again.

"So where are you going?"

"Eh, Hokage-sama wanted to talk to me about taking on a group of gennin, again," he sighed. She grabbed his wrist.

"Come on! That's where I'm going too!" with that, she took off running, dragging him behind her.

The blond skidded to a stop, eyes searching for the next attack. His breathing was coming out hard and fast.

Another boy dropped down next to him, and took a second to wipe the sweat from his eyes.

"Where is he?" the blond whispered. When the other boy didn't answer, he smacked him. "Hey, asshole! I asked you a question!"

"And I ignored it, dobe."

"Shut up!"

"You're the one who started talking."

"Sasuke!" Naruto tackled his friend as the ground where the older boy had been standing exploded, throwing both of them into the air.

They landed against the cave wall, eyes roaming over the cavern, looking for their attacker.

"We lost him," Sasuke said. Naruto frowned, and closed his eyes. "Naruto, it's too early to use that."

"Just keep an eye out," the blond answered, the seals flying past so fast that Sasuke wouldn't have been able to follow them without the sharingan. Naruto's pupils disappeared, leaving them completely blue as they moved over the cavern. He reached over and gripped Sasuke's arm.

"Ready?"

"Stupid question," the older boy replied.

"Now!" the two leapt off the wall, Sasuke following Naruto's lead. "There!" Naruto threw a kunai into the ground, and Sasuke grinning, grabbing Naruto and spinning. He used the momentum to throw Naruto back away from him, and move himself forward.

His hands flashed in seals faster than Naruto's had, as a smile curled the boy's lips. "GRAND FIREBALL JUTSU!" he released the flames on the spot where the kunai had landed, and let himself be thrown back by the explosion. Someone grabbed the back of his shirt, and the two of them landed, one hand braced on the ground.

A scream broke the silence as the dust settled. The two men looked up, bodies mirror images of each other as they straightened gracefully. "Aiee!" Masami threw her arms around the boy's necks, hugging them both tightly. "You guys rock!" she released them and ruffled their hair.

"Get off!" Naruto said, but he was grinning.

"Yes, yes. Very good," Himura hobbled over to them, hair smoking. "The two of you have learned a lot," his eyes flickered over to the cave entrance. "We have a visitor," he murmured, a smile pulling at his lips. "Masami, if you could?"

Her eyes lit up. "Kakashi-chan?" Himura just smiled. Grinning, Masami took off, throwing her arms around the jounin as soon as he stepped into the cavern.

"You're back!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around his neck. He hugged her back, pressing cloth-covered lips to her temple.

"Have they finished?" Kakashi asked. Masami frowned at him.

"What?"

"Naruto and Sasuke," Kakashi sighed, ruffling her hair. She glared at him. "Have they finished their training?"

She glanced over at the boys, who were shoving each other, both grinning. "Why?"

"Tsunade-sama wants them back in the village, if they're ready."

"There is nothing else I can teach them," Himura put in, "and I know that they are needed. Events are moving quickly now. Two very large shadows loom over Konoha." The boys had stopped squabbling now, and were watching the old man. "Two large shadows, each looking for a boy."

"HEAVEN'S GATE JUTSU!" she cried, and saw the shock on her sensei's face.

"Sarutobi-sensei! I did it!" she exclaimed, looking down at the light from her body.

"Masami!" she looked up at the Hokage, who looked panic-stricken. She released the jutsu, and the excess power in a brilliant flash of light. Sarutobi looked out the window at the village as it was lit up brighter than day to a stark white color.

"What?" he whirled around to face her, anger racing through her. "What'd I do?" Sarutobi swallowed the frustrated yell that tried to escape his lips. She had changed in the years she had spent with Himura, changed enough that she had tried a forbidden jutsu that she wouldn't have had to confidence to try before.

And she was still alive.

Those huge blue eyes stared up at him in confusion, and he realized that he had been staring at the young woman for nearly a full minute.

"Never, ever use that jutsu again," he said sternly. She just arched an eyebrow at him.

"Why?" she asked.

He scowled at her. "It is dangerous."

"But I can use it. You saw it. I can!"

"I never said you couldn't. But if you rely on this jutsu, even as a last resort, one day you're going to use it without thinking about your intentions, and if you do, it will burn you alive."

She swallowed, and nodded. "I won't," she said. "Unless I have no other choice." He eyed her carefully.

"I suppose that will do," the Hokage sighed. "Run along home. Your brother is probably wondering where you are by now."

He watched her as she scurried out of the room, his face falling as she closed the door behind her. He finally allowed himself to feel the panic, the sheer terror that had come when he realized what she had been doing.

That girl. He'd taken her under his wing when Orochimaru had used her, broken her and left.

He sighed, rolling his eyes. "Himura," he turned to face the old man in the doorway. His old friend stalked across the room, wrinkled face set in anger.

"Sarutobi, so help me! You taught her that jutsu?!" Himura grabbed the front of his friend's robes.

"You taught her well, Himura."

The other man snorted, releasing Sarutobi. "You're trying to change the damn subject!"

"She found the scroll. I answered her questions," Sarutobi replied. "Regardless, you taught her well. She has nearly perfect chakra control now," Himura snorted and folded his arms over his chest.

"You need perfect control to pull that jutsu off," he replied, still glaring at the other man. "You didn't do so badly teaching her yourself, old man."

"I'm not the only one who is old," the Hokage replied. "Care to stay for dinner?"

"Alas, I cannot. Your old student came to see me," Sarutobi's face slackened.

"Which student?"

"Take a guess."

"Orochimaru?"

"Surprisingly, yes," Himura frowned. "He wanted to check on his student," He spat the last word out like poison.

"And?"

"I threw him out, naturally," the old men eyed each other for a long moment. "How is he?"

"Your grandson?" the old man nodded, and Sarutobi smiled warmly. "Quite well, now that you sent her back," the Hokage sat down behind his desk. "Why don't you go and see him?"

"I've been gone his entire life, even after his father died."

"None of that was your fault. Your son was an exemplary ninja."

"Evidentially not competent. Emotionally," he added at Sarutobi's stern look. "Taking your own life is not the mark of an exemplary ninja."

"Himura--"

"Sarutobi, don't. I am old. Older than you, and I am tired. I am tired of betrayal, tired of the way of the ninja. Many can handle it, others can't. My son couldn't."

"Your grandson can. You are his only living family."

"I haven't been part of his life since he was born."

"Himura, I'm suggesting you talk with him. Tell him who you are," the older man frowned.

"Maybe someday," he smiled. "Someday."

Kakashi looked up from his book as Himura stepped into Masami's room, face set and grim.

"She's helping Sasuke pack," he told the old man, looking back down at the book.

"I was not looking for Masami," Himura said. Kakashi lifted his eyes back to the old man's face, and his eyes narrowed in a frown. "I was looking for you," Kakashi's frown deepened as the old man held out a small book, which was closed with a delicate lock. "This is rightfully yours," with that, he turned and left the room.

Kakashi looked down at the book, and closed his own, letting it fall to the bed covers. He stared at the words printed on the cover.

Hatake.

His breath caught in his throat, and he leapt to his feet, taking off down the hall after Himura. He caught him at the corner and pinned him to the wall. His headband had fallen off in his haste, so he was looking at the man with two eyes, completely devoid of emotion.

"Where did you get this?" he asked, voice flat, edged with the icy steel he usually reserved for his opponents in battle.

Himura didn't reply. "Your father left you the key," with that, he vanished in a puff of smoke. Jaw muscle twitching, Kakashi turned and strode back to Masami's room, staring at the book in his hands.

He knew where the key was.

"Kakashi?" he looked up at Masami as he walked in. "Lose something?" she held up his headband, which he took, still in a daze. "Are you all right?"

Without replying, he grabbed the neck of her shirt and pulled it aside, gently lifting the necklace she wore over her head.

"Kakashi-chan?" he fingered the key on the thin chain before fitting it into the lock and twisting. "What is that?"

"Every clan in Konoha keeps a record of their history," he said, fingers flipping open the front cover, the chain dangling from his fingers. "Births, deaths, marriages, techniques" his eyes flickered up to hers. "This one is the Hatakte family's," her eyes widened, and she resisted the urge to read over his shoulder. "Himura had it."

A gasp escaped her lips, and Masami's hand flew up to cover them. "Your clan?" he nodded, fingers tracing the edge of the pages as his eyes flashed over them.

"How did Himura get it?"

He didn't answer, coming to the last page with writing on it. He froze, the book tumbling out of suddenly tensionless fingers. Masami dove for it, catching it before it could hit the floor. She flipped open to the page Kakashi had been staring at and shrieked.

"Kakashi!" she slammed the book shut. "This means that--" she broke off, staring at the book in her hands for a long moment. Then she looked up at Kakashi. "Bloody hell," she lunged forward and grabbed his arm, guiding him over to sit on the bed before he collapsed. She cupped his face in her hands, making him look at her. Finally, with a sigh she pushed him down on the bed and stalked out of the room, leaving him staring blankly at the ceiling.

She was too late. "Sensei." She threw a kunai into the shield, though she knew it would do no good. "Sarutobi-sensei!"

She could hear his voice, soft and distant, but still there. "Where the leaves dance, fire burns. The shadow of the fire will flash over the village and the leaves will grow once again."

She couldn't hear anything else, the roaring in her ears was too loud. Orochimaru was killing her sensei, the closet thing she'd had to a father since her own had died.

Someone was screaming, and as her world went black, she realized that it had been her.

"Himura!" She grabbed the old man and threw him across the training field. Naruto and Sasuke stopped dead in their tracks, staring open-mouthed at the young woman. "You arrogant, cowardly son of a--"

"Watch your mouth young lady!"

"You don't get to tell me what to do anymore! No more lectures on morals, you bloody hypocrite!" she grabbed the front of his robes and pinned him to the side of one of the numerous boulders. "You hide out here for his entire life! You don't try to contact him when his father fucking died, and then you decide to tell him you his goddamn grandfather by giving him a fucking book?!"

"Masami, please understand--"

"I'm not going to understand! I'm never going to be able to understand why you would abandon your own grandson like that! Never!" she gave him one last shove before turning and taking off.

Naruto scratched the back of his head. "What just happened?"

"Himura is evidentially Kakashi-sensei's grandfather," Sasuke replied with a sigh. "And instead of telling him, he gave Kakashi the clan's record book, which includes a family tree."

"Smart kid," Himura muttered under his breath as he sank to the ground. He stared at the ground, and tugged at his gray beard absently. "How'd you figure it out?"

"Well, since my grandparents are dead it couldn't be me. She wouldn't have nearly attacked you if it had been Naruto, so that leaves Kakashi-sensei," Sasuke shrugged. "It doesn't take a genius to figure out."

Himura smiled. "That would be true," he smiled warmly, and leaned back against the boulder. "That would be true."

The two teenagers stared up at the gate looming ahead of them, their hearts pounding. When they had started their training, neither of them had thought that they would actually make it back to their village relatively unscathed.

Neither had actually realized what coming back would mean.

"Idiot." Sasuke muttered, looking around the filthy bar uncomfortably. Masami had already seated herself on one of the high stools, and after ordering a bottle of sake, she looked back at them. "What are we doing here again?"

"If you'd sit down. I'll explain," she said, taking a small sip of sake. "The thing is, you're not always going to be fighting other ninja. You need to learn how to react to people who aren't going to fight honorably, aren't going to back down, and may not exactly be entirely sober," she smirked. "So what better place to teach you?" she nodded at the bartender. "Not to imply that those kind of people frequent your place Gar."

The man rolled his eyes. "You know better than most the kind of men I get in here, missy," he smirked, shaking his head. "But you can handle them all right."

She smiled back at him. "Not today," she glanced sideays at the two boys. "They're going to handle your customers today," Naruto and Sasuke paused.

"What?" Naruto scratched the back of his head. 'What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about the two of you protecting me against all the big, ugly, drunk street fighters in here. And I'm not going to help you." She grinned. "I'll be right back," she ducked into the back room for a moment, and the two boys looked at each other.

"Do you see a point to this?" Sasuke shook his head.

"No."

Masami returned, and both boys froze on the spot. All she seemed to have done was let her hair down, but she looked extremely different. Dark hair framed her features, softening them. Naruto's breath caught in his throat. He now knew what Kakashi saw every time he looked at her. A deadly, beautiful, dangerous woman.

She sat down at the bar and picked up her drink, smirking at the two boys. "What?" she asked, though she already knew why they were gaping at her. "Stop staring, sit down and have a drink," she rolled her eyes, and muttered something under her breath.

"But-"

"No buts. Sit," she grabbed the nearest boy, who happened to be Naruto, and shoved him down into the seat next to her.

Not five minutes went by before one of the men stumbled up to the bar on her other side, so drunk he could barely stand. "'ave I seen you before?" He slurred. Masami didn't reply. "I swear I 'ave."

He leaned forward, squinting at her. "Though I think I'd remember a woman as scrumptious as you," he chuckled, and dropped a hand on her thigh.

In a blur of movement, Sasuke swung around both Naruto and Masami, grabbed the man's arm and twisted it behind his back and stopped just shy of dislocating it. The man let out a pained, obvioulsy drunk cry and tried to get away.

"Don't touch onee-san again," he said, and shoved the man off. He turned to walk back to the bar, but was suddenly tackled to the ground, pinned under the man's enormous bulk.

"Brat! You don't talk to me like that!" Sasuke groaned, completely unable to move. The man was too enormous.

A few feet away, Masami raised an eyebrow. "What are you going to do now Sasuke-kun? Not all of your opponents will be honorable. Not all of them will attack you from the front. Many ninja will attack you head on, but others, especially ANBU black ops attack when and where you least expect it."

When Sasuke's eyes stared un-focusing, Naruto hopped off his stool, and hauled the man off of his friend. His eyes widened as the man turned and took a swing at him. He ducked and rammed his shoulder into the man's stomach. The man dropped like a rock to the ground, winded.

Then he half-turned to Masami. "Are you crazy? He could have died and you didn't help!"

"I knew you would," she replied simply, and downed another cup of sake. "Himura has been training the two of you as brothers," they both turned to look at her, Sasuke's eyes refocusing. "The two of you will be an inseparable team by the time Humira is done with you. You'll never leave each other's sides and cover each others backs in everything that you do. That's how it works with a partner."

She got to her feet and nodded at the man behind the bar. "Gar," he returned the nod, and Masami hauled Sasuke to his feet, lifting one arm over her shoulder. "Come on nii-chan." She muttered. Naruto ducked under his other arm and together they left.

....wow. I'm really really sorry about not updating! The last time I tried my computer died on me, and I really did forget about this story. Thanks to sakura300000 for giving me a kick in the butt to update this for you.