-Time for the usual disclaimer-

I don't own Naruto or any of the characters present. Aiko and her family are mine but other than that all rights belong to Masashi Kishimoto

She crept slowly through the forest, careful not to give away her position. If she were to fail now everyone's sacrifices would be for nothing. A flash of a memory coursed through her, bringing only pain. She gasped and pushed the memory from her mind, continuing onward. The gates were in sight- she had only but to reach them and she would be safe from her past. Her mother's aunt resided within this village and with any luck she would give her sanctuary. Upon reaching the gate she saw two men seated in a designated look out area. She hesitantly approached them with hands up as in surrender. This was a ninja village after all and she was no ninja; she had to be careful. The eyed the young girl warily- the village had just begun to recover from Orochimaru's too had to be careful. she can't be more than 13* they thought collectively. Little did they know she was 16 and she had seen more of life than any 16 year old should. She told them the bare minimum to allow herself entry. After all, what village would welcome someone who was wanted by the most powerful criminals in the village hidden in the grass. Once they discovered that she was relatively harmless and had family in the village they decided to bring her to the hokage. Kotetsu stayed at the gate and Izumo took the girl to the hokage's mansion. When they got there they were ushered in to see Shizune because Lady Tsunade had been too busy for such a small matter. Shizune looked the girl up and down while the girl spilled out her story. *the girl appears normal enough...she's making appropriate eye contact and she doesn't look too scared or desperate...I guess it couldn't hurt too much to allow one more commoner into our village...she's only a girl after all* "Alright, if we can locate your great aunt and if she says she'll watch after you, you can stay" Shizune said with a smile. The girl launched herself out of her seat in excitement, almost hugging Shizune out of pure joy. The older shinobi chuckled to herself, happy to see at least one person with high spirits during such a sad time. Izumo returned to the gate as Shizune sent for someone to take the girl to her family. Seconds later a rather bored looking shinobi strolled into her office. "Do I really have to do this? I mean it will be such a drag" *i just wanted to watch clouds and play shogi today* "Shikamaru you will do as I order- it's not like it will take the whole day anyway" Shizune scolded. 'Sigh' "Fine...come with me" Shikamaru addressed the girl. When they were out on the street Shikamaru decided he should probably be nice to the girl, after all it wasn't her fault that he was called in on his day off. It was then that he realized he didn't even know her name. "So...I'm Shikamaru...you are...?" "Aiko Tokugawa, it's nice to meet you. And thank you for helping me find my aunt, I'm sorry that you were ordered to" she said with a small smile. *she's pretty when she smiles* Shikamaru quickly shook that thought from him mind and mumbled "it's no problem really" *this woman is more troublesome than I thought* The pair walked in silence for the remainder of the walk and quickly found themselves in front of a store that sold quilts and custom clothes. They walked through the door and were greeted by an elderly lady whose name they soon discovered to be Hikaru Takeda, Aiko's great aunt. Hikaru was startled to see the child in front of her. She had not seen her niece after her marriage and was sad to hear of her demise. Hikaru was a very kind woman and was happy to allow Aiko to stay with her. She sent Shikamaru away, and for this he was glad. He ran quickly to his favorite spot, watching the clouds as thoughts of a very troublesome girl flashed through his mind.