The Hokage had assigned them to an urgent mission a week ago. It wasn't all that hard as it was only C – Ranked, urgent still though. They finished it within three days. Kakashi was thankful that no one brought up everyone having used him as their personal pillow, he was sure that no one wanted to mention it anyway. Now, though, it was a different matter altogether. The Chuin exams. Kakashi knew that Lauren couldn't participate, he was also sure that she didn't want to. She wouldn't be able to fake jutsu in front of so many people. The possibility of doing it in front of the Hokage? Nope, he wasn't taking that risk. He wanted to spend as much time with her as possible, not get her caught and never seeing her again. If she leaves on her own accord once her job is done, he knows, no he hopes, he would be able to see her again. Having spent a great deal of time with her to help her with the hand signs to fake well-known jutsu, as well as hand signs combinations to accompany her spells, he grew attracted to the ice wizard. To attached than he would like to admit. He is a ninja that needs to keep his emotions in check after all, especially on the battlefield. Yet, when Lauren is around, he's found a hard time keeping them in check. He's thought several times that if anyone Sakura, would have realized something was off about him. Though Kakashi wouldn't dare admit to himself he had feelings for the wizard; no, he simply cared for her friendship greatly, that's it.

Yet again, Kakashi is late to meet Sakura, Sasuke, Naruto, and Lauren. He originally told his team to meet him at their usual meeting place on the bridge at some ungodly hour – according to Lauren that is since the sun would barely have been up – yet they all got there an hour late hoping that'd be enough time. Sasuke sighed and sat down before realizing it. Sakura and Naruto were bickering about something that neither Sasuke or Lauren cared about. Lauren, still being tired, decided to sit down next to Sasuke and use his lap as a pillow.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Sasuke asked. The tiniest blush painted across his cheeks.

"Going back to sleep until Kakashi gets here. I'm tired as hell having done some extra training last night. Sasuke, I give you permission to wake me up when he gets here."

"You can't just use Sasuke as a pillow like that!" Sakura said angrily.

"I am and I will now shut up."

It wasn't long until Lauren fell asleep, Naruto and Sakura going back to bickering, and Sasuke – who was doing nothing, to begin with – decided to watch the sleeping girl on his lap. He'll admit, he's got feelings for the ice wizard, though that puts a damper in his plans for revenge, he decided to cross that bridge when it comes time remembering what Lauren said.

Kakashi having finally arrived three hours late, wasn't exactly happy to see how Lauren was sleeping on Sasuke; he did nothing to show it. As for Naruto and Sakura, they directed there pointless bickering towards their sensei. Meanwhile, Sasuke woke Lauren, she was about to punch him but remembered that he was supposed to when Kakashi finally got there. When she looked up there was the man in question standing there.

Finally, Kakashi began to explain what was going on, why so many people were in town all of a sudden. It was the Chunin exams. It was the first exams held since the group became a genin. Usually they Jōnin instructions wait at least a year or two before allowing their students to take the exams to make sure they are ready. Though Kakashi was confident in his students. He was sure they would be able to pass the exams or at least make it the third round without a problem. He taught them after all.

Giving them all the information they need and the form they'd need to fill out to take the test, he gave them the day off to think about their decision and prepare for the exams in two days. Until then, they had off.

The group went their separate ways, Lauren to find information on Orochimaru – she realized that she had gotten off track and needs to get back on it – Naruto to his Ichiraku to get Raman, Sasuke to train, Sakura went home, and Kakashi went with Lauren.

"I assume you aren't taking them?" Kakashi asked her once in a secluded place where she can take her necklace off without worry.

"Yeah. This is the perfect chance. Though I'm not entirely sure what to do though if I can even find this guy."

"How so?"

"I can't just kill him. I can't do that. I've never killed another human before. On top of that, it's technically illegal to do so back home. Assassination jobs were outlawed years ago. Killing demons and dragons are one thing, but another human... Sorry, but I just can't bring myself to do it. It goes against what the dragons taught me, the laws of the kingdom. I don't know how I'm going to get passed this Kakashi. I'm sorry if that sounds selfish or something knowing that you've had to kill before, but we live in different worlds. I miss home. Even though being here with you and kids is home too... I don't know anymore..."

"You aren't alone Lauren. You won't have to face Orochimaru alone. I'll be fighting with you every step of the way. If it makes you feel better, I'll deal the final blow. I'm not going to let you do this alone. I won't let this weigh you, it's hard. I know... My genin team... I'm the only one still alive. My sensei was the Fourth Hokage, he died protecting the village from the Nine-Tails attack. Though, my teammates died long before. They died during the 3rdNinja War. The first to die was Obito Uchiha, he was crushed by rocks after saving me from having that exact fate. Just before my left eye was cut badly and I lost the eye. We were in a cave that was collapsing and one of the pieces of rocks hit me in my blind spot. He saved my life at the risk of his own. He then gave me his Sharingan..."

Lauren looked at him speechless. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. She may have to live with her brother's death on her shoulders, but that's absolutely nothing in comparison.

"Then, a time later, Rin was captured. The three-tails sealed inside her. The Mist was sure she'd eventually lose control and destroy the leaf from the inside out. She wanted me to kill her. I wouldn't and fought the with the Mist ninja that was trying to get her back, she jumped in front of my lighting blade. That was her way of committing suicide, I know that, but it still feels like I killed her. I couldn't save her... I promised Obito I would, but I couldn't... They all died."

Lauren couldn't believe her ears. She grew up in a time were the dominant species was going from dragons to humans. It didn't go down in history as a war, but Lauren likes to call it the Dragon War. She was a weapon of this so-called war, but she fought alone. She never had a teammate or someone to fight with, not a human one at least. Even so killing dragons that want to kill other humans, dragons she didn't have a personal relationship with, it didn't hurt or weigh on her. Though, Lauren knows that all that pales in comparison to what Kakashi had to go through.

Kakashi chuckled seeing Lauren's shocked face. He can tell by just looking at her that she didn't know what to say with what she just heard. He knew what happened to her family, that's the only thing that he knows about her childhood. Though her saying that dragons taught her was something new.

"Tell me though, what's this about dragons teaching you?"

Lauren snapped back to reality realizing that she had said that. Not even Master Markov knows what she is going to tell Kakashi. "Well, I was raised by dragons after my family died. They became my family. The Ice Dragon was basically my mother, Fire Dragon King was practically my father, the iron dragon a weird uncle, sky dragon the words best aunt and a second mother, the light and shadow dragon's uncles as well, just not crazy ones, and the lightning dragon," Lauren chuckled, "He was like the uncle that although you still love him and have fun with him when he's around, want nothing to do with him at the same time. The insane one. They taught me dragon slaying magic. The only way to become a dragon slayer is for the dragons to teach you, or you have a larcrima placed inside your body. That's the only to do it now though. Technically all the dragons are dead, except for one."

"Technically dead? And why is there only one alive now?"

"The Ice, Fire, Iron, Sky, White, and Shadow dragons are still alive inside the bodies of the child they raised. They are much younger than I though. I helped raise them too. Though I'm the only one that knows seven different types of dragon-slaying magic mostly due to my age and stubbornness. The last living dragon is a human turned dragon. He's my uncle. It's my job along with the rest of the dragon's slayers to kill him. Oh, and the dragons and only live outside our bodies for so long and once they leave the can't go back. They'll really be gone after that. Oh yeah, I have killed dragons before, several, I'm the only living dragon slayer that has. If you ask the White and Shadow dragon slayers, they'll say that they killed the dragon that raised them, but that's just false memories, for a dragon, it's not hard to manipulate human memories, not that they did it often, and I made them promise that they wouldn't do it to me."

"That's pretty cool you know. You get to say you were raised by a dragon."

"Not really, you're the first person I've ever told all that too. The younger dragon slayers don't know that, hell the master of Fairy Tail doesn't know that. Not even his grandson who is my best friend, Laxus, I've told you a little about him that night it was storming on that one mission."

"Yeah, I remember. Why tell me?" Not that Kakashi cared. He definitely felt a major ego boost knowing that information. It meant that he knew things that no one else knew, it meant that she trusted him. It makes his heart hurt knowing that she is going to be leaving to go back to Fairy Tail soon. With the chance of never being able to see her again.

"Honestly, I'm not really sure. There's just something about you that makes me want to tell you. I don't what it is, but I like it." Lauren said giving a Kakashi a closed an eye smile.

Kakashi thought time was stopped as he looked at Lauren. He knew he always found Lauren attractive. He knew that he never wanted Lauren to leave. He'd never allow the thought of having a crush on her cross his mind for more than a few seconds, but looking at her now. He knew he wanted to be the only person that could make her smile like that, hell the only person that could see her smile that. At that moment, he stopped denying the real reason he doesn't want Lauren to leave. He finally admitted to himself, he's in love with her. He couldn't help but want to reach out to her and kiss her, to hold her in his arms, to never ever let go. He couldn't bring himself to do it. She's going to be leaving him soon to go back to Fairy Tail, her home. He couldn't take the heartbreak of telling her. He couldn't do that to himself, as selfish as that sounds. He already lost Rin, Obito, and his sensei and that caused him hell. He didn't want to know that losing Lauren would do to him, especially if he found out she left the same way.