Seeing that they didn't have much time, they gathered the necessary things before noon. Meanwhile, Kakashi went out to the village again to buy them whatever they wanted, such as special unscented bath products, explosive talismans, etc. Anything imaginable that might be necessary and that they had written down on a list. The movie tickets that had been gifted to Naruto were given away because attending was impossible without putting themselves in danger.
In less than an hour, Seina had finished packing everything with the help of her magic and had gone down to prepare the food. As soon as she saw the bentos already prepared for their missions, she knew she had to do something with the containers so that Kakashi could keep using them without her having to enchant them over and over again. That's how they found her a while later, surrounded by ten different bento containers and carving runes.
"What are you doing?"
"If I don't modify them, Kakashi won't be able to use them."
"Are you going to give Kakashi-sensei a mirror?" Naruto asked her.
Seina lifted her head when she realized she could communicate with him whenever she wanted, despite the distance. However, as soon as Naruto mentioned the mirror to Kakashi, who was on his way back home loaded with shopping bags, Kakashi sighed.
"I had thought about it, but… I have something else to tell you. Tsunade-sama is sending me back to ANBU full-time."
Kakashi looked at everyone, but he focused particularly on her. Seina couldn't believe it. Was she really leaving for three years, knowing that the entire time he would be in constant mortal danger? She said nothing as Sasuke and Naruto interrogated their teacher. According to him, and it made sense, having one of those mirrors would be a potential hazard. If someone called him while he was on a mission, they could risk his life over a simple distraction. That meant that if anyone was going to call, it had to be Kakashi reaching out to them, and maybe he could only do so in the middle of the night when they were asleep, sneaking back from a mission. Maybe once every few weeks.
"What about letters?" she asked finally, finishing her meal. "I can make a pair of connected trays to send and receive mail. That way, we wouldn't put you in danger, and every time you got home, you could send a reply for us to read the next day."
"Mmm… That's a good idea. Will you be able to make something like that in a day?"
Seina didn't reply. She simply started making them right there. The idea was to create a tray with two compartments. One would receive the correspondence, and the other, when a letter was placed inside, would send it. That way, they would never accidentally overlap letters. It took her a while to carve the sequences and test them, but it worked. They wouldn't be able to send anything larger than a book, but at least they could communicate.
"We should leave soon if you want to arrive on time," Kakashi said, checking the time. "I'm meeting Asuma, Kurenai, and Guy at five."
They left the house. At that precise moment, she realized that this was probably the last time she would leave before departing from Konoha. The thought saddened her, but now that she had created those trays for exchanging letters, she didn't feel as crushed whenever she remembered that she'd have to be away from the village—and from Kakashi—for years. She knew that the moment she stepped outside Konoha's gates, the reality of not seeing Kakashi for years would hit her like a bucket of cold water. Kakashi, walking beside her, almost brushing against her, was discreetly scanning the surroundings, while all she wanted to do was take his hand like any normal couple—and she couldn't even do that.
They arrived at an extremely central park. There, Guy and Kurenai's teams were already waiting, chatting quietly under a tree. Their friends, puzzled, seemed to be debating what was going on. The first to notice their presence was Kiba, then Neji, and afterward, seeing that the others were looking in a different direction, everyone else. She didn't even know what expression she had on her face, but it was obvious that all of them—especially Naruto and Sasuke—had dark circles under their eyes from not sleeping the night before.
"What the hell is going on?" Kiba asked with his usual tact.
Seina sat on a wooden bench, suddenly feeling incredibly exhausted. Hinata and Tenten sat beside her, looking worried. Karin, who had been called over unexpectedly, remained standing in front of her. Naruto and Sasuke were quickly surrounded by the other guys.
"What's happening?"
"Naruto, Sasuke, and I are leaving Konoha."
"WHAT!?" Karin exclaimed. "Why?"
"A series of things have happened that… well, it's better if we leave for a while."
"For how long are we talking?"
"For about three years."
Hinata gasped, bringing her hands to her mouth in sadness. Right after, Ino and the others appeared, arguing. The moment Ino saw Hinata's teary eyes, Tenten and Karin's distressed expressions, and Seina's dark circles, she rushed over.
"What's going on?"
"Seina says they're leaving Konoha for three years!" Tenten told her.
"WHAT!?"
She had to console them for a while, unable to tell them why they were leaving, until they accepted that there was no other choice. Karin, in particular, seemed deeply affected by the realization that she was going to be alone again. Seina swore to her that they would return and told her not to throw away all the hard work she had done to be accepted in Konoha. Meanwhile, the boys seemed to be having an intense argument about why they couldn't reveal the reason for their departure—especially Kiba and Naruto. She saw the somewhat devastated expressions of her friends, feeling happy to know that they cared about her, but she couldn't do much to comfort them.
Shikamaru and Neji approached her.
"I suppose you're not going to tell us why either," Shikamaru said.
"I'm afraid it's better if I don't, Shika."
The aforementioned sighed in defeat, while Neji seemed at a loss for words.
"We'll be sending some letters to Kakashi," she told them. "If you want to send a reply, you can give it to Tsunade-sama."
"But what are you going to do for three years?"
"Train."
"Train?"
"Have you heard of Akatsuki?" she asked, ready to share the official reason for their departure.
The girls, Neji, and Shikamaru shook their heads.
"They're a criminal organization of rogue S-rank ninjas. They wear black cloaks with red clouds. Until recently, they were just mercenaries, but now they're targeting jinchuriki," she informed them, watching as their faces filled with horror. "You actually met one of mine during the chunin exam in Suna. Her name was Fu Sanada."
"I remember her!" Tenten said. "A dark-skinned girl with amber eyes and green hair from Takigakure!"
"She sounds familiar," Ino muttered while Hinata frowned, trying to recall her. "But I didn't see her in the final test."
"That's because she never made it to Sunagakure."
A worried silence fell when everyone realized what she was saying. Neji, Tenten, Hinata, and Ino exchanged looks as they discovered the real reason why their combat line-up had changed.
"Will you be ok?" asked Hinata with concern. The others nodded, reiterating the question silently. The rest of the group approached, surrounding the bench. "What will happen if...?"
"Nothing will happen to us," she reassured her. "I have ways to escape easily, but I need to learn how to... use Kurama's power."
"Kurama is the Nine-Tails?"
"Yes."
After that, they talked for a while longer until they finally had to leave. Seina hugged each of them tightly, feeling how they embraced her just as strongly. The sad, worried, and, in some cases, tearful faces of her friends followed them as they left the park. Kakashi, walking beside her, said nothing when he saw the depressive air surrounding all of them.
They arrived home using the rooftops to avoid walking the outer streets as much as possible. Even so, it was daytime, so people were walking everywhere, laughing, shopping, and filling the streets. Whoever had attacked them had clearly thought twice about it—or maybe it was simply too soon for another attack.
"Have you packed everything?"
"Yes. It's not like we had to take much, just clothes and a few other things..."
"Why don't we play something?" she suddenly suggested. "Our last afternoon can't be this depressing, seriously."
Seina smiled mischievously. That's how they ended up playing charades and Pictionary—except they only had 30 seconds to draw and guess. Without a doubt, Naruto was the worst at drawing. Seina laughed for five minutes straight, leaning against Sasuke, when she saw his attempt at a "dog with a katana and roller skates."
"Is that... a bear?"
"What!? Of course not!"
"And w-what is it holding? A... a dildo?" she managed to ask, tears streaming down her face from laughter.
"A what?"
Kakashi choked on his juice, spilling some onto his mask as he let out an uncontrollable laugh. Sasuke, red as a tomato, refused to answer Naruto's repeated questions about what a dildo was.
"It's a type of breadstick," Kakashi finally said. Seina started silently crying again, clutching her ribs from laughing too hard.
They kept playing and laughing for a while longer. They weren't even keeping score at that point. The goal was just to be together one last time. When night fell, they had dinner together.
"I think I'm going to bed," Sasuke said unexpectedly. "Too much social interaction drains me."
"Good night, Sasuke."
"I'm heading up too."
"Why don't we all go to bed?" Kakashi suggested with a smile. Then, he winked at her.
Seina put on her pyjamas after taking a very quick shower. Fifteen minutes later, Kakashi appeared, just as he had promised the night before. She let him in and sealed the door with her magic. She didn't waste a second before hugging him.
"I can't believe this is the last night in Konoha for a long time," she sighed, holding back tears.
"I know. I don't even want to think about it, to be honest."
"I have something for you," she said, knowing this was her last chance to give it to him in private.
She took his hand, guiding him to sit on the bed with her, and handed him a small, closed box. She was nervous. It was the first time she had ever given someone an engagement ring, to be honest. Kakashi opened the little box in silence. His eyes shone as he looked at her.
"Did you make this?"
"Why do you ask?"
"Well, I don't think you had time to buy it. Besides, I know you like making gifts yourself whenever you can."
"You're right," she smiled. "I just wanted you to have something, like I do, as a symbol of our commitment. It needs a drop of blood so you can activate and deactivate its invisibility."
"Like the bracelet."
"Exactly. What do you think?" she asked, watching him gaze at the ring intently. "Do you like it?"
"I love it," he said, slipping it on after pricking his finger to let a drop of blood fall onto the rune. "Seina... thank you."
He cupped her face as he leaned in, pressing a tender, brief kiss to her lips.
"You're welcome. I wasn't going to leave you here without something tangible to remember our commitment."
"I don't just mean that. Well, yes, but not entirely. Thank you for being you," he whispered, kissing her again.
"I should sleep, but I don't want to close my eyes."
"I promise that whenever I can, I'll send you a letter," he promised, lying down with her in his arms. "Even if it takes me a while to reply, I always will."
"I know, but it's not the same as seeing you. I've gotten spoiled, and I can't even hold your hand outside my room."
Kakashi had no response to that. He simply held her tighter, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. Seina closed her eyes, listening to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat against her ear. Something so simple, yet it comforted her like few things could. She had to swallow back the "I love you" that begged to be spoken. If not saying it out loud spared Kakashi from more pain, who was she to make it hurt even more? She longed to hear it from his lips, more than just through actions, but she understood that now wasn't the time. Not when she was less than 10 or 12 hours away from leaving the village.
She blinked away a few tears, looking down at her hand resting on his chest. She stared at the ring, now visible, finding solace in the fact that she would return to Konoha. And when she did, it would be for good. She was going to train as hard as possible over the next three years to reach her full potential, and if things weren't resolved by then... she would take care of it herself. And if any of those decrepit old council members dared to interfere or get in her way... she would kill them too.
She drifted into a light sleep. She was half-asleep but aware of the masculine hand gently stroking her loose hair. The hours passed slowly as they comforted each other with their presence until dawn arrived. She opened her eyes, feeling even more exhausted than when she had closed them. She noticed his sad, downcast expression even before looking in the mirror.
"I should let you get dressed," Kakashi said, hugging her against the door. "I'm going to miss you so much."
"And I will miss you."
She bit her tongue to keep from crying. After all, she would have plenty of time to cry when they were no longer together. She had to force her arms to let go of him so she could step away. Kakashi gave her one last kiss on the cheek before disappearing into his own room. Seina stepped into her bathroom to shower and dress in casual clothes. She felt like wearing black. She didn't know if it was because it was her favourite colour that week or because it perfectly represented her feelings at that moment. She put on her bra, the metal mesh, a short-sleeved shirt, leggings, and then a zip-up hoodie. All black. The only thing left was her knee-high boots, which she often wore.
She left her weapons and pouch on the couch as she headed to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. She wasn't very hungry, but she didn't know how far they would walk or where they were going. Literally, she knew nothing about what would happen after leaving Konoha. Sasuke came downstairs minutes later. Like her, he was dressed in his usual black uniform—shirt and shorts with black sandals. When he saw her dressed without her jonin uniform, he blinked in surprise.
"I don't remember the last time I saw you without your uniform but still wearing your ninja headband."
"You'll have time to get used to it," she sighed. Sasuke let out a short chuckle.
He helped her set the table while the others were still in their rooms. A short while later, when it was still very early, they had breakfast in silence, unsure of what to say.
"Here, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto said, handing him the tickets that had been gifted to him. "At least this way, someone will use them."
"Alright. Thanks, Naruto."
"Do we have to go straight to the gate?"
"That's what they told me. Jiraiya-sama will be waiting there."
Seina finished eating without enthusiasm. Naruto and Sasuke started clearing the dishes while she secured her pouch and wakizashi at her waist. Ah, she had always preferred drawing her weapon from her waist rather than her back. Kakashi watched her as if trying to memorize her face.
"We're ready."
"Let's go."
They walked briskly to the main entrance. To their surprise, Tsunade-sama and Shikaku were waiting there. The ANBU commander, hidden in a nearby tree, let them know he was there with a characteristic chakra pulse that Kakashi and Seina both detected and recognized. Seina smiled, remembering that he was still under her enchantment, so she discreetly sent a finite incantatem. He hadn't explicitly apologized, but she knew he wouldn't do it again.
"Team 7," the Hokage called with a smile. "Train hard during your time away from Konoha, just as your comrades will here in the village. Jiraiya, from now on, you're in charge of the team."
Jiraiya nodded, watching as his new students said their goodbyes to Kakashi. Seina also bid farewell to Shikaku, with whom she had developed a very friendly professional relationship, and to the Hokage, who suddenly pulled her into a strong farewell hug.
"Take good care of yourself, and look after your brothers and that idiot Jiraiya," she whispered in her ear. "I'll do what I can to get you back as soon as possible."
Seina and the others delayed their departure as much as they could, but in the end, they had to leave. She received a final shoulder squeeze from Shikaku and a public hug from Kakashi before turning around and walking away with her brothers and the pervert, leaving Konoha behind. Despite the eyes she felt on her back, she didn't turn around to wave like Naruto did. Sasuke, at her left, simply looked ahead as she did. Jiraiya glanced at them over his shoulder, his expression somewhat sad but mostly amused.
"Cheer up! We've got a long journey ahead of us—too long to be this gloomy!"
"Where exactly are we going?" Sasuke asked. Seina nodded in agreement.
"Ah! Who knows?" Jiraiya exclaimed, crossing his arms and grinning. "We have too much to explore to stay in one place!"
Seina groaned in exasperation at the terrible answer. It was clear that even he didn't know. Had he not thought it through at all? Not that she really cared about their destination—she still couldn't shake the thought of what she was leaving behind. Even so, she knew she couldn't spend the next two or three years sad.
Kakashi had sworn he wouldn't die in ANBU, and she had promised to marry him when she returned. When she came back—when she finally returned—Seina wanted to be as strong as possible to protect her entire family. So she couldn't afford to cry every day. She would allow herself to cry sometimes, alone in her bed, but the rest of the time… She was going to give it her all.