Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, it is a creation of Kishimoto Masashi.

A/N: Hope you all enjoy, this is my first fic ever.

PROLOGUE

He stood over Naruto, looking down at his fallen friend and rival. The fight between them was long and tireless but Naruto had proven his point as the forehead protector on Sasuke's head was scratched. He felt something that told him that he shouldn't kill his best friend, his only friend. Whether for his own sake as he didn't want to be like his brother or the fact that if he did he would truly be alone in this world, even he didn't know. The skies cried for him disguising his own tears, Sasuke's head tilted as he allowed the scratched forehead protector fall to the ground next to Naruto. He turned and staggered away to meet with the one who will give him power.

'Don't worry dobe I won't let him take my body, just don't die,' and with those parting thoughts he was gone.

The rain came down effortlessly. The river below him that had been nothing but a stream before ate away at the plateau where his body lay until it gave, collapsing him into the flowing water below. The river was no deeper than six feet and was relatively calm but what does all that mean when you are unconscious?

Kakashi's arrival, he looked around for any sign of his two pupils only to see nothing but sheer destruction and a lone forehead protector with a scratch across the konoha symbol that lay precariously on the edge of a cliff. He picked up the forehead protector scanning the area with his sharingan eye. He could only guess the worst. No sign of the brooding Uchiha, no sign of the orange jumpsuit wearing blonde ninja, the latter aching his heart more.

'I am sorry sensei, I have failed your only legacy left in this world. I am sorry Naruto, I have failed to make you into the ninja you have always wanted to be', Kakashi said to himself, thinking that if not one but both of his pupils may be dead 'I was too late and too naive to see what was right in front my face'.

Kakashi, now infuriated with himself, clenched the lone forehead protector and with skill and speed that could only be attained by a Jounin he leapt off of the cliff and unto the large body of water running to report to the Hokage. Konoha would never be the same.

Born second into a family of ninjas, a young girl with brown, shoulder length hair and brown eyes now finds herself alone in this world seeking temporary shelter in a cave overlooking a stream. Her heart burning with vengeance and a longing to find the one or ones responsible for her loneliness.

|Flashback|

|She was young at the time, younger than she was now, about seven years old when she came home after playing in a nearby field. There was always something about berries, butterflies and flowers that made her forget the time. When she came home that day what she expected was a scolding from her mother but instead she was greeted by the bodies of her small family, laid out haphazardly all over the floor, fresh blood pooling under lifeless forms of her parents and two older brothers. This is the kind of reality a ninja must live with and learn to accept, but to a child of seven years old who was not even old enough to join the academy this was not her reality as yet.

"Kira-chan," she heard the wheezy words of her father.

She immediately dashed to his side, half frightened and half relieved that he was still alive.

"I'm sorry that you have to see your family like this…"

"Don't speak daddy, save your strength, I'll go to town and get help, just wait and-"

"Don't bother little dove" her father croaked out, coughing up blood.

"You can still make it otoo-san, just hold on," she cried, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Be quiet now my dove" he said in a calm voice, as he raised a tired arm to wipe the tear from his daughter's face "it is not safe hear any more… especially for people like us. Go to your mother and I's room and look under the mat…"

He desperately tried to continue talking despite the increasing difficulty of doing so, but he had to do this one last thing.

"Under the mat you will see a seal carved into the floor… place your blood unto the seal what you shall see there is yours as you are now the last."

"But father-"

"No buts, please, for your family's sake…survive. Leave this place, be the happy beautiful woman I had always dreamt you would become and beware of…"

Just like that he was gone and despite her father's wishes, so did her joy, for all she knew in this world was her family. She still was too young to understand why she had no other relative or why they lived so far away from any town. Her young mind could only handle so much at a time. The only thing she thought was that she was alone and she wanted to know why and who was the cause.

Since that day she has tracked her target with a single minded goal of vengeance. A difficult goal, especially when you don't even know who the enemy is. All she knew was what she had taught herself about intelligence gathering, she would need more to seek her vengeance, but what else could she do, she had no kind of ninja training but just got by because of her looks and moved around too often to get caught; her only possession, a large scroll which she is unable to open due to a time seal. Still too young.|

|Flashback end|

The rain kept coming with no end in sight, it was not heavy though, just enough to give the quiet stream she was camping next to a bit of life and that is when she saw it, something in the water being carried effortlessly by its flow.

Sakura, Ino and Hinata were waiting at the gates of konoha, each hoping beyond hope that everything went alright, especially seeing the kinds of damage their other friends had sustained. Sakura and Ino hoping that Naruto would brings Sasuke back safely while Hinata, even though she never showed it to him, was more worried about Naruto than anyone else. It was not that she had no faith in his strength but that is the sort of thing a person who cares for another would do.

Words couldn't have expressed the feelings of fear and anxiety they all felt when they saw Kakashi making his way towards the gate…alone.

"Kakashi-sensei", she blurted out with tears in her eyes, "w-where's Sasuke-kun"

"And where's that idiot Naruto?" Ino added in.

At the sound of his name Hinata's heart suddenly dropped. What had happened to him, to the one she looked up to, admired and maybe even loved the most?

"He made a promise to Sakura to bring him back. I'm gonna kill him if he's making this a game," Ino continued.

At Ino's last outburst about Naruto, Kakashi's characteristic stoic face fell for a moment into a look that if someone were looking carefully at him would have seen the shame, guilt and sadness under his mask and in his one eye. He quickly replaced his expressionless guise and said the one thing he thought best at the moment.

"I'm sorry, Sakura, but I'll have to talk to you later but for now I have to talk to Hokage-sama."

But before he could use shunshin, Hinata grabbed him by his vest. Kakashi was shocked, he did not even know she was there, but why was she there; all of her team mates had already been returned to the village including her cousin. Then it hit him.

"Please Kakashi-Sensei", she said, in a voice barely over a whisper "where is Naruto-kun?"

Kakashi was in trouble now. Even though Hinata never showed it, she was one of the most intelligent and perceptive kunoichi in the village and most of all, adored Naruto more than even Tsunade and Iruka, so there was no way he could get out of this. If not for her timidity and lack of self esteem she would be a force to be reckoned with. She was Naruto's complete opposite.

"Hn," snorted ino with disgust, "I'm sure that stupid idiot-"

Kakashi could barely maintain his surprise. Timid sweet, timid Hinata sent Ino sprawling to the floor with a chakra less palm strike to the solar plexus.

"You little bit…" Ino said as she got up to return the favor to hanata. However, Kakashi intervened before anything more happened.

"Enough!" he shouted "this is not the time for this kind of behavior. I'm especially disappointed in you Hinata."

"I don't care", this was a different Hinata "I just want to know what happened to Naruto-Kun."

She didn't even stutter once, she just had this look of sadness and regret on her face. Regret that she would never be able to tell him how she really felt about him or to know if he felt the same, if just a little.

Kakashi breathed an exasperated sigh for what he was about to say to her, what he was about to say to all three of them.

"I arrived too late to stop Sasuke and Naruto and when Pakkun and I finally arrived, all that was left were signs of a terrible fight and this," he pulled out a forehead protector with a gouge across the leaf symbol "and no sign of either Sasuke or Naruto."

Kakashi pocketed the forehead protector and quickly and poofed away before they asked any more questions.

"So Sasuke kills Naruto and obliterates his body then leaves," Ino surmised, "typical of that idiot, he makes sasuke-kun leave then gets himself killed by him."

"N-no," Hinata said, with a small smile at the corner of her lips and eyes downcast "N-naruto-kun isn't d-dead. H-he wouldn't die so s-soon."

Meanwhile, Sakura who was quiet throughout the entire ordeal, was still trying to fight back tears that were clearly defeating her, couldn't understand how Hinata could say that after what Kakashi-sensei just said, especially knowing how she felt about Naruto.

"How can she be so calm, I know she is in love with the idiot but Naruto fought against Sasuke-kun and no doubt lost, so how can she be so confident?"

"Hinata," Sakura squeezed out, with tears still in her eyes, "How can you be so certain, he fought against Sasuke and shouldn't you be more concerned with getting Sasuke-kun back?"

"N-naruto-kun and S-sasuke-kun are f-friends, if they fought like w-what Kakashi-sensei s-said then h-he quite c-clearly b-betrayed us," she paused to collect herself then said "and, N-naruto-kun s-survived his ch-childhood."

With that she left the two confused girls and walked over to the gate to wait on Naruto.

Tsunade was not just angry, she was angry at everyone, angry at Sasuke for leaving, angry at Orochimaru for attacking, and angry at Shizune for bringing more paper work and most of all, angry at kakashi's lateness after she sent him to retrieve Naruto and Sasuke, so it was no surprise that kakashi's news was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. Tsunade was no longer angry, more of a blind rage and anguish. If not for Jiraiya who was sitting on the couch in the hokage's office, Konoha would be mourning the loss of the copy nin Kakashi. She was inconsolable and they all knew why. The curse had claimed its last victim.

A/N: Hope you all enjoyed, dont be shy, review.