The lake...your previous nemesis. However, you have now mastered this liquid portal of death and are actually excited for the opportunity to train with something you have feared so much over the years.

Kakashi stands beside you as you both look out over the scenery. It is the first time you have actually looked at the landscape and found it to be as beautiful as everyone else says it is. It looks so magical sparkling away in the midday sunlight. The forest surrounding the area is lively with birds chirping and singing their songs.

"This is going to be fun!" Kakashi exclaims overly enthusiastic and removes his vest. He has been acting a bit strange since you stopped for a break in the forest. You have noticed on your trip here he had been reaching into his pocket more often than usual. Strange...very strange...

"I'm glad you wore pants today." He says, eying you up. "Not sure about the shirt though..."

It was then you realized your clothing choice is not the best for water exercises. Why did you have to wear white?

"I didn't dress appropriately...again...."

"Hehehe...It's not so bad... Aside from the white cheongsam, the outfit is actually perfect for this."

Today you had picked out the white cheongsam shirt, with subtle slits up the sides for the sole purpose of movement. It was stretchy fabric and let your hips do what they wanted to do. As for your pants? They are black and slim fit at the top until they reach your knees where they become baggy and easy to move in. You have tied them with white fabric at your ankles and tucked the rest into your shoes. You had pulled your hair up in long dangling ribbons, which you thought was pretty and Kakashi agreed. In fact those were the exact words he said while he watched you tie up your hair.

"You're ready for this. I know it." He says and takes your hand. Although you feel unsure about this whole venture.

He had barely explained the training along the way and seemed lost in deep thought almost the entire time. But from what you had pieced together during your parkour, you are to learn water jutsu today as well as holding a steady balance of chakra pooling into your feet to stay above the water.

He stops you at the edge of the lake and begins to remove his boots.

"You won't need shoes for this. I want you to be able to feel the energy from the water and the way it repels your own chakra pools."

"Ok." You reply and start to take off your shoes while he explains the rest.

"So, the plan is to use your chakra first, pooling it into your feet. Once you feel you have enough, step onto the water. After that we will go through the movements of the jutsu and how much to pull from your stone to balance the energy. We don't want you going Berserk on us today."

Beserk ? Now that's a new one....

You roll your eyes in response.

He claps his hands together and rubs them for friction.

"Ok! let's get that chakra draw started."

You follow suit and slap your hands together mimicking your ninja. Focussing on the draw, you picture the energy just like before, pooling in the lower chakras first before spilling into the higher chakras. Then you proceed back down the channel until you have pushed it all into your feet.

"Ready?" He asks.

You nod.

"Ready."

He waves his hand for you to walk forward. You take careful steps towards the water, making sure to keep the energy steady. Once you reach the edge you lift your foot and step onto it. Naturally, you had expected your foot to plunge into the water, but instead you felt the cool liquid mold around your foot. It only sunk in about a half an inch then stopped, supporting you with chakra and a repelling energy. As if you were standing upon a magnetic surface overwashed with water.

Kakashi marvels at you.

"Perfectly done."

You lift another foot, feeling the ripples and waves pass by right under your feet. It tickled slightly making you giggle.

He smiles at that and joins you up on the surface of the water.

"Very good. Now we walk into the middle." He takes your hand in his. "I'll hold onto you until you're comfortable."

You nod and continue to feel the sensations. The cool tickle at your feet, the warm breeze in the air, the sounds of the birds, and your favorite person in the world beside you, making sure you feel safe in this moment. You could have never imagined something like this...something so tranquil and perfect. It brings tears to your eyes thinking about it. But you quickly choke them back as you don't want Kakashi to feel like you're scared or not having a good time.

He leads you further into the middle of the lake. You keep watch of how the crystal clear waters grow deeper and deeper. You have never seen a lake so vibrant in blue, or so clear you can see right down to the bottom.

Kakashi tugs on your hand, stopping you. Then instructs you to turn and face him. You look up at him and smile with excitement.

"How is that?" He asks.

You scan the landscape taking it all in.

"This is...amazing!!"

He looks around at it all.

"Right? See why this is my favorite place for chakra pooling?"

You giggle.

"Yes."

Then you notice a shift in his behavior. He becomes tense and nervous all of a sudden. He backs up a foot and stands unsure of himself.

"I...uhhhh..." He begins only to choke on his words, looking away from you.

It sparks some worry in you.

"Something wrong?"

His eyes flick up to you, almost surprised.

"What?...no..not at all...it's just..I want to ask you something..."

A small breeze picks up sweeping your hair, making it flutter behind you. He pauses for a moment to watch it ruffle your hair and press your thin fabrics tighter against your skin.

"Kakashi, what is it?" You ask, dying from the anticipation.

He clears his throat.

"I should have done this a while ago...but time hasn't been...well...in our favor..."He pauses for a moment before carrying on. "God...I'm not good at this stuff..." He nervously sweeps a hand through his hair blowing out a breath.

"It's ok..." You assure him. He is so nervous right now it is making you nervous.

He sucks in a breath and reaches into his pocket. For a moment you start to piece things together and your heart begins to thump loudly in your chest. Is this a proposal?... Holy shit! No way!....

Your eyes widen as he removes a small velvet box from his pants pocket.

"Hana, do you think...ahhh..." He stops and curses himself, then blurts it out so fast you can barely understand what it is he wants to say.

"Would you want to be my girlfriend?"

He reaches his hand out to yours. You follow his motion and place your own hand in his.

You are about to cry, knees almost buckling at how beautiful this moment is. It is so sweet and so perfect you can barely hold the chakra at your feet.

He places the box in your hand and quickly shoves his hands back into his pockets, shifting uncomfortably while he waits for you to answer.

You hold out on him, not meaning to, but you need to see what is in this box first. It has captured all your attention. Pressing firmly on the edge with your thumbs, it springs open.

There in it sits a gold pendant, flat, diamond shaped. With small squares cut out in the middle creating a checkerboard look to it. Attached to it is a long herringbone chain that sparkles like the water below you. You gasp at how beautiful it is.

"That is the symbol of my clan...not Konohagakure. It was given to me by my father before his death. I want you to wear it. To me..." He clears his throat again, which draws your attention to look up at him. His eyes are glossy, he has a forlorn look to him.

"Um...to me...you have a place in my clan...if you wish to accept that is..."

He swallows hard at his last words.

And you break down at that. Your heart is so full it hurts. Tears spill down your cheeks as you try desperately to hold onto the chakra so you don't fall into the water ruining this surreal moment.

You swallow down the lump in your throat and wipe a tear from your cheek. To ease your feelings you reply with some banter.

"My blow jobs are that good huh?"

He blinks twice, then bursts out laughing, his cheeks turning a shade of red you had yet to see.

Then you tell him honestly.

"I'm all yours, Kakashi Hatake. You're everything I've ever wanted..and I accept!"

Smiling wide, he blows out a long heavy breath he has been holding and grins from ear to ear.

"Thank god..." He says breathlessly.

And at that you close up the box, still holding it tightly you hold out your arms beckoning him to hug you for god sake. He sweeps you into a much needed embrace and holds you there for a long time.

"When I say you're everything to me, I mean it." He reminds you.

You tighten your grip around his neck, nearly choking him.

"I love you too." You whisper into his ear and he returns the affection equally.

"Here...I'll help you put it on." He takes the box from you and comes around to your back. Carefully he secures the necklace around your neck then turns you to look at him.

He smiles warmly.

"Fits you perfectly."

You wrap your fingers around the pendant feeling its weight and how smooth the gold is.

"You'll have to keep it tucked into your shirt for a while. Which means no more low cut tops." He grins mischievously.

You laugh softly.

"Was that part of your plan?"

He nods and winks.

"Five steps ahead...always." As he pockets the box he gets you into position for your training session.

"Alright, enough of the mushy stuff. Let's get down to business. We are going to try a technique called, water style, water dragon jutsu."

This sparks a ton of excitement in you.

"Dragons?"

"Yup! Dragons!"

You get all over excited about this. He chuckles at you and gets into stance.

"Watch closely."

You watch his leg position as he moves into a forward weighted lunge stance, bringing up his hands, fingers tight together with open vertical palms.

"Water release technique is the very essence of Chakra flow . As water is the nature of balance, serenity, and movement all at once." He steps forward moving his hands along an invisible line, twisting his hands downwards then pauses.

"This practice is called jutsu-chi...something I made up because I'm awesome like that."

You shake your head and listen carefully.

"I have taken jutsu and combined it with Tai-chi, to help understand the movement of jutsu and chakra relative to the release we are trying to create." He begins to move slowly through simple hand signs using his whole body. Just like Tai-chi, his movements become more of a slow balanced dance and the hand signs are incorporated in-between.

"As you can see I have not drawn any chakra for this yet. I just want you to memorize the hand signs and steps between to make the flow of chakra energy smooth...like water." He straightens up as he finishes his last hand sign and turns to you.

"Understand?"

You salute him.

"Sure do!"

"Good! How is that stone?"

You had barely noticed it until he had said something. There is only a slight irritation in your chest.

You shrug.

"I can feel it but it's not bad at all."

Kakashi approaches you, placing a hand on your shoulder.

"Any normal chunin can do this jutsu with ease. But your stone and Kekkei genkai will be a problem. We must counter the stone's energy once your Kekkei Genkai kicks in. So if you feel a burst in energy either through your stone or chakra you counter it with the other."

You chew your lip nervously. Wondering how the hell will you be able to tell the difference.

"I'm not sure if I can. I mean I haven't quite figured out the difference between the two."

He laughs.

"That's because you're stubborn and don't listen well."

Your eyes snap up to him.

"Hey! I listen."

"To your body? Not a chance! You're always worried about what is going on around you instead of what is going on inside." He taps on your chest. "Your body should tell you everything you need to know, it's time to trust in yourself."

You blow out a breath. He really is a genius.

"Ok, I'll give it a shot."

"You don't really have a choice. I didn't come all the way out here to watch you stand there...."

And there is that typical trashy attitude making itself known. But it only seems to motivate you to wow him.

"Yeah, yeah...let's do this."

"That a girl!" He waves for you to proceed.

You strike your pose just the way Kakashi had shown you and he positions himself beside you in the same formation. At the same time you begin to move through the jutsu-chi sequence.

You sweep through your lunge position shifting your weight as you do and point your palms downwards. Kakashi moves in line with you then stops.

"Ah ah ah. Watch the flex in your hands. You want your index fingers to align perfectly. Like this."

He comes in close drawing his hands along yours, guiding them into place.

"Your arms are like spaghetti noodles too. You need to be strong."

You huff at him.

He squeezes your wrists giving you an idea of the strength that is needed.

"Ok."

You immediately flex your muscles and feel a big difference right down to your toes.

"That's right...you got it. All jutsu must be performed with strength. Think of your body as a chute of bamboo. Flexible, even bendable, yet strong at the same time."

You nod and try out the movement again, this time keeping your arms tensed but allowing enough movement for flow.

"Very good. Just like that." He says and wraps an arm around your waist pulling you closer. His fingers trail down your shoulder, the length of your arm, where they lift your wrist up to eye level.

"The next formation...One arm up, the other back slightly. Your index and middle finger should align on both hands. This formation is meant for focus and energy draw. At this point you should have half the chakra pooled."

His explanation is far better than Naruto's, you have never had it so in-depth before. Even training as an assassin using your stone was basically trial and error, nothing like this.

"Next movement...". He guides you through three more hand signs, giving each a thorough explanation of how and why. Yet you can't help notice how close he is to you. At one point you swore he kissed your shoulder. Is he trying to distract you? ... probably... it most likely some type of skill test for focus. So you ignore his subtle flirtatious gestures and more intimate guidance. You finish off your last hand sign and he backs up.

"You have great focus today." He says.

You snicker at him.

"Distracting me with flirting won't work this time."

He laughs.

"Picked up on my game Huh?"

"You're very obvious."

You watch him position himself ten feet away.

"I'll have to work on that...Now It's time for us to use some chakra."

He slams his fist into his palm with determination. Which sparks your own determination.

In unison you move into your stances although Kakashi is on the opposite foot this time.

"Follow my lead, we will be doing this a little faster."

You nod, focusing directly on him.

"Chakra." He calls, just like Naruto had done with you before.

You begin your pulls and follow Kakashi's movements into the first hand sign.

"You'll need to pull more than that!" He calls as you circle around each other.

Quickly you fill up another chakra pool and follow through with the next sequence of hand signs, noticing a shift in the wind around you.

Kakashi sweeps by you in the opposite direction, dipping low in his stance just as you do. You were in complete sync with him, nothing is out of line. Things seem to be going extremely well with no stone problems...yet.

The water around you begins to stir with riptides, thundering out from under your feet. As he passes you by once again he calls out another instruction.

"Next hand sign...fill three chakra pools."

And you do it with ease, feeling that prickling sensation of chakra energy enlightening your body. The next two formations were a breeze, then you reached the last hand sign and sharp pain pierces your chest.

You gasp loudly and stumble through your movement. Kakashi notices immediately.

"Stone or chakra?!" He calls from a fair distance away.

You panic, as you have no idea which has your Kekkei Genkai triggered.

"I...I don't know." Suddenly your left foot plunges into the water.

"Hold the chakra, Hana!"

Quickly you correct the chakra balance letting some pool back in your feet and rebalance yourself over the water. But the pain in your chest is growing. You hold a hand over your stone and stumble sideways just catching yourself.

"Which one is it, Hana?" He says in a more serious tone.

"How the hell am I supposed to know?" You snap back.

"Why don't you ask?"

You look up at him questionably and notice your surroundings have changed. Streams of water are rising into the air around you and large bubbles have formed floating towards the sky.

"This." He waves his hands to the strange phenomenon surrounding you both. "Is all your doing. I haven't even tried pooling chakra yet. Now which is it?"

"What do you mean by ask?" You holler back through the pain.

"Your cohort knows more than you think. Ask him!"

Kakashi had struck you with a bolt of realization at this moment. You straighten yourself and focus on the stone just like you usually do to reach him. Then you close your eyes and picture your panther in your mind.

There he stands before the pool of water watching you, his golden eyes waiting for you. He lowers his head to the pool and you look down to see it glowing blue aura, similar to the chakra you have seen gathered into Kakashi's hands. You knew right then and there which energy had triggered your Kekkei Genkai and you pull yourself out of your minds eye.

Your eyes snap open and you draw stone energy as fast as ever. A blue light shines through your white shirt and a strong wave of power erupts out from you.

Kakashi closes his arms shielding himself from the blast and skids to a stop on the water's surface twenty feet away.

"What is it?!" He shouts.

"Stone!" You shout back and tap into more energy. With each draw your pain seems to subside, however, with each draw a new feeling of power fills your body.

"Keep drawing stone energy until your pain is gone. Then pull more chakra and try the water release again!"

You can barely hear his instructions over the crashing waves around you and the streams of water whipping by.

Three more draws from your stone is all it took to level out your energy. By now a storm has gathered above you, striking blue streaks of lighting in different directions. Rain has begun to fall heavily above you both, but you don't seem to notice it at all. Your mind is completely focussed on energy balance and movement.

As you step into your lunge stance for your first hand sign, the world around you seems to slow. Drops of water fall gradually into the lake below, which is now billowing out large waves with the force of your energy. You pull a massive amount of chakra into your pools and follow through with the next hand sign. This one takes much more focus, so you close your eyes letting yourself run through your own tai-chi combinations.

"That's right, Hana! Make it your own! Do what comes naturally!" Kakashi calls out to you. He has now positioned himself fifty feet away, almost at the shoreline.

Eyes still closed you push through to the next hand sign. This triggers your Kekkei Genkai once again, but this time from the stones power. You can tell by the way your cohort roars at you in your mind. So you pull as much chakra as you can.

Lightning strikes the sky and thunder rumbles the lake, shaking the water as you move into the next hand sign. You pull your right leg back into a lunge position and get ready for the next. By now your body has reached a level of energy you have never felt before.

At the last hand sign a power unfolds from you. It shakes the ground and thunders into the sky. Your hands erupt in a bright blue light. You feel your feet leave the water, but are too focussed to open your eyes and look around. You hold onto this feeling as long as you can, bouncing energies back and forth until finally you find absolute tranquillity.

You check in with your cohort, and find him drinking from the pool of chakra. He is helping you somehow you know it, and can't help but feel a newly formed connection between you.

You bound out of thought and open your eyes to the world, smiling victoriously. However, the scenery around you is not what you had expected to see. Surrounding you and Kakashi are not just one water dragon...the entire lake was filled with dragons so tall their heads can barely be seen from below. You test your control over them.

A twitch of your glowing hand to the right and the dragons all move in unison. A twitch to the left they do the same. You look down at your hands astonished.

"I've never seen anything like this before." Kakashi says, appearing in front of you scanning the lake.

"There must be over one hundred." He gasps. There is a look of Star struck awe washing over his expression but deep in his eyes you also see a touch of fear.

What is the meaning behind that fear? It could be for any reason. So you decide to stop this chaos swirling around you before something happens.

"How do I stop it?"

He looks up at you, hovering a foot taller in the air.

"Stop it? I think you should hold it as long as possible. Until it dies out."

You shake your head starting to feel anxious. Kakashi seems to notice your own fear rising.

"Ok, let it go slowly. Disperse the energy around you but very slowly. If you do it all at once you will create a bomb and destroy us all."

Well if that isn't terrifying, you don't know what is.

"Use your breath! Breathe in...one....two....three..."

You do as he says and close your eyes focussing on your breath.

"Breath out and release a small amount each second....three...two...one..."

Breathing out you release small portions of the energy, although you thought it was small. It was enough to slam into Kakashi pushing him back towards the shoreline again.

"I'm fine!" He shouts. "Keep going!"

Three...two...one.... You continue counting down your breaths releasing the energy at the same time until finally, after thirty breaths, the world around you sinks back into its normal state of tranquility. The dragons burst into drops of rain fading away into the water. The lake stills, the storm above you disappears and you float back down the water holding enough chakra to keep you afloat.

You search the area for Kakashi and find him off to your right, back on the shoreline you started from. He is grinning wildly, his chin held high with pride.

Suddenly you hear a loud clapping noise followed by a voice praising you. Your eyes flick over to a white cloaked figure standing feet away from Kakashi.

"Well done, Neko! You've almost got control! I'm proud of you sister!"

Your brother calls out to you.

Your eyes widen in shock. Immediately you feel the intense friction between Kakashi and Shiro. So you hastily make your way to the shoreline to hopefully stop any thing that might arise in this messed up situation.