rawr. i hate wordpad passionately. XP i also have dubbed this my lamest chapter ever. total filler, and not even good stuff, either. for that, i apologize, and promise you that A) the chapters will get longer again, and B) there shall be action in the next chapter. XP
yeesh. seriously, i hate wordpad. i cant gauge how many pages ive written, so i dont know where i deem it a good place to end the chapter, hence the extreme lack of length. XP that, and i realized that this chapter was only half finished and i needed it done TODAY, so i had to hurry my ass along on that count, as well. XP
so, overall, i apologize for the shitiness that i must call chapter 17.

I slept deeply and awoke slowly the next morning, filled with a pleasant happiness as the end to a lovely dream floated away from me lazily, slipping through my fingers like smoke. As I fully came to myself, it was gone, but the happy, peaceful feeling remained.

I discovered it was actually rather early, and no one was up yet. Even Snickers still slumbered quietly next to me, curled up in a ball with her tail over her nose.

Kakashi was still asleep, but he was also facing me, and I was content to watch his gentle, deep breathing for a while, his eye closed in the peaceful serenity that only comes with sleep. It makes him look younger, too, and made me wonder how much strain this trip was really putting on him. Not only did he have to worry about protecting Tazuna, the reason this mission had come about at all, but he also had to keep the three clueless genin alive, as well as me. And to top it all off, he was protecting us from Zabuza, the Demon of the Mist. And Haku, but he didn't really know about that yet.

Kakashi opened his eye and looked at me. "Morning," he said, his voice rough with sleep. I tried to ignore the shiver that gave me, and smiled at him warmly.

"Morning, Kashi," I responded, slipping into my cat form and stretching luxuriously, digging my claws into my makeshift bed. Kakashi chuckled, watching me. Then his eye flashed up sharply to something behind me, and I heard a gasp.

Turning quickly, I saw Sakura staring at me in openmouthed wonder. "H-how…" she fumbled, and I sighed.

"Can I tell you over breakfast?" I asked, suddenly realizing that my voice was much higher than it was in my human form. Great, sounding like a squeaky toy was just what I'd always wanted. "I'm starving."

Sakura nodded, and moved to find something to eat. Then I had an idea.

"Wait, hold up," I said suddenly. "Is there any fish left?"

Sakura frowned, but nodded and found one, placing it on the floor for me like she didn't really know what to do with it. I purred my thanks and dug in, savoring the taste of the meat, though a corner of my mind was wishing for redder flesh.

Snickers joined me silently, and I moved over to let her have a share, and as we ate, I told Sakura about my powers, skimming the way I had done with Naruto and Sasuke. By the time I had finished, her eyes were round as saucers, and she stared at me in wonder.

"So you're...like a cat?" she asked, looking dazed. Yeesh, no wonder she sucked so bad in the first series. Girl couldn't even handle a big secret without going starry-eyed.

I nodded slowly and began to wash my face. "Yup, you've got it. Neko-Ninnin, the cat people. It's pretty badass, too, if I don't say so myself."

Kakashi rolled his eye from behind Sakura, and I stuck my tongue out at him briefly, which made him laugh. Sakura looked between us, confused, but I just smiled at her innocently.

At that moment, Tazuna entered the room. I froze for an instant, my mind in a panic, when I remembered that he'd already seen my transformation, and so was going to need an explanation as well.

I flicked my tail at him in greeting. "Hi," I said.

Tazuna jumped violently and stared down at me in shock. "Wha- Who said that?" he demanded.

I laughed. I had to; it was just so funny, with the way his eyes were bugging out of his head, and how his voice cracked when he spoke.

Kakashi was grinning; I could see the outline of it in his mask. Even Sakura had to hold back a giggle, though moments before she'd been the one with the fish-face.

"Um, down here," I said politely. "It's Emily, Mr. Tazuna, remember? The blonde girl who transformed into a cat randomly in the middle of that fight with Zabuza?"

Tazuna still looked startled, but recognition flickered across his features, and he sat down on the floor a little heavily, wiping a hand across his brow.

"Ah, yes, I remember you now. Certainly made a lasting impression the first time. Surprising you caught me off guard a second time!" He chuckled to himself and shook his head.

I thought he was bluffing about not being so startled, but I let it slide and gave him the details, hoping that I wouldn't have to go through it for a fourth time. It was getting irritating, having to explain all this stuff out to people. Maybe I should just start telling them it's my Kekkei Genkai and save myself the trouble...

Tazuna took a moment to absorb the information, then he seemed to palce it in a corner of his mind and was suddenly all business.

"Well, then. Today is the last day of construction on the bridge. It's been a long road to get here, and I don't want anyone stopping me from completing it. So, I would like all of you to accompany me to the bridge to keep guard until I've finnished. If you can spare the orange one and the quiet one, too, that would be helpful."

Kakashi nodded slowly. "I don't believe Naruto should go out today," he said. "He's pushed himself far enough, he deserves a rest. The rest of us should be fit enough to accompany you to the bridge today, though."

Tazuna nodded. "Good. Then, we will leave in half an hour." With that, he got up and left the room.

I phased back into my human form, effectively startling everyone in the room with the exception of Snickers, and stretched luxuriously.

"Alright, cool." I said. "Big-ass fight coming up, and then we can go home. Lovely."

Kakashi looked at me sharply. "What did you say?" he asked.

Sakura was staring at me curiously, so I took Kakashi's arm and led him outside, pausing for a moment to make sure the girl wasn't lsitening on the other side of the door.

"It's the end of this particular part of the series," I said in a whisper, just to be certain. "Zabuza is alive, and the masked boy, Haku, is on his side. They'll both be waiting on the bridge with an ambush."

Kakashi shook his head, staring at me with something like admiration. "Somehow I still can't grasp that you know what's going to happen to us," he said.

I shrugged. "It's weird that I'm even here, so I guess we're even," I said, grinning at him. Kakashi smiled back, and took my hand for a moment. Our eyes locked, and something deeper seemed to pass between us. Then it was gone, and I shook myself mentally, trying to get back on task.

"Okay. So we're leaving in half an hour. Once we get to the bridge, the mist should close in on us. Zabuza sends out some clones, which Sasuke swiftly takes care of. Er, I think Naruto then wakes up and realizes we're gone, so he leaves in search of us. People come to kidnap Tsunami and Inari, and Naruto turns back around and beats the shit out of them. Meanwhile, you guys are kind of in a standstill, because Sasuke gets trapped in Haku's ninjutsu, Ice Mirror or something like that. Zabuza keeps you from helping him, so Sasuke's getting the shit kicked out of him. Naruto shows up and creates a totally useless distraction, and gets himself trapped in the ninjutsu with Sasuke."

I paused to take a breath, and saw Kakashi was shaking his head. "Sounds like Naruto," he muttered. I chuckled, but hesitated to tell the next part, because I knew that it was crucial to the advancement of the general storyline, though it wasn't exactly a good thing.

"Okay, whatever you do with the rest of this story, this next portion I tell you must remain the same. Otherwise there wil lbe big changes in the story, and I don't want anything horrible to happen because we didn't let it work." I told him about the Kyuubi making its appearance when Naruto becomes enraged over Sasuke's apparent death, and how he broke Haku's ninjutsu and nearly killed the boy himself.

Kakashi was silent for a moment before speaking. "The Kyuubi shows itself in Naruto?" he said at last. He sounded stunned. "Then, that means..."

I nodded. "Yeah. It means the Kyuubi willl briefly have control of Naruto, and lend him his powers. It happens more often throughout the story, and sometimes Naruto will take the Kyuubi's chakra himself instead of having it lent to him. But the end result is the same: naruto becomes a pwoerhouse of chakra, almost invincible due to his speed and ferocity. But he becomes terribly dangerous, as well. To mess with him then is asking for serious injury or even death."

Kakashi sighed heavily and stared at the floorboards. "I see," he said at length.

Almost unconsciously, I intertwined my fingers with his, in a vain attempt to reassure him. "Kashi, don't worry. By the end of this, everyone will be fine, I promise." I didn't mention the deaths of Haku and Zabuza. Kakashi would find that out soon enough.

Kakashi turned his face to look at me, and I smiled as comfortingly as I could. Slowly, he reached a hand up to caress my face, and he said softly, "All I can do is trust you."

I didn't know what to say to that, so I tried to look as trustworthy as possible. Kakashi chuckled softly and leaned forward until his forehead was pressed against mine.

"Luckily, I do trust you," he said,

The sound of Sakura calling through the house, looking for Sasuke, brought us back to the present. I could sense that Kakashi didn't really want to have to go back inside, and frankly, neither did I. All I really wanted to do right now was run away into the woods with Kakashi and hide out until this whole thing was over. Unfortunately, though, that wasn't an option, at least not for Kakashi. He had many roles to play yet, and I couldn't just take him away from his duties, no matter how much I wanted to. I didn't have the right.

I sighed and pulled away just as Sakua poked her head out the door, looking around expectantly.

"Saaasuke-kuuun! Saaas- oh, Kakashi-sensei and Emily-chan! Uh, gomen, gomen, I was just-" Sakura was blushing furiously and hurriedly attempting to pull her head back inside the door. Laughing, I stopped her.

"No worries, Sakura. It's cool. Kakashi and I were about to come inside anyhow. Oh, and Sasuke-" I paused to take a sniff- "is in that direction." I pointed into the woods, in the direction of the training grounds.

Sakura's face lit up, and she took off in that direction, calling eagerly, "Saasuke-kuun! Come on, silly, where are you hiding?"

Kakashi sweatdropped, looking after her, and from above, I heard a quiet voice say, "Thank you."

"No problem, Sasuke," I said, without looking up. "I wouldn't wish her on anyone, believe me." Not even someone who's going to the evil side, I added to myself. Not even you.