Suzume crossed her arms, glaring at her brother. He only smirked as he moved another piece of shogi. Seeing his move, she scoffed."Watch your back, Captain." she said with a chuckle, moving her own piece.

"I win, Nii-san."

Minato could only stare at the board, his eyes twitching. He finally let out a heavy sigh.

"I almost won, Suzu. You ruined the whole plan."

She laughed. "You still lost. Anyways, Nii-san, what are-..."

"Namikaze!!" A yell was heard from inside. The 2 siblings turned to find a certain Uzumaki standing in the doorway, her right arm on her hip.

"Minato! Clean up the living room! I don't want to see Sensei's pervy book on my couch!"

The older blonde cringed. He stood up and looked at his sister. "We'll have a rematch, Suzu." He told her, before he walked out.

Kushina turned to Suzume. "You didn't bring your weapon pouch yester-..."

"Eh?!" Suzume's exclamation cut her off. Kushina sighed, as she crossed her arms, giving Suzume a look that said 'just-listen-to-me'.

"You brought Sakumo's. Now go and return it." Suzume nodded. She entered her room, and grabbed the weapon pouch on her desk, observing it.

"It's indeed not mine, but it's not Sensei's, either." She mused out, as she unzipped the pouch. Her eyes narrowed. There's about two dozens of kunais inside. Bronze-colored kunais. She pulled out the blades, and examined it. All of them had a small carving, the kanji of her name, at the edge of the hilt. She took all the blades, and the pouch was left with nothing but a white envelope in it.

She opened the envelope, and found a letter. Unfolding the paper, Suzume's eyes scanned through the text, and went wide at the content.

'Dear Suzume...
I'm sure you already heard the news. I shamefully admit... that they're right. I did make a big mistake. Yes, my teammate survived but the village lost many things for it. How everyone treats me... I deserve it. I deserve it, but I can't bear the pain. I don't want Kakashi to become a failure like me, so I'm leaving. I'm sorry, Suzume, but I won't be back... ever. Please forgive me.

Take care of Kakashi. Promise me, Suzume.

Thank you for being the best student I can ever ask for.

With regret,
Sakumo Hatake.'

Suzume immediately rushed out of the room.

•×•×•×•×•×•

Unlike usual, it was raining heavily in Konoha. The wind blew furiously, but a figure ran through the empty streets of Konoha. Lightning flashed in the sky, and thunder roared in anger. Suzume flinched at the sound, but kept her pace.

The letter, the rain and the thunder... They brought back her old memories...

There's hardly any rain in Konoha, and a storm like the one now - it only happens about once or twice in years. And when there is one, there's always tragedy.

"Please, not a storm... Please, Kami, I beg you... Not a storm..."

Suzume kept repeating the spell, as her hand began to play with the red scarf around her neck, as the result of the bad feeling in her guts. She ignored her soaking wet dress, and just keep fastening her steps. As she reached her destination, she slammed the gate open. She began to knock impatiently on the door, her knuckles hit the wood surface nonstop.

"Kakashi! Sakumo-sensei!" She kept calling, but received no reply. Finally, she lost her patience, and kicked the door open. Her breath hitched at the sight. The lights were off, and it was cold, silent. Suzume slowly pulled out a kunai, as she made her way towards her Sensei's room. She noticed how she could only sense Kakashi's chakra, and it's getting into her nerves.

As her eyes fell on an open door, she approached it. She gasped, and dropped the blade she was holding. Kakashi was kneeling on the ground, his body trembling. In front of him, lay his father, in his own pool of blood, with his hands holding a kunai, stabbed through his throat.

"K-Kakashi....? Sa-Sakumo-s-sensei...?" Suzume breathed out, as her eyes began to water.

"Suzume..." Kakashi croaked out, his voice hoarse but cold, "What are you doing here?"

Suzume had faced death before. She wasn't as shocked as most kids would be. However, this was her sensei.

"W-What happened...? I went t-to check a-and-..."

"It's none of your business! LEAVE!!" The Hatake screamed, as he quickly stood up, and ran out of the room. He bumped against Suzume on his way, causing her to stumble and fall onto the floor, right on her kunai.

Slowly, Suzume raised from her position. Ignoring her bleeding shoulder, she walked limply into the room, and kneeled beside her sensei's cold body. She gripped her chest, where her heart should be, and began to pray silently.

"I promise, Sensei... I will protect Kakashi..." She muttered, as she closed her eyes.

Wind blew near her ears, and she could hear a soft whisper.

"I know you will, Suzume. Thank you."

•×•×•×•×•×•

"Nii-san!" Suzume practically screamed as she barged into the house. Minato immediately rushed towards her.

"Where were you?! And why are you soaking wet?!"

"Sakumo-sensei..." Suzume panted, " He committed suicide."

"W-What?!" He exclaimed in shock, his eyes widened at the news.

Suzume nodded, as she turned away, and ran out. "I'm going to find Kakashi!"

When Suzume finally found the Hatake, he was standing in front of the KIA stone. She was stunned at his reaction. Instead of sadness, his eyes showed anger.

"He's nothing but a failure." He said, when she put a hand on his shoulder, "He couldn't take the consequences of his own actions, and so he killed himself. It was a cowardly way to escape. But I'm glad he left."

His voice shakes at the last part. Suzume knows that deep inside, he doubted his own words. She let out a sigh.

"He saved his teammate, Kakashi. He-..."

"What for?" Kakashi snapped, "The completion of the mission is every shinobi's priority."

"Are you saying that the mission is more important than human lives?" Suzume asked, narrowing her eyes.

"No. What I mean is that the safety of the village is more important than his teammate's life."

"No one was killed, Kakashi. The village is safe!"

"But our village lost something very vital. We lost-..."

"They're just papers!" She yelled, as she hit his shoulder, "It's not that great! I don't even think it will harm the village! It has nothing to do with shinobis!"

"It's still-..."

"What if he died? What if your father left his teammates just to save those files from the rogue nins? You can't buy human lives! Are you-..."

SLAP!!!

Suzume's eyes widened as Kakashi's cold hand hit her cheek.

"You're too naïve, Suzume. That's why I hate you. Shinobi rules were made for a reason. My father shouldn't have let his emotions control him. We fight for our village only. Feelings are merely just a weakness." He said fiercely, as he turned and began to walk away.

Suzume clenched her fist, as she watched her used-to-be-best-friend leave her.

"We may be shinobis, we may be prodigies, but we're only human." She told him softly.

Kakashi grunted at her words, and quickly teleported away. Her eyes widened at his actions, as a few drops of tears escaped her eyes.

Suzume fell onto her knees, and broke down crying.

She lost 2 of her 'family' members. She lost her father-figure and her best friend in one day.

•×•×•×•×•×•

"Thank you, Minato-san. We'll be taking care of this now. Would you mind taking care of Kakashi Hatake?"

"No, not at all. Well, I'll take my leave now." The blonde told his fellow jōnin, who nodded at him. Minato walked out of the room, to find a certain silver-haired chūnin standing in the kitchen's doorway. After a moment of silent, the Namikaze spoke up.

"Pack your things, Kakashi. You're staying in my house."

"No. I'm staying here." The boy snapped, crossing his arms.

"Kakashi, just do as I say." Minato growled, "Or no training for 2 weeks." He finished his warning, glaring at his student, who scoffed and left.

As they walked along the streets, towards the Namikaze's house, Minato turned to Kakashi. "Did you meet Suzume?"

The boy nodded.

"Where is she?" Minato asked, narrowing his eyes. Kakashi shrugged, not even looking at his sensei.

In a blink, Minato disappeared.

•×•×•×•×•×•

Suzume's eyes fluttered open. Slowly, she sat up, and major headache attacked her immediately. She grunted as pain struck her shoulder, and she pinched the bridge of her nose while she leaned onto the wall. Memories of the previous night rushed into her mind, causing her to flinch.

Sakumo-sensei... Suicide... Kakashi...

"You're too naïve, Suzume. That's why I hate you."

She growled. Of all the words in the dictionary, he chose 'naïve'?! He may call her that when every shinobi in the world becomes innocent, and that's never!

"Suzume," A voice snapped her out of her thoughts. She turned, to find her brother standing in the doorway, "Are you alright?"

She scoffed, and turned away. "Why wouldn't I be?" She asked bitterly, clenching her fist tightly. The older Namikaze let out a sigh and entered the room, closing the door.

Suzume's eyes slightly widened at his outfit. He never took off his shinobi attire since 4 years ago. And now he was wearing his old dark blue T-shirt and a white jacket, with the headband around his neck as the only clue that can show he is a shinobi.

Minato's gaze softened as he approached his sister, before he sat next to her and pulled her into a side hug.

"I guess I should say Happy Birthday?"

Suzume stayed silent, her lips beginning to tremble.

"It has been a long time since we spent a whole day together, huh? What do you think? It's their 4th anniversary, after all. Mom and Dad must have missed us." He said, as he ruffled her hair.

"You know, Suzume, I was too worried that I couldn't sleep. I found you passed out near the KIA stone, crying, with the wound on your shoulder. You should have taken care of yourself more."

She gave him a slight nod, and he caressed her cheek.

The older Namikaze tilted his sister's head and looked at her matching blue eyes, letting out a heavy sigh.

"Please, Suzume. I hate seeing you like this. You never tell me what's wrong. You always keep everything inside."

The closed her eyes, biting her lip. She turned to her big brother and buried her face in his chest.

"Suzume, you can't stay strong forever. It's okay to cry once in a while, you know? I'm here."

And this was enough to make her dam burst. She started sobbing, clutching Minato's jacket. He rubbed her back soothingly as tears streamed down her face.

She cried and cried, letting out the tears she had been holding back for 4 years.

•×•×•×•×•×•

We hope that you enjoyed reading this! This chapter was made solely by Raven (Sakusha-nee/MidRav).
Tell us what you thought of it - feels, anyone? (I know I felt the feels when I read it! xD)
See you all next time!! ^^
~Angel/Slay

It's me, MidRav! Tell us what you think! I hope this chapter worth the work! >.<