Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

A/N: I want to thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter and who added this story to their favorites and follows. I haven't abandoned this story but I'll admit that I take a really long time to update my story.

Three weeks had passed since Gray had joined Fairy Tail and nothing much changed, except for the fact that Naruko now had a new acquaintance to hang with whenever Cana was out on a mission as well as someone to rant to when she had a argument with her cousin or her grandfather. To be honest, Gray was a great person to hang with. He told the funniest of jokes and made the most sarcastic comments she heard. Unfortunately, he always seemed grumpy. Well, sad was better way to describe his mood but she rather preferred to consider him grumpy then sad.

No one in the guild noticed that Gray never gave them a real smile or really ever laughed at the jokes. Sure he made sarcastic comments, which always seemed to make her want to punch him and of course he also got made some comments that made him get into fights with the other kids (mostly her). Yet whenever Gray didn't seem to think anyone was watching, he would look sad and guilty, discarding any illusion that she had of him being normal kid. She knew that it shouldn't be any of her business but she never liked it when a member of their guild was sad.

If a member of their guild was sad then they were all sad, and the last thing Naruko wanted was to be sad.

Speaking of sadness…

"Why are you frowning, Naruko?" Gray asked, taking a seat beside her as she took a small sip of the banana smoothie that the barmaid had kindly offered to give her. He looked so concern that the blonde sighed, shaking her head at him. If she didn't know how Gray could be sweet at times then she would have thought that he was pranking her.

Through she could smell a prank from a mile away! She was the queen of pranks when it came to their guild and in her school. So pranking her would have been difficult for Gray to do anyway. She shook her head at this thought and looked at Gray carefully, wondering whether she should be blunt on what she was thinking about or bring the topic in slowly, luring him to the false sense of security. At least then he wouldn't run away from the topic.

Should she be blunt?

Should she lure him in having a false sense of security?

With much thought and consideration, she decided that…it would be better if she was blunt with him.

"I was thinking that you've been here for three weeks already and you're still moping around," Gray's eyebrows shot to his hairlines and started to make sounds of protesting. Naruko snorted at his protests, waving her hand off at his words. "Please! Do you think I'm stupid? I always make sure to observe our new members to see if there is something I can use for a prank against them. With you, I notice that you look so sad whenever you think no one is watching you and always look guilty."

"I don't look guilty!"

"Sure you don't and my grandfather isn't a pervert," Naruko crossed her arms at him. "Y'know that if you frown then I'm going to start thinking that you don't like Fairy Tail! And I don't really want to think that or tell people that…so what's troubling you."

"It isn't any of your business."

"It becomes my business when you joined the guild," Naruko took a sip of her drink before taking a couple of deep breaths. "You see, I don't know if Gramps told you or if I ever told you this but when a member of our guild is sad then we're sad! And do you know how much I hate seeing people look sad?"

"A lot?"

"Damn right! It's annoying and frustrating because being sad won't fix any of your problems," she stared at Gray. "I don't know why you're sad or guilty, and I'm not going to push you about it. I really want to push you for answers but Gramps taught me better than that. He told me never to poke your nose to anyone's business."

"Your point?" Gray asked, raising his eyebrows as he stared at the blonde. She stared right back at him, playing with the edge of her skirt as she tried to think about what she was trying to say to him. Naruko wasn't going to lie when she said that she didn't know how to communicate her words properly. That was something her Gramps, Laxus and Cana had pointed out whenever they found out about her fights in school.

Obviously, she didn't want to have an argument and didn't want to cause problems between them because as much as she was reluctant to admit this, Gray was the only male friend she had. The only guy her age that she could get along with well, and didn't dislike with an inch of her life. Sure she despised his stripping habits but she was really trying to ignore it. Really trying was the key word here.

"Well, Naruko, your point?"

"I'm trying to say that if you need someone to talk to about your sadness or anything like that then you can talk to us! We're members of the same guild which makes us practically family." Naruko beamed. "In fact, since we're family, why don't I tell you something about myself! And you do the same thing!"

"What if I don't want to tell you everything?"

"You don't have to tell me everything!" Naruko nodded her head savagely. "I'm a lot of things but I'm not going to push you to say anything you don't want to say, I promise!"

"Alright," Gray finally said and Naruko grinned. "But you go first!"

"Fair enough!" Naruko said, rubbing her chin as she stared at him. "I guess I'll start with my name. My name is Uzumaki Naruko and the Guild Master is my grandfather, making Laxus my cousin! If you haven't met him then I'll tell you that he's a lovable asshole, you just need to dig really deep to see it. My parents are dead, had been since the day I was born so I really don't have any memories of them…"

"How did they die?" Gray looked at her wide-eyed. He frowned when Naruko raised her eyebrows at him, looking at him with thoughtfulness. He added hastily. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"I'm alright in telling you about how they die because to be honest, I never really knew them so I can't really be sad about the way they died," Naruko twirled her straw in circles, smiling widely at him. "My parents died protecting their village from a demon that nearly destroyed the village they had been living. Apparently, my Dad killed the demon and my Mom died giving birth to me or something like that."

"How did your dad kill the demon?" Gray had a strange look on his face as he stared at her, looking not only curious but also furious as he asked.

Naruko looked out at the window, shrugging her shoulders at him. "I don't know. I asked Kakashi and he said that he didn't know how he did it, said that no one in the village knew how it happened," she looked around the room to see if anyone was watching them before gesturing for him to come closer to her. He raised his eyebrow and complied with her wish. Her usual loud voice dropped to a whisper as she continued, "But to be honest I think it's a load of bullshit. No one can actually kill a demon; demons are immortal so how can a human kill them? My dad was a genius but even a genius had his limits."

"So you don't think your dad killed the demon?"

"If I don't have the proof in front of me, have concrete proof then you can bet your ass that I would never believe them!" Naruko admitted. "I like seeing proof since I've no choice but to believe it. If I don't see actual proof then I would never believe it because I'll think about the countless possibilities of what could actually had happen."

"So what do you think happened that day?"

"Don't know but my mind thought that maybe that he just sent the demon away but convincing him might have resulted him to dying because they might have to fight. Maybe he had been dying but no one knew it and so he thought maybe the better way for them not to know was to summon a demon and fight it to the point where he was dying."

"On your birthday?"

"I've an overactive imagination!" Naruko admitted, smiling sheepishly at him. "But back to my introduction, I like practicing magic and doing pranks, I love reading books, ramen, ice-creams and my family along with the guild! I dislike liars and perverts. I hate people who insult our guild and people who ruin my homework. My dream is to be an S-rank Mage of our guild! And surpass every expectation that everyone has of me! Now it's your turn!"

"Do I really have too?"

"Of course!" Naruko grinned. "I haven't done that and expect nothing in return. You've to tell me something about you at least your likes, dislikes and your hobbies. Anything else, you don't have to tell me. I told you all of that because everyone knows this about me and you should know this too!"

Gray sighed. "What will you do if I don't do what you ask?"

"I won't ever help you find your clothes ever again! And I'll make sure finding clothes will be difficult." Naruko chirped. He sighed, causing her to smirk. "Now tell me, Stripper!"

"Don't call me that!" Gray whined, crossing his arms at her. She simply shrugged her shoulders at him, gesturing for him to continue and he sighed at her. "My name is Gray Fullbuster! I like ice cones and anything really cold. I dislike spicy food and really anything hot. I don't really have any hobbies except practicing my magic!"

"Your introduction was short."

"Well no one can have a long introduction like you!" Gray retorted. "Why the hell did you practically tell me your life story? You could have simply told me your likes and dislikes and be done with it!"

"Because unlike you, Mr. Grumpy, I'm an open person!" Naruko took a huge gulp of her fruit smoothie. "I don't see the point of hiding my past when in the end, people are going to find out! Better to hear it from me then from some stranger you don't know about! You know what I mean right?"

Gray frowned before reluctantly nodding his head at her. She smiled at him, putting her legs on the table as she looked at him thoughtfully. "Besides I haven't told you everything, I just summarized myself to you! I've secrets just like you do and like you, I don't want to remember them or even think about it. I would like to live in the future."

"What secrets do you have?"

"It won't be a secret if I told you, now would it! If you want to know then you got to earn it, Stripper!" Naruko teased. Gray scowled at the nickname before rolling his eyes, muttering under his breath about who would want to know anything about a weirdo like her and this caused Naruko to scowl at him. She wasn't a weirdo! She was just different from the usual girly girls that hung around the guild.

"So…do you want to help me prank Gramps? I promise to buy you an ice-cream if you helped me!" Naruko said, using her puppy dog look to her full extent. Gray grimaced, looking quite uncomfortable with her puppy dog look and reluctantly nodded his head. Naruko grinned and pulled the boy closer, whispering in his ear of the plan. His eyes widened and before they realized it, the boy was grinning wildly at her.

"By the way, Gray, you lost your pants again!"

"Oh shit!"

Naruko sighed. "Come on, I'll help you find your pants."

And that was the start of their friendship.

"I heard from Kakashi-san that you spent a lot of time with Gray while I was gone!" Cana said, trying her hardest not to shift under her seat as Naruko sketched her. She really didn't understand why her best friend always kept using her for her art homework, and rarely used Laxus or her own grandfather. She sighed when Naruko shot her an irritated look for moving in her seat.

"So? I need someone to talk to while you're on missions," Naruko answered, relaxing her grip on her pencil. Cana grinned before frowning, remembering the stories that Kakashi said. He had teased her about how the blonde was replacing her with Gray, which was quite untrue because the two of them had a bond that couldn't be broken. He also said something about how Naruko was just so young to get a boyfriend, which was weird because Cana knew that Naruko didn't like boys like that.

Who at their age did?

"Well, Kakashi said that you're too young to have a boyfriend," Naruko gave Cana a frosty look and the brunette girl shook her head. "Don't give me that look! Look I know that you don't see guys like that but I just need to confirm that. Anyways, tell me what Gray is like? I haven't really talked to him since I went on a mission for the past few weeks! Does he still strip?"

"Yes."

"And you haven't hit him for it?"

"I want to but I know Gramps will be furious and from Gray's reactions, I can tell that he doesn't really mean to strip…and that doesn't mean I accept it or anything. I just can't do anything about it."

"Basically you thought about how to stop it but nothing seemed to came into your mind, right?"

"How do you know me so well?"

"We've been friends for three wonderful years, wouldn't it be expected that I know you so well?"

"True," Naruko said, beaming as she remembered how their friendship had started. "We've been the best of friends for three whole years alright! We have been friends since you joined the guild! Do you remember how we even became friends?"

"Of course, how could I ever forget that day?" Cana said, curling her lips into a small smile as she remembered that fateful day. "I was just moping around, doing nothing but listening to the stories that Macao was telling me about and out of nowhere, you came in and dragged me to the park! And when I asked you why, you told me that we're going to play games and that I was your friend!"

"When you put it in that way, you make me sound rude!"

"Well, I can't argue about that," Cana said, shrugging her shoulders at her.

"Hey! I know my manners, I just don't like using them!" Cana rolled her eyes causing the blonde to pout. "And anyways, I don't remember you complaining about it either! If anything you look happy that I did that to you, so in a way you can say I save you from continuing to listening to Macao for the next couple of years!"

"Whatever you say, Naru-chan. Whatever you say."

"Come on, y'know I saved you from listening to the same old stories."

"So, Naru-chan, tell me what is Gray like?"

Cana crossed her arms as she watched her friend twirled her hair around her finger, looking quite thoughtful for once this whole day, and that made Cana curious. For Naruko to give a look like that told her that Gray was either a mystery to her or she knew something but she wasn't certain if she should tell her about it. If that was the former then Cana would declare that the boy was very weird to be mysterious at this age. She really doubted that Gray was mysterious, from Naruko's words earlier it didn't sound like that.

If it was the latter then Cana was definitely curious because Naruko was good at getting people to open up to her but not this fast. It took Cana nearly eight weeks before she had really opened up to her friend about her mother, however it took Gray three weeks. Either Naruko had improved her people's skill or Gray was actually an open person. Knowing her friend, it would probably be the former then the latter.

"He's a nice person with a horrible habit of stripping," Naruko answered, looking at her friend with a huge smile on her face. "He is also a very grumpy guy, Cana but he's less grumpy than Laxus. It also doesn't help he likes to mope around Cana. That frustrates me because I don't know why and he won't tell me why. I don't mind he won't tell me but it seriously irritates me when I see a member of our guild moping! We're a happy guild! Anyways, he's also quite creative when it comes to pranks too! He helped me turn my gramps' office to winder wonderland! While I replaced my Gramps' books with storybooks that looked similar to his own."

"Did your Gramps notice that?"

"Of course he did! He yelled it out for the whole world to hear when he realized that his perverted books were not there and that it was filled with children's books."

"You're really evil to your grandfather."

"That'll teach him a lesson on not to bring those books home for me to see! And also how one day, a girl would actually do that to him and would actually burn those books away! The two of you might not see it but I did it out of love for my grandfather," Naruko said firmly, crossing her arms at Cana. The brunette girl shook her head at this. She knew that Naruko loved her grandfather but her ways of showing her concern and love was so weird. Honestly she had the same idea when it came to Laxus, except she had done something worse. So worse that Laxus had actually threatened to never talk to Naruko ever again.

Laxus would never threaten Naruko like that. He loved his cousin too much to even think about threatening her about it.

"Anything else, I need to know? Anything interesting happen in the guild since I left?"

"Not really, unless you count the fact that Macao and Wakaba are trying to figure out new ways to see what's behind Kakashi's mask," Naruko said, shaking her head at the memory. "I don't know why they're so obsessed with the mask! It's just a mask! Nothing for them to be curious about."

"It just makes him seem so mysterious, I mean haven't you ever wonder what he's hiding behind that mask?"

"Of course I do! And I've tried so many times to find out but nothing seemed to work. I gave him food but it all seemed to disappear even when I watched him! I gave him drinks it didn't work! Hell, I've even tried setting him up with one of the barmaids, followed them and yet I didn't see them kiss!"

"He's that good!"

"Who's that good?"

They turned their heads and Cana felt her shoulder relax when she saw it was Gray, who had asked and not the man who they were talking about. He raised his eyebrows, crossing his arms as he waited for one of them to speak. Cana glanced at Naruko, who grinned at the boy before gesturing for him to take a seat beside them. Shrugging his shoulders, Gray took a seat beside Naruko.

"So who's that good?" Gray asked, frowning at the two of them.

"Kakashi," Naruko put down her sketchbook and pen. "We're just talking about how no one in this guild had never ever seen him without his mask. Everyone in this guild had been trying in some way to find out what was behind his mask but nothing everyone did have brought him to take the mask out."

"Why don't you guys use your own magic on him?"

Cana bit back a smile when she saw Naruko's eyes widening at his words. It seemed for once there was something that the younger girl hadn't figure out but then again, she wondered why Naruko hadn't figure out to use her magic. Kakashi couldn't possibly have his mask on when the blond girl used her magic. The mask would be destroyed just by the sheer intensity by Naruko's magic. The winds Naruko produced were ferocious and fierce, destroying everything in its path when not used properly.

Naruko sighed. "I can't use my magic because I'll destroy the guild or parts of the city which means my grandfather would have no choice but to pay money for it."

"So?"

Cana chuckled at this while Naruko shot the boy a scowl, going on her usual rant about why she would never do such a thing. She had forgotten that not many people outside of the guild or new to the guild knew of Naruko's reluctance of destroying buildings. For as long as Cana could remember, there wasn't a time where Naruko had ever destroyed a building, not even by accident. The girl's love for her grandfather had outweighed any chance of her destroying the building.

Naruko would never do anything to make her grandfather cry.

"I get it! Jeez, don't give me a rant about it Naruko!"

"Well you asked why the hell I wouldn't ever do something like that, didn't you, Stripper! Of course I've to give you a rant about it because I thought I already told you that I would never destroy a building," Naruko said, crossing her arms. "I won't ever do something that makes my grandfather have to pay money for it! I'm not like my cousin, Laxus."

"Laxus isn't that bad," Cana said, frowning.

"He made my grandfather pay 800,000 Jewels! Do you know how much Gramps cried?" Naruko shook her head. "I swear these days, Gramps is crying more and more about money and I can't blame him. I would cry too if I had to pay money for damages that the guild makes."

"But it wouldn't be fun if there was no damages…" Cana said, repeating the words her friend had said a few years ago. Where was the Naruko who didn't mind the damages? Where was the girl who always looked at the bright-side? Naruko used to be able to laugh at these type of things.

"Do you want to see an old man cry because of the mistakes of someone younger than him?"

"He could always make them pay for it!"

"Do you really think that it is how that works!"

Cana shook her head and stared at the arguing kids. She had known Naruko for so long now and not once had she seen Naruko act like this. She had never argued with anyone before or gave anyone a nickname that fast before, she didn't know whether she should be amazed on how quickly Gray seemed to fit into Naruko's life or be worried about how fast Naruko was becoming friends with him. Then again, her best friend always seemed to have that effect on people.

Look how long it took for Kakashi to fit into Naruko's life, in his first week in the guild, the blond-haired girl had taken in to following him. There was even a time when Naruko had actually decided to copy Kakashi's style, wearing a mask and all that. Obviously that didn't last long. The girl couldn't handle the lack of freedom or liked how people kept staring at her.

She twirled her hair and observed as Naruko now argued with Gray about her eating habits and how it doesn't cost as much as the boy thought. Cana smiled softly at this. Her best friend was acting slowly like her old self with the boy. After what happened with Ivan, Naruko had changed. She got into more trouble, did a lot of pranks, rarely gave a real smile unless with her, Laxus, the Master and of course Kakashi. Naruko skipped school more often and Cana hated this. The old Naruko would be surprised at what happened to her and would be completely disgusted in how she was behaving.

The old Naruko gave a damn about how she acted and she always gave a real smile. She had never been the one to give fake smiles or to act so impolite.

This Naruko didn't care about how she acted and while Cana loved this part of her friend, she wished she took a little bit more caution for her behavior. All of the fights Naruko had gotten into had been dangerous. One wrong move and her friend could have dead. It was almost like the blonde wanted to die through she doubted this. Naruko knew how much it would kill her grandfather if she died. Everyone in the guild knew that the old man considered Naruko and Laxus were his light, his hope.

"I don't eat that much," Naruko said, crossing her arms as she scowled at the boy. "Compared to some people, I eat so little."

"Compared to other girls, you eat a lot."

"Well most girls do some crazy diet! Kakashi says he thinks it's nice I eat a lot," Naruko poked her tongue out. "And he's older so he knows what he's talking about."

"He also reads those perverted books in public," Gray said, crossing his arms at her.

"So?"

Cana rolled her eyes at her friend's question. "Naru, you've to admit Kakashi is weird and so him saying that doesn't mean it isn't true."

"So you agree with Gray that I eat a lot?"

"Well…you can eat fifty bowls of ramen if no one stops you."

The blonde crossed her arms. "I don't see what's wrong with that."

"Eating fifty bowls of ramen in just one sitting Naru-chan, makes any person fat," Cana explained, rubbing her forehead. "It's a miracle you aren't fat."

"That's because I exercise."

"Really exercise?" Gray asked, looking at Naruko as if she was a weirdo. There was no way her doing exercise could explain how the girl hadn't gained weight.

"Why are you so shock? Isn't it the same for you guys?"

Cana found herself twitching at her friend's question. It wasn't fair. If she ate as much as Naruko then she would gain a lot more weight and not in a good way even if she did exercise. Was it because of Naruko's genes? She could always asked Kakashi about whether or not the blond mother was the same.

"Of course not, Whisker!"

"Did you call me Whisker, Stripper?"

"You call me Stripper!"

"That's because you strip!"

Smiling, Cana observed as Naruko tried to change Gray's mind on the nickname. Her smile dropped when she notice the smile on her friend's face as they argue. The smile on her friend's face was real, something she hadn't seen in two years. Blinking her eyes, Cana observed the smile on her friend's face. It was curled slightly and her eyes were closed, not wide and opened like her fake smiles were.

For the first time in two years, Cana found herself smiling along with Naruko.

Maybe Naruko would stop trying to pretend to be someone she was not and just maybe she could see the remains of her friend who used to drag her by the ear to the playground. The friendship between Gray and Naruko showed her maybe just maybe not all hope was lost on Naruko.

"The Hokage-sama wished for me to inform you that they've found every spy and had dealt with them. He had also threatened the nations about attacking Naru-chan, so there will no need to be too concerned about her safety but he'll send others to make sure that she's safe," Kakashi said, staring at the grim expression of Makarov.

It was hard for him to believe the old man in front of him was his sensei's father. Where Minato was average in height, Makarov was tiny and where his sensei was calm, his father easily loses his temper. It made him wonder how the two could be related. The only thing the two of them had in common was their thoughts on bonds.

Makarov sighed. "I wish it wouldn't have to resort to this but I'm grateful. I don't know what went wrong with Ivan. He wasn't always like this…he used to be so much kinder."

Kakashi nodded, glancing at the picture of his sensei and his brother before looking at the warm eyes of the guild master. He looked away. His eyes were so similar to his sensei that it hurt to look at it. It wasn't as bad as Naruko. The little girl just looked exactly like her father from her blond hair and blue eyes to how smart she could be.

Now that the mission was over, he had to go back and he didn't want to. Spending so much time with the guild helped him with his aching heart especially whenever Gildarts was around. That man told him so many stories about his sensei that made him questioned what changed his sensei. This was a place he could see himself spending time in. He could see why his sensei had been pained to talk about his family.

If he had a family like this then he would feel a lot of pain for leaving them behind and in a way he would. In a space of few years, he saw this whole guild as his family with Makarov the grandfather he never had and Naruko and her friends as the younger annoying siblings he would never have.

"What are you going to do when you go back to your village, Kakashi?" Makarov grinned at the startled look. "Got any girls waiting for you over there? I know almost all the girls in the guild are going to cry about you leaving."

Kakashi found himself twitching at what Makarov was implying. "I'll go back doing ANBU missions. There's no girl waiting for me there."

"You're still too stiff," Makarov commented, shaking his head. "You shouldn't keep thinking about missions. You should think about enjoying your future, you only live once. I thought that's something every shinobi knows."

"Shinobi are tools to be used, Makarov-san."

"Doesn't mean you don't have emotions," The old man stared fondly at the picture of his grandchildren. "I remember the letter Minato gave me when he told me he was going to be a father. I was so afraid that he would lose his emotions, that he would forget what was important but the letter assured me he didn't forget."

"What was important?"

"Friends and family," Makarov answered and Kakashi found himself nodding his head. He did remember his sensei preaching to his old genin team about it. "I told Minato when he was a little boy that a person becomes strong when they have something to protect. I told him it didn't matter the spells a person can use because when someone have something to protect then that's when they become strong. I think he was at his strongest when he was protecting Naru-chan from the Kyuubi, I know the little girl certainly had made me stronger."

"How can you stand looking at her?" Kakashi asked, his eyes lingering at the picture of his smiling sensei. "She looks like a female version of him and she has his brain. The only thing she inherited from her mother was her love of pranks and ramen as well as her temper. It hurts to look at her."

Makarov took in a deep breath as he stared hard into the eyes of his son's student. How could he look at Naruko huh? That was a question he found easy to answer. It was because he no longer saw his son in his granddaughter. He was so used to her behavior that traits he thought belonged to Minato, now seemed in his mind to fit in better with Naruko. The little girl had always made it so easy for him to forget about some of his son's traits.

The only thing that he always associated with his son and granddaughter were their looks and brains, both being bright for their age but in completely different ways. Minato had been a genius as a shinobi and he was proud of that but Naruko wasn't, she was much more suited to magic. He might not have taught Naruko chakra but he knew Kakashi did.

After all, his granddaughter couldn't stop rubbing it in Laxus' face through they both knew Naruko would never use chakra. The girl saw no point in learning anything further then a few jutsu to Kakashi's disappointment. He wasn't going to force her to learn it, the blond-haired girl had her own choice.

"It might hurt to look at her but I think about the fact she isn't her parents," Makarov looked hard at the smiling faces of his sons. "There are days when I think it's too painful to look at Naru-chan and Laxus. My granddaughter looks like a female version of her father but her personality is more relax then what my son's personality ever was. Laxus looks nothing like his father yet he acts the same way he does but I know he won't become like his father. His love for the guild and for Naru-chan won't ever make him try to put the guild in danger."

From the furrowed eyebrow, Makarov could tell Kakashi had his doubts about Laxus. In a way, he could see why. The older boy was now talking about how the older members of the guild were trash but he knew it would go away, no he prayed this phase would go away. If not for the guild's sake then for Naruko and Laxus' sake, their relationship was becoming more strained by the minute with how Laxus acted.

He didn't want to see them being at their throats especially considering how Naruko was starting to have a short-temper. It must come from her mother's side of the family, Minato and his wife had never been short-tempered. A trait he had hoped that Naruko inherited but it seemed like his hopes was dwindling each passing year.

It would be a matter of time before someone get on the receiving side of Naruko's temper.

"Are you going to tell your goodbyes to them?" Makarov asked as he watched Kakashi stand up from his seat. The silver-haired young man paused at this question, his hands clutching the door handle. "Naru-chan will cry when you leave and the same goes for Cana, Laxus might even be a little bit pissed since he saw you as someone that the guild members should aspire to be."

"I'll tell them but it doesn't mean I'm not going to come visit," Kakashi admitted and Makarov smiled. "Your guild is really something and I'm certain that the Hokage would like to know how Naruko is doing. She may not be living in the village but there'll be people interested to know of her progress."

"She'll not return to your village."

"I know but there might be a day when she'll want to," Kakashi stated calmly. "I can see in her eyes that she's curious to know about Konoha, to see the village she was born in but I don't see her going to visit now. Not with her friends being here or her worries for you."

"I don't know why my granddaughter worries about me, I'm fit as a fiddle."

Kakashi chuckled. "Well as Naruko would like to say, you're not getting any younger and your drinking habits will be your downfall."

Makarov snorted at this but he knew this would be something his granddaughter would say to him. It was sweet of her to care but he was a grown-man, he knew what the consequences was and he didn't care! No matter how many times Naruko tried to hide his stash of alcohol, it wouldn't stop him from drinking.

He sighed.

At least the caring nature of his granddaughter would never change.

"You're leaving! Why! What's wrong with our guild!" Naruko cried when Kakashi announced to her, Cana and Gray that he was going back home. Cana was sniffling; rubbing her watery eyes while Gray rubbed his neck, uncertain on what he should do to cheer up the two girls. This wasn't something he had ever deal with before, Naruko and Cana don't cry especially Naruko since the blonde didn't seem to know the meaning of tears.

Gray glanced around hoping to find Laxus, the guy may be a bastard but he did know how to calm Naruko down, but there was no sign of him. Great. Now he was going to deal with a crying Naruko and it was all thanks to Kakashi.

"I have to go back to Konoha, Naru-chan," Kakashi said, kneeling down till he was at eye-level with the teary-eyed girl. She rubbed her eyes, lips formed into a pout before looking at him with wide-eyes as she waited for him to explain. "I came here because I had a job to do and that job is done. It's my duty as a shinobi to go back home, I've to give reports to the Hokage."

"But can't you stay here after you give him your reports?" Naruko pleaded, looking down at her foot while Cana leaned closer, rubbing her friend's back and giving Gray a look that said he needed to help her comfort Naruko. After a moment of hesitance, Gray awkwardly patted the blonde's shoulder, causing said blond to smile at him.

"I can't just stay here because you want me to, Naru-chan," Kakashi said and he winced at the sorrowful expression made by his sensei's daughter. "I've got a job to do and if I stay here then I'll be seen as a nuke-nin. Remember what I told you about them?"

"That they're bad?" Naruko asked hesitantly.

Kakashi sighed while Cana and Gray shook their heads at their friend, unsurprised at her answer while looking at the older man with curiosity.

"They're also hunted by Hunter-nins," Kakashi ruffled her hair causing her to give him an irritated look. "If I stay here then they might come here and you don't want that. The world of the shinobi isn't nice, if they think you guys are helping me then they might do something to harm the guild members. Do you want that Naruko?"

Naruko shook her head. The guild came first and there was no way she could let the guild members get hurt because of her selfish desire to see Kakashi stay here with her. If they ever got hurt then she would never be able to live with herself. You must always protect your friends and comrades, this was something her grandfather told her daily and a thought that Kakashi had often reinforce whenever they did missions together.

The two of them almost always did missions together.

"But who can I do missions with?" Naruko asked, rubbing her eyes as she stared at the man who she came to admire. "Laxus is a meanie, Cana won't let me do the fun missions…"

"You always pick the missions that screams danger!" Cana interjected.

"Because they bring in the most money and we all know we need a lot of money if we're going to share an apartment with each other," Naruko said, crossing her arms while Kakashi and Gray stared at each other.

"Naru-chan what makes you think I'm going to stay with you?"

"Because you love me," Cana rolled her eyes. "Don't roll your eyes on me, Cana-chan! You know as well as me you can't imagine a life without me!"

Kakashi bit his lips from saying a comment that would surely get Naruko angry and ready to hit him in the face. It might not look like it but the blonde had inherited her mother's scary strength and temper. He really did pitied the poor man who would ever marry the girl. His eyebrows twitched. If Naruko was ever going to marry then that would mean she would date. If she dates then that mean there was a chance her boyfriend might be a bastard.

No, he couldn't let Naruko date.

He needed someone to prevent the girl from dating.

But who could he ask? Kakashi didn't trust Laxus, not with the way he acted and while he knew the boy cared about his cousin, he wasn't certain if he cared enough to protect her. He couldn't beg Makarov because the old man already had too much in his plate and wouldn't mind too much of his granddaughter dating or might be too overprotective of the girl. Scratch that, the old man was going to be overprotective. Who could he ask to make sure Naruko remains innocent?

There was no one he could trust but if Naruko was anything like her mother then there was nothing for him to worry about.

"Oh come on Cana, I can't stay with Gramps and Laxus for the rest of my life!" Naruko cried, snapping Kakashi from his train of thought. Gray rubbed his forehead and gestured for him to stop the blond from continuing their argument. "I can't live with only guys! And you know how much of a pervert they are! Can't you take mercy on your loving friend and agree to live with her when we're older!"

Cana sighed. "Alright, we'll live together but you're going to be the one to tell Master you're moving out and you'll deal with his tears by yourself! And you're going to do some chores too!"

Naruko grinned and jumped on Cana, yelling out how she was her savior and how she would repay her in anyway she could while Gray stared at the pair of them as if they were weirdoes. Kakashi chuckled. He was going to miss the pair antics. There was something about the way they acted that made him wonder if he would act like Cana if Obito was alive.

He probably would act like Cana, maybe even harsher, but there was no denying that Cana and Naruko cared for each other. What did Naruko tell him? The two of them had been best friends since forever and that nothing could ever rip their friendship apart.

For the young girl's sake, he hoped it was true.

But knowing Naruko, she would make sure her friendship with Cana would stay strong and that she would never ever act like the other girls. In that way, he knew he could depend Naruko to keep a good head on her shoulder.

"Hey Kakashi-san, if you're not going to stay then you'll at least visit us, right?" Naruko asked, jumping off Cana and slinging her arm around Gray, who had lost his shirt. The blonde flickered her eyes at Gray's bare chest, sighing at what happened before scanning the room to find his shirt. When she found it beside one of the stools, she rushed off to go get it, leaving Gray, Cana and Kakashi alone together.

"You're going to visit us right, Kakashi-san?" Cana asked, staring wide-eyed. "We really likes it when you play with us and the stories you tell us about Naru-chan's parents! We want to learn more! And you'll bring presents when you come to visit us right?"

Kakashi rubbed his neck. "I'm going to visit, I don't think I can leave Naru-chan alone for too long right? You need a rest from looking after her."

Cana shrugged. "Yeah but I got Gray to help me with Naru-chan now."

This earned a raised eyebrow from said boy, who bristled at the comment. "And what makes you think I'm going to help you with Naruko huh?"

"Because we both know she's the only thing that can make you smile," Cana retorted causing the boy to grunt and for Kakashi to chuckle. "Besides would you like to deal with her being annoyed whenever Laxus says something stupid or the Master doing something perverted. The old man might have sense not to do it in front of Naru-chan but Naru-chan does know how the old man acts. Besides we both don't want a sad Naruko."

"She can be quite difficult to deal with when she is in that state," Kakashi admitted, rubbing his neck as he remembered the blonde's behavior. "If you think she was bad crying just now, Gray then you won't be able to deal with a really sad Naru-chan."

Gray gulped. "How bad is it?"

"Bad enough for Makarov to get worried," Kakashi informed him soberly and this caused Gray to raise an eyebrow. "If she gets really sad, I'm afraid…hell may break loose. I'm afraid there might be a day where he'll get angry if Naru-chan becomes too sad."

"You're making that up!"

Kakashi kept his face neutral making the younger boy gulp even more. He knew the younger boy must have heard stories about how frightening the guild master could be when angered, through most of the stories were exaggerated, it did hold some truth. The truth was Makarov was a scary man when angered, a man who he knew Konoha must not make an enemy of.

Not that he thought the Hokage would get into a fight with Makarov, the Hokage knew better than to get into fights but he did fear what the council would do to get Naruko. It was barely a secret that Danzo was furious with Sarutobi for giving Naruko to her grandfather and not to be raised in Konoha. There was always a chance that those people will be after the blonde.

If the rumors were true then it would be a matter of time before Danzo might try to get his hands on Naruko.

"How the hell did your shirt got all the way to the bar stool, Stripper!" Naruko asked, throwing the dark blue shirt to Gray. The older boy immediately caught it, putting it on while Kakashi shook his head at the pair of them. "One of these days we're going to break you of that habit or the very least, find a way to make you conscious of your actions. It could get you into trouble one of these days."

"What kind of trouble can I get in with this habit?"

"Fangirls," Kakashi immediately answered.

The three kids stared at him as if he was joking but the young man only shuddered, remembering his few experiences with them as well as seeing Itachi Uchiha running from his own club. Never be said fangirls were vicious creatures and would do anything to get what they want. If they found out there was a good-looking boy that had a stripping habit then they would chase after him.

He had no doubt about that.

"Well I better go," Kakashi said, glancing at his watch before ruffling Naruko's blond hair. "And I'll see you guys sometime soon. Who knows I might bring you presents."

"And maybe a girlfriend but we all know that isn't going to happen!"

Cana and Gray laughed while Kakashi pouted at her comment.

"Now that's being mean, Naru-chan!" Cana and Gray sniggered. "At least I'm not the one who has a boyfriend that strips."

"HE/SHE ISN'T MY BOYFRIEND/GIRFRIEND!" Naruko and Gray yelled in unison, causing Kakashi to chuckle and for Cana to giggle at their antics.

"To be young and in denial!" Kakashi sang as he went out of the door. Naruko grabbed the nearest object and hurled at Kakashi's direction, only for him to duck it. He chuckled. Yeah, he was going to miss doing this to the pair of them but who said he couldn't tease them next year huh?

Who knows maybe next year, he could get Cana to help him with teasing the two of them and give him blackmail material, especially on Gray.

Kakashi just had a feeling that he needed to be extra careful with that one.

A/N: This might be the longest chapter I have ever written before. In the next chapter, it'll be a two-year timeskip and Erza will be introduced. I would like to hear your thoughts on this chapter.