You panted once you finally arrived at the crossing point to get to the land of waves. You squinted your eyes to see through the thick mist. You could make out the edges of the large bridge that was near completion only a short distance from the shore you stood on. Everything seemed quiet. You climbed down the bank and walked to the edge of the water. You looked to your left and saw a small dock where boats must get tied off, but there weren't any tied there now.

You paced for a moment, debating about whether you should wait for a boat, which who knows how long the wait would be, or to cross the water yourself, which would leave you tired when you reached the other shore. You looked at the thick mist. It looked like it might be clearing slightly and you could just make out the thick support column for the bridge not too far away. You could easily reach that and not use up too much chakra at all.

You were about to focus the chakra to your feet when the fine hairs on the back of your neck stood up. Someone was releasing a large amount of chakra. Your eyes flicked to the top of the bridge. You focused your eyes. It was hard to make out, but with the mist rapidly clearing, you could just make out what looked like lightning. Your eyes widened. Was Kakashi using the chidori?! He would only use that jutsu on a strong opponent. "Shit..." You had been right to be worried about this mission. You quickly focused chakra to the bottom of your feet and sprinted across the water to the nearest support column, while being vaguely aware of a large boat moving towards the bridge as well.

Once you reached the column you changed the levels of chakra you were using and began to climb the rough surface. You reached the top and looked around. Kakashi was running towards a man that was being held by his ninja dogs, chidori raised for attack. Movement caught your eye and you saw what you thought was a young woman, no wait, it was a boy, running forward. You began running forward to try to catch the young man before he could get too close to Kakashi and the man you now recognized as Zabuza of the Hidden Mist. The young man spotted you and ran even faster, making you look like you were moving in slow motion by comparison. He skidded to a stop between Kakashi and Zabuza at the last moment. You could see Kakashi's eyes widen as his hand sank into the young man's chest, chidori moving through the young man's body like a blade.

You slapped a hand over your mouth and staggered back as memories of your brother's death flooded through your mind. Your vision blurred and you quickly moved to the bridge railing before retching. You knew that you should go and help Kakashi, but your body was shaking too hard to move. You looked over at Kakashi and saw him wrap his arm and leaping into the air to dodge an attack form Zabuza. This must be hard for Kakashi too. The boy had done the same thing Rin had done years ago. Unlike you though, Kakashi had stayed professional rather than breaking down. He laid the boy on the ground gently, shouting something to his teammate. You hadn't even noticed his blond teammate until then.

Your eyebrows furrowed. Where were Kakashi's other teammates? Where was the bridge builder? You moved your eyes over the bridge, finally spotting three shapes a short distance away. One you recognized  as Sakura, and you recognized the face of the bridge builder. Sakura seemed to be curled over the last shape, her sobs just barely reaching your ears. The clothing looked like what Sasuke Uchiha had been wearing when they'd left for the mission. A lump formed in your throat. He wasn't moving, and with Sakura sobbing like that...

You cast a glance at Kakashi, who was moving to return to his fight with Zabuza. He looked like he was alright and would be able to handle this fight without your assistance. You quickly ran over to where Sakura was hunched over Sasuke's body, shaking with her grief. You placed a hand on her shoulder. She leapt back, pulling out a kunai, clearly expecting an attack. Her eyes widened when she saw your face, "Uta...sensei?" You didn't bother correcting her and telling her that you weren't a sensei. Time was of the essence. You moved your hand to Sasuke's neck, being careful to avoid the many needles that pierced his skin. Your fingers pressed to his pulse and you waited. At first you didn't feel anything, but as you pressed a little harder you felt a feint pulse. It was barely there, but it was enough to show that he wasn't gone yet.

You quickly pulled out your small medic pack from your bag. You weren't a full medic ninja, but you knew enough to help in this situation, especially since one of your teammates when you were younger used senbon as their weapon on choice. You pulled out some tweezers that were specially designed for senbon and began looking over the needles on Sasuke's body. Your eyebrows furrowed in confusion. None were in lethal locations. Your eyes moved to the needles in his neck. They were buried into pressure points that would cause a death like state, but wouldn't actually endanger Sasuke's life. You glanced towards Kakashi's battle. Had Zabuza done this? It didn't really fit with his typical behavior. Perhaps it had been the young boy. After all, he'd sacrificed himself for Zabuza, so he must've been working with him, making him an enemy.

You began gently working the needles free from Sasuke's neck. The boy had clearly taken mercy on Sasuke and not killed him. A gentle soul, such a shame. You shook your head to clear your thoughts, ignoring Sakura's questions about what you were doing. You couldn't trust your voice right now and a shaking from a high level shinobi like you would just make her even more distressed than silence would.

You'd been working only for a few moments when an eerie silence overtook the bridge. You paused and glanced towards the fight, seeing both Zabuza and Kakashi staring at a short man with a group of mercenaries lined up behind him. He was saying something but you were too far away to hear. You watched as Zabuza stood and Kakashi nodded. You didn't need to hear to know what had just happened. Zabuza's employment with the man must've just been terminated and therefore his reason to fight Kakashi was also gone. You saw the short man kick the young boys face and your flinched. Death wasn't new to you. but must he disrespect the dead like that? Naruto began yelling at Zabuza about not caring about the young boy's death. He was so young and naïve. This was the way of the shinobi. Death wasn't as sad for us as it is for others. It's just part of the job.

You turned your head back to the last senbon, working it out of Sasuke's flesh gently. You heard screams coming from the end of the bridge. You pulled the last senbon free and stood, looking to see Zabuza charging through the group of mercenaries, cutting many down with the knife clutched between his teeth. Naruto's words must've gotten to the Demon of the Hidden Mist. Your legs moved and you rushed forward as Zabuza's attacks sent the short man flying over the edge of the bridge. A cold sweat began to trickle down your back. With the boss gone, who'd control his lackey's? There were too many for Kakashi and Naruto to handle on their own. Zabuza's injured body collapsed to the ground came to a stop between Kakashi and Naruto. Naruto turned his head to look away from the sight of Zabuza. You glanced at him, not sure what to do. Should you try to comfort him and tell him that everything was going to be alright, or should you reprimand him and remind him that this is how most shinobi lives end? Kakashi's voice caught your attention, "Don't look away. This is how a shinobi dies. This is an honourable death." Naruto nodded and faced forward again.

You turned your eyes to Kakashi. He was already looking at you with a sad look on his face. He nodded his acknowledgement before looking at the group before us again. He looked exhausted, his skin paler than usual and he had dark circles under his eyes. He had several injuries on his body and he was crouching, not even trying to stand up. He had his sharingan exposed and he'd used chidori, so you weren't really surprised. He must be running quite low on chakra at this point.

"Narutooo!" Sakura's voice broke the tense silence. Naruto turned to face her, but both you and Kakashi remained facing forward, watching for the mercenary's next move. You already knew what she was shouting for. Sasuke would've woken up by now. Sure enough her next words confirmed it, "Sasuke's alright!" You could feel the relief coming from Naruto.

"So Sasuke is alright?" You could feel that Kakashi's eyes were locked on you again, "Thank you Uta." You nodded jerkily, "He...he would've been fine with...without me. I just sped things up." Kakashi's face filled with concern when he heard how shaky your voice was, but he didn't get an opportunity to ask if you were ok. You saw that the shock of watching their boss getting killed had worn off for the mercenaries and they were rounding on your small group. You pulled out a kunai and took a fighting position as one of them hit his spear on the ground, gaining the rest of your group's attention.

"Thanks to you ninja's our benefactor is gone. We still need to get paid, so we're just gunna take whatever we can get from that village." They started running towards us. "Kakashi-sensei! Don't you have a jutsu to wipe them all out?" Naruto's loud voice shouted. Kakashi shook his head, "No I don't have enough chakra left." Naruto gripped your sleeve, "What about you Uta-sensei?" What was with these kids and calling you sensei? "Not at this distance kiddo. They need to be way closer for me to be of much use. " At that moment an arroiw stuck into the ground just in front of the closest man.

You blinked in surprise, the group stopping and looking at the arrow. You glanced over your shoulder. The strangest looking group was gathered, carrying farm tools and what looked like hand-made weapons. "Inari!" It seemed that Naruto knew who these people were and he seemed happy to see them. Even Kakashi seemed to relax a little when he saw them, so you decided to trust them and faced back towards the deadly group in front of you. They didn't seem to take your reinforcements seriously since they were all laughing.

Out of the corner of your eye you saw Naruto di a hand sign, "Shadow clone jutsu." Severeal copies of Naruto appeared and you smiled. If the mercenaries were faced with enough opponents they might back down without a fight. You did the same hand sign and called out, "Shadow clone jutsu." Kakashi has called the same words at the same time as you and dozens more of both him and yourself appeared. All your clones raised kunai's and took fighting stances, as did Kakashi's clones. His clones all spoke at once, challenging the mercenaries. The bluff of numbers worked as the group of enemies took off running to get back to the large boat that had brought them here. Once they were all gone Naruto and the group of reinforcements cheered. Kakashi groaned and slumped from his crouched position to a sitting one and he leaned against your leg, his shadow clones vanishing. You released your own jutsu and your clones disappeared as well and you put your kunai back into its pouch.

You crouched down next to kakashi and pulled his arm over your shoulder, helping him to stand, "That was careless Kakashi. You shouldn't exhaust your chakra like that." He groaned as you started walking towards Zabuza and the boy, but he nodded. "I can walk on my own you know. And I know, but I wanted the fight over with quickly. By the way Uta..." You turned to look at him, "What are you doing here?" You looked away, "Hokage sent me. Your progress report was late." Kakashi nodded and planted his feet, making you both stop, "I know that, but why did he send you? He could've sent anyone to check up on us. Why you, when you've requested to not go on missions anymore?"

You hadn't thought of an excuse for why you'd been the one sent and your nerves were too frayed to try to come up with one now, "I was worried about you. My gut told me that there was something not right with this mission, so I had to make sure you were ok." Kakashi's eyes bore into you for several moments and you looked around to find something to change the subject. "You were worried about me?" You huffed a breath and tried to choose your next words wisely, when a groan caught your attention. You looked to the noise and saw Zabuza's eyes open. So he was still alive. Kakashi slid his arm from around your shoulders and moved to kneel beside the fallen shinobi.

"Take me to him. To Haku. I want to see his face."

Kakashi picked Zabuza up and brought him over to the young man. You gave them some space so that Zabuza could say his goodbyes in peace.

After everything with Zabuza and Haku had been taken care of everyone returned to the bridge builders, Tazuna's, house. You supported Kakashi despite him claiming that he could walk on his own. Every time you let him try to walk on his own he'd slow down and sway due to his complete exhaustion. After he nearly fell over for the third time you snapped, "Dammit Kakashi! Just let me help you before you fall over and injure yourself more!"

You pulled his arm around your shoulders again and were about to begin walking again when expression made you stop. He was grinning. You narrowed your eyes. "Are you worrying about me again Uta?" Dang. You'd hoped that he was going to let your reason for coming here slide, but he wasn't going to make things easy for you. You rolled your eyes, "Yes SENSEI. I'm worried about you." You emphasized the word sensei, hoping to remind that his students were there and it'd make him behave. He smiled at you knowingly. He was starting to figure out the tricks you'd use to try to keep him in line. He looked at the group that was walking just ahead of you, "Hey, go on ahead and start getting some food ready. I want you three to help with the cooking. I'm gunna take a break and catch my breath. Uta will make sure I get back safely." Bastard! His students didn't even bat an eye at his command and they continued on their way while Kakashi made you turn and walk him over to a tree that had fallen over.

He flopped down on the log. You moved to sit beside him, but he grabbed your waist and pulled you to sit on his lap. "Kakashi!" "Shhh or do you want the genins to come back and see us like this?" You could feel your face heating up. "Kakashi you're injured. I'm sure this isn't helping you." He nuzzled his face into your shoulder, "Not true. I feel much better already just from holding you like this." You struggled to try to get free from his grip, your face turning redder with every second, "Yeah, well I'm not comfortable like this." Kakashi's arms tightened, "You used to be fine with me holding you like this. You used to be fine with anything I did with you before I told you how I feel. Now it's like you won't even allow us to be friends properly." You froze at the sadness in his voice. "I'm sorry Kakashi. It's just... I now know the motive behind your physical contact ... it scares me..." Kakashi dug his face deeper into your shoulder, "Why does it scare you? It's not like I'm going to force you to do anything. You heaved a sigh. The truth was that you missed the casual physical contact that Kakashi had given you for years. "I'm scared that if I allow some things that you'll take it too far and assume you can try other things...I don't want a relationship Kakashi." "Cause you're scared I'll hurt you?" You nodded slowly.

Kakashi leaned back so that he could look at your face, but kept his arms locked around your waist. "Uta, have I ever done anything to make you not trust me? Have I ever done anything to hurt you?" You shifted your eyes away. "Look at me. I want an open and honest conversation Uta. No hiding." His voice was gentle, but commanding. You turned your gaze back to his. "Have I ever done any of those things Uta? Have I ever given you reason to think I would?" You shook your head slowly, "No kakashi...you've never given me reason to doubt you." "I trust you with every fibre of my being Uta. And you've told me that I'm the only person you trust with your secrets and the only person you trust completely and utterly to protect you. You've even told the Hokage that if you went on missions again it\d have to be with me cause I'm the only one you trust enough. If you trust me with all that without hesitation, then why can't you trust me even a little bit with your heart?"

You ducked your head and rested it on Kakashi's shoulder, not being able to bear the look of hurt in his eyes. Kakashi opened his mouth again, "I love you Uta. I have since the moment I met you, and my feelings only ever grow stronger as time passes. But it hurts to have you putting up such walls between you and I. Doesn't it hurt you to do that?" You nodded your head slightly. "Then why are you doing it?... You've never told me exactly what I am to you. What are your feelings for me? Do you hate me now?" You felt a lump in your throat. You had been thinking about it a lot while Kakashi had been gone on the mission and you'd realized the truth. And it scared you because the truth was that you love him,. "I...lo...I don't hate you Kakashi."

(Another chapter! I'm so sorry that this is taking so long, but with wattpad making it so that I cant simply upload from my word document I'm having to double type everychapter and it takes forever. Please message the wattpad people to help me get this reversed so that I can post my work faster.)