(AGAIN, I HAVE NOT SEEN KAKASHI GAIDEN, SO APOLOGIZES IF ITS NOT SPOT ON, AND THANKS TO Gaara-Panda FOR HELPING ME OUT.)

Meiko stared at the note in her hands, her walking having completely ceased. Her eye darted over the writing multiple times just to double check that it was actually her note.

"Meiko? Are you okay?" Minato asked, causing everyone to stop and look back at her. When Kakashi laid eyes on what was in her hands, they widened. The piece of his hair that landed in between his eyes, under his headband hid it slightly from everyone but Meiko.

She just nodded and looked at Minato. "Yeah, I'm fine." She said with a small smile, the rest of the team nodded and began to walk, Meiko continuing to pull the rear as she stared at the note. She sighed heavily and shoved the note into her pocket, knowing that she was going to have to talk to Kakashi about this.

It couldn't possible be him, could it? The person had said so many sweet things to Meiko over the years, helped her find ways to deal with her anxiety and helped her fight her demon. Kakashi wasn't capable of that, was he? He had became so cold and distant after his fathers death, but the person behind the notes had never faltered with the behavior they typically shared.

Meiko let out a long, aggravated sigh as they walked into a forest, her small feet kicking at a pebble she saw, knocking it into a tree. The pebble bounced off of the tree and it landed somewhere Meiko couldn't pin-point. She glanced at her teammates and began to think about what she could do to be as great as them one day.

Rin was a top edge medical ninja. Everything about her made Meiko want to be her in a sense. She was beautiful, she was smart, she had the attention of boys, she was great at medical ninjutsu, she was just an all around perfect girl, that even if she had a flaw, she wouldn't dare to show it. Part of Meiko was mad that Rin for being so perfect, but the other knew that she had no part of it.

Obito was a knucklehead, but Meiko and him had gotten closer over the years. He and her used to think of different pranks to pull on Kakashi when both of them began to gain the hatred towards him. It was never terrible pranks, but they constantly seemed to piss off Kakashi to the point that he would tell them all of the rules that they had broken. Neither Meiko or Obito cared though, they just enjoyed being assholes to him.

Minato was someone that Meiko looked up to, and wanted to be a lot like him. He was someone who was greatly respected in Konoha, he was a Shinobi of the highest ranks, was greatly feared throughout all of the nations. Meiko wanted to be just as good as him one day.

And then there was Kakashi. Meiko didn't know how she felt about Kakashi anymore. Earlier today, she hated him and his cocky attitude, but now, what if he was the guy she had told all those things about herself to? What if he was the guy she opened up to and completely let her walls fall around over paper? She couldn't hate someone who had been there for them for so long.

An arm was thrown in front of Meiko, causing her to jump slightly. Kakashi's arm was in front of her, a glare on his face as he looked at her. "There's a new chakra ahead. Did you not sense it? A ninja must always be on there toes, Meiko." He said, and Meiko rolled her eyes.

"Actually, there's over twenty chakra's ahead." Minato said, and Kakashi nodded slightly as he moved away from Meiko and up towards a fallen tree.

"Then this will be a good time to try out something special I've been working on." Kakashi said as he activated his Chidori. Everyone around him except Minato gasped slightly and stared at the pieces of lightening that were radiating off of his hands.

"Minato-Sensei, will you cover me?" Kakashi asked as he started to move foreword, but Minato placed his hand on Kakashi's chest as Kakashi had done to Meiko earlier.

"Kakashi, I think it's better if you cover me on this one." He said, and Kakashi looked at him with a serious look, as if Kakashi's face wasn't serious all of the time.

"Sensei, I'm the leader. The team has to listen to the leader, right?" Kakashi said, and Minato sighed softly before he backed away from Kakashi, and Kakashi began to run at the clones of all the ninja, taking them down with the blow of the Chidori. Meiko's eyes widened slightly as she watched the speed that Kakashi was traveling at, her fingers messing around with the weights she wore around her ankles, just in case she needed to step in.

Kakashi was ripping through the clones while Meiko undid her weights, her eyes never leaving Kakashi's position. It wasn't until he got to one of the last ones, that Meiko panicked. Because she knew that even though he was fast, he wasn't going to be able to see the attack that was taking pass.

At the same moment, Minato and Meiko took off at almost the same speed, leaping towards Kakashi and the Iwagakure ninja. Minato between the two ninja, kicking the Iwagakure ninja away, while Meiko pushed Kakashi away, but not without Kakashi and Meiko getting sliced by the Katana the Iwagakure ninja was swinging at them.

While Minato took care of the Iwagakure ninja, Meiko placed her hand on the large cut on her side that was pouring out blood, wincing as Kakashi picked her up slightly and they moved into the clearing where Rin had started to set up her medical kit.

"Oh my god, Meiko!" Obito exclaimed, tearing running down his face as he ran towards the girl, who was placed gently on the ground by Kakashi. Meiko smiled weakly up at Obito, her hand on her side as she stared at him.

"I'm okay! Believe it!" She said with a weak smile, before she coughed into her arm, a few splatters of blood landing in her elbow. She sighed softly as Rin began to heal her wound with a Medical Ninjutsu.

"How is everyone?" Minato asked as he approached his team, staring at the situation.

"Kakashi and Meiko are both injuried, Sensei. I think we need to go home and get the wounds properly treated." Rin said, but both Meiko and Kakashi shook their heads.

Meiko opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by Kakashi speaking. "No. Those who abandon a mission are scum." Kakashi said, staring at his Sensei. Meiko sighed softly and stared at Minato as well.

"Please don't make us go home, Sensei. I want to prove to my dad that I can do this." She said softly, and Minato sighed softly.

Kakashi glanced at Obito, before making a slight scoffing noise. "A Shinobi should never show their tears, Obito." Kakashi said, and Obito's face became red with anger as he looked at Kakashi.

"Stop talking to me like you're better than me! I just got something in my eyes!" He said, his orange googles clearly covering his eyes. "When I activate my Sharigan, I swear I am going to surpass you!"

"That's enough you two." Minato said in a stern voice. "Obito, it is impossible for you to have gotten something in your eyes, you have your googles on. And Kakashi, stop being so uptight. Yes, I know what the ninja handbook says, but there are times you can let slid, you know?" He asked, and Kakashi simply rolled his eyes. Rin finished healing both Kakashi and Meiko, they all stood up and began to walk towards their destination.

Meiko brought up the rear, her side still hurting a large amount, but she attempted to push it down and not let anyone see it, since it was so deep, the pain would still remain for a few days. She sighed heavily as she placed her hands on her pockets and began to kick a pebble with the tip of her ninja sandal.

"Maybe if you were faster, you wouldn't have gotten hurt and you could have saved Kakashi." The voice in her head said, but Meiko rolled her eyes slightly.

"Shut it. I'm in no mood." She said with a large sigh, relaxing into the silence, only the sound of footsteps crunching against the ground, and the slight breeze in the air. It was a rather peaceful moment.

That is until a strange arm wrapped around the back of her, covering her mouth so that she could scream. He hit the pressure point in her neck, and she fell unconscious in the mans arm. The man smirked slightly and leaped away, not a person noticing the fact that he took the girl away.

The last thought that went through Meiko's mind, is maybe this is the end.

Maybe this is it.

/

Next chapter will be so much longer to make up for the shortness of this one. I apologize. :(

I love you guys. 💖

Apologizes for the fact that I haven't seen Kakashi Gaiden, so none of this will be perfect!

Don't forget to comment, vote, and follow!~