Your POV

It's been two months since Tsunade has let you return to your duties as a ninja. She managed to clear your name throughout the village so that you could do your community service in peace.

You haven't seen much of Naruto but you know he's busy with missions.

Kakashi hasn't been around a lot either and has been going on missions. You moved in with Kakashi and finally got out of the old apartment you used to live in with Naruto. Sometimes you see Kakashi at home at the end of the day and sometimes he isn't home because he's away on those missions.

It was fine until one morning you woke up without Kakashi laying next to you. You sighed as you realized he went out on another mission.

"You left again without saying good morning... is this really going to continue.. me, by myself most of the time... barely seeing you anymore... it sucks." You got out of bed and went to get dressed for the day.

~ Time Skip ~

You were in Tsunade's office ready to receive your mission for the day, but you realized that something felt wrong. Tsunade nor Shizune would look at you directly and kept their focus on other things.

"Um, Lady Tsunade? Is everything alright?" Shizune flinched while Tsunade frowned. The bad feeling in your stomach got worse.

Lately, you've noticed a lot of fighting going on, especially between Naruto and Sasuke. You tried talking to Sasuke yesterday after he fought Naruto on the hospital roof, but you had to wait until Kakashi finished scolding him first.

Flashback

"Sasuke, are you okay? What's going on?" You said as you approached Sasuke and sat next to him in the tree. Sasuke frowned and looked away from you.

"Wouldn't you rather check on your precious little brother than me, (Name)." Sasuke said with an attitude in his voice. A vein appeared on your forehead as you hit Sasuke in the head. He grabbed his head and looked at you as if you were insane.

"Baka! Don't forget that I'm your sensei too! I care about you as much as I care about Naruto. So don't try to come at me about who I care about or not. Now tell me why you fought Naruto."

"I... I was just so angry. He's getting stronger and stronger every day. Meanwhile, I'm just getting weaker. How am I ever supposed to avenge my clan if I can't even lay a scratch on him or Itachi?!" Sasuke said while clenching his fists. You sighed and rested your hand on top of Sasuke's head. He looked at you confused.

"Sasuke, you are getting stronger. And believe it or not, you did actually hurt Naruto. You always put yourself down when it comes to your strength. I thought we went over this last month when I was training you." You said while sitting beside Sasuke giving him a side hug. He pushed you off and stood up in front of you.

"It's not enough. I appreciate your help in training me, but I need to get stronger (Name)-sensei. I need to defeat Itachi. I need to find my own way to get stronger without following in his footsteps. I can't do that here.." Sasuke said before disappearing. You sighed as concern started to grow in your gut.

End of Flashback

Tsunade said exactly what you thought she was going to say.

"Sasuke left the village. He's on his way to Orochimaru's hideout and is in danger." She said with a serious expression. Your eyes widened as you turned around, you grabbed the doorknob but Tsunade held the door so you couldn't open it.

"What are you doing?! I gotta go help Sasuke!" You said with a frantic expression. Tsunade pinched your face.

"Let me finish speaking, you idiot! I sent Naruto and Shikamaru along with three other genin to save Sasuke. You need to worry about your own mission today." Tsunade said while pulling you away from the door. You pulled your hand out of her grasp and saw her turn back with an irritated face. But you were angrier.

"Why on earth would you send Genin to go after him?! Why did you send Naruto without my consent?! It's too dangerous for them! Why didn't anyone tell me this earlier or why didn't you send more experienced ninja for this?!"

"We're short on ninjas, (Name)! Ever since the village was under attack during the Chunin exams things have been hard. We can't just recklessly send ninja out on missions anymore, we have to rebuild the village physically and financially. We can't afford to stop sending what little ninjas we have on missions. Not now at least.." Tsunade said while sitting back in her chair. You had a frustrated expression on your face which caught Tsunade's attention. Then she sighed.

"If it makes you feel better... Kakashi is most likely ignoring my orders and going after Naruto and Sasuke. So don't worry, have faith in Kakashi." Tsunade said while getting the paperwork for your next mission. You were relieved that Kakashi was already on his way to try and save Sasuke. Jiraiya entered the room and greeted everyone.

"Hey everyone! (Name), you ready to go?" Jiraiya said while ruffling your hair. As you took his hand off your head, you looked at Jiraiya questionably.

"Ready to go where?" You looked at Tsunade then back to Jiraiya.

"Well (Name), your mission... rather requirement.. is that you have to go away with Jiraiya for a while.." Tsunade said with a serious expression. You froze in place.

"Go away..? Why?! I thought my record was cleaned! I just returned to my life in the village!" You felt the pace in your breathing increase. Jiraiya grabbed your shoulders and made you face him.

"Relax, kiddo. Everything is alright but... you do need to lay low for a while. You have more enemies than you think, and for that reason, I plan on training you even further in your skills.. just so you can defend yourself better than you can now. Same goes for Naruto. He is a target of the Akatsuki, much like you, and having you two disappear and train will benefit you a lot." Jiraiya tried to reason with you. As you relaxed, you looked down at the ground.

"I have no choice, right...?" Then you looked up to Jiraiya and had a sad smile on your face.

"Afraid not... it's for your own good. But hey, look on the bright side! You'll get stronger and earn the trust of the elders so you can continue the life you got back. So it would be great if you didn't fight this one for a change... okay?" Jiraiya tilted his head and gave you a smile. You smiled back and nodded to Jiraiya. Tsunade handed you the file of things you personally need to watch out for during your time away.

"(Name), if you see anything related to the information in that file, then report it to me as soon as possible. Jiraiya, look after them okay?"

"I always do!" Jiraiya said while waving back to Tsunade as you both left her office.

~ Time Skip ~

Today had been a very long day for you. Not only did you do your daily community service in helping the villagers rebuild the village, but you were running to the hospital to see Naruto and his friends. They all received injuries during the chase after Sasuke. The only person you didn't find was.. Sasuke himself. After waiting for what felt an eternity for Naruto to wake up, you and Jiraiya had a conversation with Naruto about going away to train.

"Don't worry, Naruto. We'll grow stronger and bring back Sasuke together."

"Yeah.. I'll bring Sasuke back with my own strength. He's my best friend after all. I swore to Sakura I'd drag him back too, and I don't go back on my word. That's my ninja way!" Naruto said while holding out his bandaged arm and grinning. You smiled and kissed his forehead.

"Then I swear to help you get stronger so you can bring Sasuke back." You said while remembering you did the same thing to him when he was younger. Naruto blushed as his smile grew wider. You both bumped fists to seal your promise.

~ Time Skip ~

You entered your home to see the lights were on and Kakashi was on the couch sleeping. You let out a sigh and went straight to the room that you shared with him. As you closed the door behind you, Kakashi's eyes opened as he sat up and looked in the direction you left in.

"She didn't even greet me..." Kakashi thought as he walked towards your room. When he opened the door, he saw you frantically closing a file in front of you.

"Kakashi! Don't scare me, you Baka! I thought you were asleep..." you held the file close to your chest as you spoke. Kakashi had his mask off and just stared at you. He closed his eyes and closed the door. Kakashi sat on the bed across from you and sighed.

"I know... you don't have to try and hide it from me." You were confused for a second, unsure if Kakashi actually knew about you going away. He grabbed the file and placed it on the nightstand. You held hands as Kakashi rested his forehead on yours.

"It's almost time for you to leave again... isn't it.."

"So you really do know... for how long..." you said while pulling away from Kakashi.

"Two months... Jiraiya told me to expect you leaving again... I don't want you to go but if you need to go.. then I will wait for you to return.." Kakashi said while caressing your cheek. You smiled at Kakashi.

"I'll come back stronger... you don't have to worry about me anymore... this will be the last time I go away, I promise." You said as you shared a kiss with Kakashi. You then broke the kiss and hugged him.

"I know you'll keep your promise."

~ At Midnight ~

You woke up in the middle of the night, finding yourself in Kakashi's arms. You remembered you two had been cuddling at the moment and drifted off to sleep. You got up from the bed and sat at Kakashi's desk near the window. You opened the window to see a full moon in front of you and sighed.

"I have to stay strong... please continue to watch over me as I begin a new chapter in my life..." you said as you let the wind blow into your hair and stared at the moon. Your eyes rapidly changed from green to (e/c) for a second. You buried your head in your knees as you felt chills in your spine...

Something is going to happen that you just can't shake off.. whether it's good or not. You prayed that the pain you felt would go away. You opened the file again that Tsunade gave you, revealing a picture of a younger version of your biological mother.

"I'll right your wrongs soon, mom."

A/N: I don't know how to feel about this chapter. But expect to meet two people soon! All I'm gonna say.

09/03/17: so about those two people you'll meet, I decided to hold off til book 2.