Well, here's the next chapter of Consequences. I know there's not much Sasuke in this chapter, but there will be more in the next one. I wanted to focus on her finally getting back to Konoha, and how Itachi is handling things. I have also changed the rating of this story to M, as there are stronger themes, like the mentions of self harm and suicide attempts. If those types of things are triggering, please be cautions when you read, please, I don't mean for this to be triggering in any way, but to evolve the plot the mentions were needed. I apologize if it does upset anyone.

"Blah" - Talking

'Blah' - Thinking

Disclaimer: Again I do not own Naruto or it's characters, only my own plot and Oc's.

Over the next four years, Gaara and Sani become very close, more so than they were before, she has become like another sister to him. He's now twelve, and she's sixteen, on the verge of seventeen. Sauske too is twelve now, as are Naruto and Sakura. Sani and Gaara are sitting under a tree in the yard at his place, and talking. They had just found out that Gaara, along with his siblings, Kankuro and Temari, are going to Konoha to participate in the Chunin exams. Sani twirls Itachi's ring around her finger, she never takes it off, because she misses both him and Sasuke like crazy.

"I'm excited, yet nervous." Gaara says, creating a small sand tornado in the palm of his hand, a habit of his when he's agitated. Another thing bothering him, is how lately his father the Kazekage has been acting a bit strangely lately, moody and working late every night. Sani nods a bit.

"I'm sure you guys will do well, and.." she trails off, biting her lip. Gaara looks up at her, his pale sea green eyes watching her, knowing what she wants to say.

"I know, Nee-chan. You'd ask me to say hi to Sasuke for you, if I wasn't so angry at him." she nods a bit, biting her lip. Gaara had come to believe that Sasuke had forgotten him, and their friendship from years ago, and it's made him bitter and angry toward the young Uchiha. Temari and Kankuro soon join them there under the tree, Temari carrying a plate of sandwiches, and Kankuro a pitcher of iced tea and some cups, and they sit down, setting the plate and pitcher between them all. Sani sips a cup of iced tea, as she tells them about her experience in the Chunin exams, and what kind of things they could be expecting as participants.

She also ends up telling them what she knows of Itachi's time in the exams as well, and some of the comical campsite happenings and stories from those times as well. They all end up staying there fairly late, with how into the discussion they are, Gaara is yawning, but he's still too interested in the stories. Sani soon chuckles and shoos them off to bed, gathering the dishes and standing up as well, following them into the house.

The next day, Sani waits at the village gates with Baki, the sensei of Gaara's team, for the siblings to get there so they can head out. She's leaning on the wall, humming slightly to herself. Baki is standing there quietly to the left of her, reading through a scroll while slightgly tapping his foot. When the three Sand genins approach the gates, Sani smiles, pushing away from the wall and giving them hugs. She hugs Gaara last and kisses his cheek as well.

'Good luck." she says with a smile. He nods, waving as the four of them head through the gates, then out into the desert, soon disappearing.

As they run, Baki glances back at Gaara, he's concerned the redhead had shared details of their very secret mission with his best friend, the girl from Konoha. He knows that the girl would go to any lengths that she possibly can to protect her home village. Baki is a little unsure about the plan himself, but he knows that he is not to question their Lord Kazekage.

"Lord Gaara, you didn't tell her any of the plan, did you..?" he asks, and the redhead sighs, giving his sensei a look as he shakes his head. He hates that he couldn't tell Sani what's really going to happen later on at the exams, she would never have let him leave. At the same time though, the anger he holds inside of him that's always influenced by Shukaku, is anxious for what's to come. Baki nods, and the four of them continue on through the desert.

Sani makes her way back through the village, unconsciously rubbing at the black marks that mar the pale skin of her neck, sighing. She wanted so much to go with them, but the Kazekage had forbidden it. With a sigh, she sits under the tree they had been under last night. She rubs the mark again, her shoulder aching a bit again. She had learned that it's a curse mark, the Cursed Seal of Heaven, placed by the sadistic Sannin Orochimaru. At first, Suna's council was extremely worried about the mark, but Sani had proved herself fairly capable with controlling it, to the best of her abilities. She soon gets up, wanting to try again to go home to Konoha, and heads into the house for her pack. She stuffs some clothes and food into the pack, then seals it into a transport scroll so she can travel as light as possible, and slips it into the kunai pouch at her back. She checks her weapons, making sure that her Konoha Hitai-ate is in her pouch as well, then she slips out of the village, following the path she knows Gaara and his siblings and sensei had taken. As she runs she's thinking. When Suna had found out that she'd been part of Konoha's ANBU Black Ops, they had asked her to do some missions for them, but as a downside from that, every time she left the village on a mission, her teammates always had to keep tabs on her, so that she could never try to slip away. She also has some medical ninjutsu experience, so she had done some work at the Suna hospital as well.

"Now.. to make sure I don't get caught by Baki." she murmurs to herself. She knows she's only about an hour or so behind them so she keeps her chakra masked, not wanting to be detected. She sighs, knowing that she will have to slow her travel some so she can cover her trails, which will make the normally three day long trip, take more like five days. She can sense them off and on, but she makes sure her own chakra stays very tightly masked. She erases her trail as she goes as well, making it like no one has been there. Later, the sun has set, so she decides to stop for the night, making sure she's not too close to them. She then activates her Sharingan, scanning the area around her where she's settled in a small copse of trees and then realxes in relief, deactivating her Sharingan again but keeping her senses fully alert. She pulls the scroll from her pouch and opens it, summoning her pack. She pulls out some dried meat and a piece of bread, deciding not to cook anything, as a fire would give her position away immediately. After she eats she lays down under the tree, as she sets her water canteen down, using her pack as a pillow, but she doesn't sleep right away. She just ends up laying there for a few hours, letting her thoughts wander, though her senses are alert. When she does end up sleeping, it's a light sleep.

The next morning, she scans the area again with her Sharingan, then relaxes, vanishing into the tree line where it's a bit denser to take care of morning business, then she flops back down with a sigh, pulling on her pack to tug it into her lap. She fishes out a couple pieces of jerky, drinks some water, then puts away the canteen in her pack, then returns her pack back to the transport scroll, stashing it in her pouch. She gets up and stretches, eating the last of her pieces of jerky as she heads out again, making sure not to get too close to Gaara and his squad. She siog sighs some as she runs, she knows that Gaara, and his siblings, are hiding something from her, she could tell by the way they would avoid answering some of her questions. She never questioned them though, because she would rather not endure Baki's wrath. It frustrates her though, hoping whatever they're hiding isn't something really bad. She also finds herself rubbing her neck off and on, as the mark tends to randomly throb and burn from time to time, she knows she needs to have it sealed, and hopes to ask her friend Kakashi about it when she gets there, providing she doesn't get caught along the way.

"Kuso!" she mutters to herself when she realizes mid afternoon that she's gotten too close to Gaara's squad. Making sure her chakra stays tightly masked, she starts backtracking, deciding she'd rather not listen in on them and risk giving herself away. She pulls her smaller canteen from one of her back pouches, sipping at it, as she continues backtracking until she feels she's far enough away again. She finds some shade in a small rock overhang, created by some huge boulders pushed into each other, causing one with a longer end to be stuck against another in a way it's almost propped. There's barely enough from for her, so she draws her knees up to her chest, leaning against the rock. She closes her eyes, her mind wandering back to several memories with both Itachi and Sasuke, memories of good times together. She finds herself thinking back to the camping trip she and Itachi had taken Sasuke and Gaara on. She had been eleven then, and Itachi was twelve, just a year before she'd been "removed" from her home village. The boys had been kids still, Gaara was seven and Sasuke had been just shy of it. The four of them had so much fun on that trip, just the four of them together.

The rest of the trip proceeds just about the same, she makes sure to stay far enough away from Baki and his squad, not wanting Gaara or the others to know she's followed them. She also revisits a lot of her old memories as she travels, good and bad times, how much fun they had on trips, and also, how much that she misses her best friends now. When she finally arrives at the village five days later, she slips inside by hiding within a group of visitors. Once inside, she starts making her way through the village, she hears talk of what is going on with the chunin exams. Apparently the squads are in the forest of death now, and she groans just a bit, remembering when she went through that part of the exam. She hears one man say that the groups all had gone into the forest just yesterday. She makes her way to the Uchiha district, deciding to look around as she has not seen it since before the massacre. She makes her way inside, down one of the streets, and it's at that point the silence hits her. She chews her lip, it's eerie how silent and desolate the place is now. She can remember the aunts and uncles and others who ran shops on the main street, the little tea shop on one side, that now has cracked windows and a torn awning. She shivers a bit, making her way down street after street as memories flood her mind. Running down these streets with Itachi and Sasuke, running errands for Mikoto when she asked it of them. Members of the police force that patrolled the streets from time to time. The cold silence of everything now unnerves her. She finally stops at the main house, the house where she had grown up. Some of the screens are torn, but she pulls one back, heading inside.

"Whoa.." she says quietly, finding the kitchen and front room almost exactly as she last saw them, as if the occupants had just up and left one day instead of being killed. She makes her way down the hall, then pauses in front of a set of screens, setting her hand against one and gently pulling it back. Her eyes well with tears when she gets a look inside. Her room is untouched. Everything is as she left it when she was last there in this room. She sits on the edge of the bed, running her hand over her old quilt. She then remembers there was something hidden in here. She opens the drawer of the bedside table, using her nails to lift a hidden slim panel in the bottom and frowns. Her diary is gone, does Itachi or Sasuke have it? She replaces the slim panel back in the bottom of the drawer, and closes it. She stands up, continuing to look around her old room, there are so many memories in here. The corner where she would make a blanket bed to sleep when the boys both came in here to stay with her. She glances at her closet, frowning at the small hole in one of the shoji screen doors, and she runs a finger over it, wondering what caused it.

She hisses sharply as the black mark staining the skin of her neck suddenly begins to throb and burn agressively, and with one hand pressed against it, she stumbles over to the bed and drops onto it. What now, why is it suddenly throbbing like this, is the one that put it on her close by? She groans, curling on her side a bit on the bed, one hand holding her neck, and she closes her eyes, trying to get some control over the mark and the pain. She whimpers softly, finding it much harder than usual to reign the mark in, and she then ends up passing out there on her old bed. When she comes to, she groans, rubbing her neck, the strong throbbing pain has lessened, but the area is still sore. She sighs, hating when attacks knock her out like that. She looks outside, noticing that it's dark, and she wonders how the canditates are doing in the forest. Sighing, she sits up and summons her pack from the scroll, drinking some water and eating a small bento, then laying back as she finishes a piece of jerky, gazing out the window. She decides she may as well stay here for now, figuring no one would bother to look for her in the empty district. She rubs her neck again, knowing she needs to get the mark sealed before it gets to the point where she can't regain control. She groans, yawning a bit, gaining control of that mark is exhausting and she knows she'll end up sleeping well into the next day. She then does a few hand signs and casts a quick, undetectable barrier jutsu to mask her chakra, shakes the dust from her old quilt, and settles back on her old bed to sleep a while.

The next afternoon she groans, waking up to the feel of something licking her face. She opens an eye to see what it is, and finds none other than a familiar little brown pug standing in front of her.

"Pakkun!" she says happily, scooping the little dog into a gentle hug. He chuckles and licks her cheek as she does. She smiles and sets him back down.

"Little Sani!" he says happily. She sits up, the quilt wrapped around her as she does. She offers him a piece of jerky, chuckling as he snatches it.

"What are you doing here?" she asks. The little dog sits on his haunches. He tilts his head, regarding her quietly a moment.

"I come here every week, hoping to see you again." She smiles, wiping a few tears from her eyes and nodding a bit.

"Please Pakkun, don't tell anyone about me yet." he gives her an unsure look, but nods, trusting Sani as he always has. He curls up on her lap, and she smiles, petting him as she looks out the window again. She asks him how the exam is going, and he relaxes, telling her about what he knows so far. She nods as she lets him talk, listening intently. Something else is on her mind as well, something she never thought to do before now. She smiles when he tells her how Sasuke and his squad had been doing the last he heard.

"Pakkun," she says softly, "I want to see it, I want to go home.." and the little dog's eyes widen some at that. Sani has never expressed interest in going to the Ukishira district before.

"Are you sure?" he asks, and she nods, chewing her lip. He jumps down from her lap, standing on the bed and facing her. He then says,

"Alright, let's go." she nods, grabbing her pack and dispelling the barrier jutsu, then she and the little dog vanish from the district. Sani chews her lip when they arrive, the silence is almost overwhelming, but the curosity of her past wins over and she starts forward. Pakkun trots at her feet, telling her the hand signs that she needs to use to get through the barrier the Ukishira used to hide their district, he tells her that ouf of his respect for the clan, the 3rd Hokage had never had the barrier removed. Once inside, Sani looks around, both nervous and sad as she makes her way through the district. Pakkun walks with her, looking around as well, a sigh coming from him. He remembers the day vividly, even if Sani doesn't remember it right now. He slows a bit, then makes a turn, leading Sani to the main house, where she had lived with her parents. He stops close to the steps leading to the wraparound porch and hesitates, watching Sani. She bites her lip, climbing up to the porch, and over to the sliding shoji doors. She takes one, pulling it back a bit, and slowly going inside the house. She sets her pack down in the entryway, and makes her way further inside. In the living room, photos are on the walls and a few shelves, and she stops, picking up one of a smiling couple, a baby in the woman's arms. She feels tears sting her eyes as she runs her fingers over the photo of her and her parents, she could barely remember what they looked like and now some memories are coming back. She holds the photo close to her chest, making her way down a hallway. Pakkun follows quietly, knowing he needs to let her explore on her own at the moment, to let her properly grieve. She pulls open another sliding screen, looking into a large bedroom. There's a few photos on the dresser, and she guesses this was her parents room.

"I can almost feel them.." she whispers, and Pakkun nods slightly, watching her look around. Over by the window, she notices a rack on the wall, holding two ornate katanas, and she moves closer. She goes over to the rack, gently lifting one of the swords down to look at it.

"Those were your parents' favorites. The blue and silver one was your mother's, and the other one is your father's, the black and silver one." she nods quietly, gently drawing it from the sheath, slowly inspecting the blade and handle, the details of the hilt not escaping her either. She finds the black and silver suit quite well, and she turns the sword over, examining it from all angles. She then slides it back into it's sheath, then lays it back in the rack, wiping at her eyes a little. When she enters the next room, a choked gasp escapes her throat, as he finds herself looking into her old bedroom. She slowly goes inside, looking around slowly at the blue and purple colors, the stuffed animals lining one shelf, a few sitting on the small bed. Another set of shelves holds several books and a few scrolls, and she finds a child's set of toy ninja tools on one of the small dressers. She picks up one of the little shuriken, tears in her eyes. She notices a stuffed white cat, and goes over, carefully picking it up, then finding herself hugging it to her chest as a few tears slip down her cheeks. She soon returns to her parents' room, clutching the stuffed cat and the photo, and curls up on the bed, her shoulders shaking slightly with soft sobs, and she ends up crying herself to sleep, with Pakkun laying beside her, watching over her.

Kisame sighs, silently following his younger raven haired partner as he weaves through the streets of the deserted Uchiha district. Itachi does this every month almost, comes back here to check on his brother, a habit Kisame knows is helping keep the Uchiha somewhat stable minded, but it's the other reason they come here that concerns the tall, blue man. The fact that Itachi still holds onto hope of finding the girl, and insists on making regular checks of his old home, hoping that just maybe, she might have returned. It's been more than four years now, and Itachi refuses to believe that she could be dead. Kisame stays back as the Uchiha's crimson eyes look around, searching for chakra or any type of hint. Kisame didn't used to follow Itachi much on these ventures, until the one time the raven haired teen hadn't come back, so Kisame had gone searching for him. He had gone into what he know's is the girl's bedroom, and had found his partner sitting in a corner of the room. The small, leather bound black book at his feet. His eyes were closed and his breathing shallow, and when the blue skinned man had come closer, he found Itachi's sleeves had been pushed up, and both his forarms had been slashed. He remembers the teen's nightmare's had been particularly bad the night before it happened but he hadn't thought Itachi would go that far. That was a year and a half ago, and he's kept more close of an eye on his troubled partner since then. He knows the teen is broken, and he tries to do his best to keep from losing him to his dispair.

"Itachi.." he says softly, but the raven haired male ignores him, heading into the main house. Sighing again, Kisame follows, thinking. When their leader found out about Itachi's attempt, he had told Kisame then to try and stay near the Uchiha at all times, not wanting to lose one of their best members. He follows quietly as they go into the house, and he peeks into the different rooms of Itachi's old home. He notices Itachi's now suddenly stopped at a partially open shoji, and he comes up behind the teen, peeking inside over him to look at the room.

"Isn't this your brother's room? It looks recently used.." he asks quietly, and Itachi nods, silent. With a soft sigh, he steps away from the room, he had not expected Sasuke to ever come back here, especially to live, and it surprises him a bit. When he arrives at Sani's room, he freezes. Traces of faint, barely detectable chakra coat the room, and the bed looks recently slept in, too. His heart thumping, Itachi slowly approaches the bed, and the faint, familiar scent of sakura floods his senses.

"She was here. I don't know how, but she was here.." he whispers, and Kisame's eyes widen a bit. He knows Itachi will search more intently for her now. He sighs inwardly, he knows he shouldn't be keeping their trips here from their Leader, but something keeps compelling him to look out for his teenage partner. Itachi's eyes then fade from crimson to coal black, and he drops onto the bed, putting his head into his hands. Close, so close, but once again she's gone. Kisame frowns a bit as he watches the teen, knowing how much that the girl had meant to him, how she had kept him going through everything his parents had put him through. The blue skinned man watches quietly, he also believes now that Itachi was, and likey still is, in love with this girl that haunts his memories so much. He soon moves over to the teen, wrapping a firm hand around the male's upper right arm. Itachi does nothing, he knows the older man means him no harm, so he doesn't resist when he's gently tugged to his feet and steered from the room.

"Let's go, we can't be caught here." Kisame says quietly, and barely nodding, Itachi follows him out of the house, and the compound. When they get back to their campsite, Itachi sinks onto his bedroll, sighing as he does, drawing up his knees and resting his arms on them. He sets his chin on his arms, staring moodily at the fire, his dark eyes unreadable. Kisame sits down against a tree, staying quiet, but keeping an eye on the Uchiha as well. Itachi eventually lays down, but remains silent, and Kisame doesn't pry at him to talkn he full well knows that Itachi will speak if and when he's ready to. Kisame is concerned though, he knows how bad a night Itachy may end up having because of this. He's witnessed the teen having nightmares before, and they have never been pretty. He recalls only twice, that the Uchiha had actually woken screaming from the terrible dreams, but out of respect for the teen, he's never told anyone about it, not even their Leader. The blue man is pretty sure that he's the only one that Itachi has ever shown any true emotion in front of. He's seen many, many times how badly shaken the male is after nights of relentless nightmares. He's seen tears a more than a few times, but speaks of it to no one else, merely lends the Uchiha his silent support.

Kisame is just relaxing and letting his mind wander a bit, when the teen laying by the fire is suddenly wracked by terrible coughing, deep harsh sounds. Kisame frowns and gets up, going over and kneeling down, sitting the teen up. Itachi grimaces in pain, continuing to cough until he finally spits out some blood onto the ground, using a pale, shaking hand, he wipes his mouth with a cloth. Kisame pulls out a canteen, and pours some water into a cup, and giving it to Itachi and sitting back a bit as the teen makes a face, then rinses his mouth and spits onto the grass a few times to get the taste out of his mouth.

"You need to have your lungs checked, Itachi, it's just getting worse." Kisame says, sitting down a bit away from the raven haired male, watching him with concern. He's worried about how pale the teen is. There had not been a coughing fit for a few weeks now, but he hadn't spit blood the last few times either. There has to be something very wrong. He watches as Itachi uses a small, controlled Katon to incinerate the evidence on the grass, putting it out after, and then laying back down with a groan. The teen's breathing is a bit rapid, as well as shallow, and he's very pale as well. Kisame keeps an eye on his partner, watching as the teen nods off to sleep, exhausted from the coughing. Once he's sure Itachi is asleep, he goes into a mediation stance as he relaxes in his spot against the tree, and contacts their Leader.

"We need a medic to be at our base when we return, Itachi's lungs are getting worse, he just had one of his attacks, and he brought up blood." He watches the shadowed man behind the desk, as he had sent the projection of himself into the office.

"Very well." the man's deep voice replies. He regards Kisame a moment, and soon the projection's cut off. Kisame opens his eyes, glancing at the sleeping teen. His color is returning some, thankfully, and now his breathing doesn't sound quite so rapid and shallow either. Relieved, he leans back against the tree, letting his sharp senses scan the area. He keeps an eye on the sleeping Uchiha, knowing that these fits tend to often be a slowdown, causing Itachi to need to rest for a day or two depending on how bad the episode was. He lets a yawn escape, stretching, then gets up, placing a concealment jutsu around the teen, then heading off a ways into the woods, needing to relieve himself as well as catch them something to eat. He takes care of his needs first, then starts walking, debating if he wants to fish, or chase some type of wild bird. He also keeps his eyes out for a certain herb, one Itachi had told him about from the girl's diary, that when brewed and the steam is inhaled, soothes the lungs and breathing, and he figures Itachi could use it. He lets his senses wander across the area, sensing what types of wildlife are close by. Just then a wild dog bursts from the trees, chasing what looks like wild turkeys.

"Lucky today I guess." he murmurs, drawing two kunai from his pouch. He watches the birds for a bit to gauge their path, then swiftly tosses a kunai, and one of the larger birds drops. He waits until the dog and the others get a bit away, and he retrieves the bird, swiftly killing it and retrieving his other kunai. He heads to the stream he can hear, washing his blades, then making fairly quick work of cleaning the bird. As he's by the stream working, the dog comes back, so as he works, he tosses the unneeded parts of the bird to the old dog. He can tell it's older by the greyness of it's fur around the face, and the thinner body. When he's done at the stream, he washes his hands and blades, and the excess blood from the meat, and heads back to where the camp is. He uses a few sticks to create a spit, and sets the bird to roast over the fire. He also ses the tea kettle they keep for traveling by the fire with water in it to slowly heat, deciding to let his partner sleep until its time to eat. He sits back by the tree, stretching out his legs and leaning against the trunk, leaning over at different times to turn the bird on the spit so that it cooks evenly. He looks over when the sleeping teen sighs and begins to stir.

Itachi groans and pushes himself into a sitting position, wincing slightly, that fit of intense coughing did a number on him. He spots the kettle, and glances at Kisame, who nods, tapping a small pouch made of leather that sits in the grass by his leg, meaning he found some of the herb. Itachi nods a bit and he lays on his side, resting his head on his arm. The smell of cooking meat is making him quite hungry, but also slightly nauseous as well. He pulls out the little book, quietly unsealing it and flipping to a certain spot, beginning to read quietly to himself.

"Here." Kisame says a bit later, holding out a steaming bowl to Itachi. The teen sits up and closes the book, taking the bowl and sitting cross legged. Settling it on his lap on top of his cloak so it won't burn him, Itachi leans down, slowly inhaling some of the fumes wafting from the bowl. After a few minutes, he feels the tightness in his chest begin to subside, as the herb's medicine relaxes his airways. Kisame watches quietly as the teen sits with the bowl, he's watched Itachi do these treatments a number of times now. He soon sits up and leans over, taking the meat off the fire, setting it on a plate and using a small knife to cut chunks off the main bird. When Itachi sets the bowl down, Kisame hands him a plate with some meat. Itachi nods, taking it and settling back onto his side, eating a piece, looking thoughtful as he does.

"I'll make you another batch tonight before you sleep, you already sound better." Itachi nods a bit, as he continues to eat. Kisame sits back against the tree, eating his own meal, and hoping that Itachi won't end up too angry with him when he sees the medic waiting at their base when they return.

Pakkun stretches and yawns, sitting up and licking one paw a couple times, watching the sleeping girl on the bed. He remembers what she said, but he also knows she shouldn't really be alone right now. Quietly he sneaks out of the house and the district, glancing around, and then poofing back to his master's home. He finds the silver haired jonin reading one of those ridiculous orange books as he lays on the couch. Rrolling his eyes, he jumps up onto his master's chest, sitting down right where it places him in front of the ridiculous old book the man was reading.

"Uh, Pakkun?" Kakashi asks, raising an eyebrow. The dog just sighs, then takes the book in hs mouth and jumps down off the couch with it, sitting on the floor.

"Come on." he says after putting it on the floor at his feet. Kakashi sits up, frowning.

"Come where?" he asks, snatching the book, marking his page and tucking it into his weapons pouch where he usually keeps it. Pakkun stands up.

"Follow me." he says and heads from the apartment. Shaking his head, the silver haired man follows the little dog out and into the woods, running after him. He frowns when after several minutes, he realizes as the scenery changes that they're heading for the old Ukishira district. Kakashi sighs a bit, but continues on to follow Pakkun, doing the handsigns to allow him through the district's barrier, and following the little pug into the main area, down a few streets and to the head family's house.

"Pakkun?" he asks, but the little dog just looks at him, then goes into the house. Shrugging, Kakashi follows him inside, looking around a bit as the dog leads him to the back area of the house to where all of the bedrooms are, stopping at the master bedroom. Frowning unsurely, Kakashi follows Pakkun inside, and as he does, he freezes midstep when he sees the girl asleep in the bed.

"It can't be.." he says, looking at the little ninja dog. Pakkun just nods, jumping onto the bed, where he sits down, watching the silver haired jonin. Kakashi hesitates, then approaches the bed slowly. He's a little surprised at how well she looks after being missing for close to four and a half years. He sits on the edge of the bed, watching her a moment, then touching her shoulder.

"Sani..?" he asks softly and she stirs and groans. Opening her eyes, she gasps when she sees there's someone else there, then her eyes fill with tears on seeing who, one of her old friends.

"Kakashi.." she says softly, wiping at her eyes. He watches her for a moment, and then the next thing he knows, she's thrown herself at him, hugging him tightly. He startles a little, but then relaxes, wrapping his arms around her and returning the hug. She hides her face in his shoulder a few moments as she's overcome with emotion, but after a few minutes more she's able to pretty near stop crying, and sits back again, wiping at her eyes a bit shyly.

"So what happened?" He asks, and she frowns a bit, thinking. She fiddles with the blanket that she'd wrapped around herself, chewing her lip.

"I.. don't remember how I got there, but I was in Suna. The Kazekage wouldn't let me leave because he thought I was in too much danger, but no one would tell me why.." she sighs, biting her lip again. Kakashi gasps a bit, all this time she was only three days away? Incredible. He keeps an arm around her, hoping that it's reassuring her some.

"How.. is Sasuke?" she asks softly, a hint of worry in her voice. Kakashi chuckles, thinking of the very large number of times he's had to separate him and Naruto for squabbling.

"Well, he's very bright, very talented, but he's also quite antisocial and moody, though both Naruto and Sakura seem to be bringing him out of that. The three of them are actually my genin team, and are now taking part in the Chunin exam." her eyes widen, and she can't help a smile.

"Sounds like Sasuke, but I'm happy he's doing well for the most part. I actually kind of followd Gaara and his team here, but they don't know. I don't want anyone to know just yet." she says softly, and he nods a bit. He frowns when she starts rubbing her neck, wincing slightly.

"Yea, just this stupid thing. Actually, I was hoping to ask a favor of you. Would you be willing to.. seal this for me..?" she turns her head a bit, moving her hair away from her neck to show the black mark marring her pale skin. Kakashi's eyes go wide, he's seen that seal before, on the neck of Anko Mitarashi, she used to be a student of Orochimaru's at one point. She bites her lip, watching his expression.

"You've seen this before." she says, and he nods a bit, sighing.

"Only once, on Anko Mitarashi, a former student of Orochimaru's." she sighs a bit, nodding some. She pulls the blanket tighter around herself, shivering a bit from a sudden chill. Kakashi relaxes a little as well, he nods a bit.

"I'll do it tomorrow, sound good? I'll stay with you a bit now, but then I need to go check in with both the proctors of the Exam to see how it's going, and with the Hokage as well." he relaxes back on the bed and watches her a moment. She nods.

"Alright." she agrees, knowing it will be hard for him not to tell Sasuke that she's back. They both end up just talking there for a couple hours. Pakkun falls asleep beside her, against her leg, and she finds herself petting him as they talk. She decides as well to stay here at her parents' house for the time being, seeing it's the safest place for her right now, and no one would think to look for her there. She settles on her side, still petting Pakkun as Kakashi makes himself comfortable, telling her about some of the missions their squad has been on. She laughs at the cat one, remembering she and Itachi both did similar D-rank ones when they had first started as well. She ends up falling asleep listening to his stories, and after watching her a bit, he heads off to check in where he has to, leaving Pakkun to watch over her. Hoping that she won't have issues caused by that mark until he can get it sealed for her. He's also nervous, he's never sealed a curse mark before, and he hopes he can do it, for her sake, and Sasuke's when he finds out she's back.

So that's chapter ten, I hope everyone likes it, and I am so, so sorry for taking so long to update. I am also working on the next chapter for When Happily Ever After Ends, I'm a little ways into it, so watch for that as well. Enjoy! Please review and tell me what you think, I'd love to know :)

- Sani.