"Danna! I can't wait till we finally get home!" a little girl with short brown hair skipped next to her elder friend, chanting those words.
The older girl giggled and looked over to her tiny friend. "I know. I'm glad we can finally get back home and get some extremely important business done."
"What kind of business?" the child looked up at the woman.
"Well you're gonna be eight soon. Almost time for joining the academy. We have to sign you up for it."
"Really?! You're gonna let me be a shinobi?!" the girl began jumping up and down.
"What? You think I taught you all those Jutsu for no reason?" the older woman smiled again.
"Yes! I'm gonna be a shinobi! I can't wait!"
The woman laughed. "First you can't wait to get home and now it's to become a shinobi. What is the world coming to?"
"Danna! I'm so happy! Thank you!" the girl stops to hug her friend.
"No problem. I think it's a great idea. I mean your Danna IS an Iwagakure ANBU." The older girl happily takes the hug. "The least you can do is follow in her footsteps."
"Who goes there?" one of the guards at the Iwagakure's main gate asked
"Relax, Hiroshi, it's me and Maddy." The older girl took off her ANBU mask to show her face to the man.
"Amaya! Maddy! Welcome back!" the man said
"Thanks Hiroshi sama!" Maddy yelled, waving
"The main gates opened and the two girls walked in. Amaya led Maddy back to their small two room apartment.
"That mission took us a long time, Danna." Maddy said as she lay down on the couch
"I know. That happens sometimes. I just hope the Tsuchikage won't be too mad at us for taking so long on that sudden mission to Konohagakure." Amaya said, walking into the kitchen
She picked up a banana and brought it out to Maddy.
"Thanks, Danna! I'm starved!" the little girl took a bite
A few hours later Amaya decided it was time Maddy should be getting to bed.
"Come on, Maddy! Stop hiding! I'll find you!"
"But, Danna! I wanna stay up like you!" the call came from Maddy's closet. Her favorite hiding spot
"Boo!" Amaya said looking inside the box
"Danna! Please?" Maddy pleaded
"No. now get to bed. And I mean now, missy." Amaya was almost never angry. Maddy could tell she wasn't now.
Amaya had a great sense of humor. She never raised her voice unless she had to. She was always happy and smiling. No matter how sad she was she always smiled. Even as she tried to give Maddy a stern face she couldn't help but revert back to her usual ways.
Maddy hopped out of the hamper and into her bed.
"Will I ever be able to stay up as late as you?" Maddy asked (no she doesn't say Danna every time she talks to me)
"When you're my age." Amaya pulled the covers up to the young girl's neck
"But that'll be in like… a bazillion years!" Maddy yelled, arms flailing
"Uh try ten."
"Did I make you mad, Danna?"
"No. Now go to sleep."
Amaya patted Maddy's head and walked into the living room.
Meanwhile
"She the one, Itachi?" a shark asked his partner
"Yes. Let's hope she comes easier than Deidara did." The raven haired man replied
The two men quickly and silently jumped from the rooftop they were sitting on and moved towards their target.
Meanwhile
Amaya sat down on the couch and pulled out her notebook.
'What am I going to do?' Amaya thought 'If the Tsuchikage finds out I'm here he's liable to kick us out of the village. Or worse. He could hurt…'
She looked down the hallway at Maddy's bedroom door.
'No. I won't let anyone touch her. Let alone hurt her. I promised that to myself and to her three years ago.'
Flashback Time!
"Hey kid! What? Can't you fight back?" a boy at the age of seventeen asked holding up a defenseless four year old Maddy."
"Please let me go!" Maddy yelled, trying to remove his hand from her shirt
The older just laughed.
"Hey!" a fifteen year old Amaya yelled at the boy
"Hey back." The boy dropped Maddy and made his way over to Amaya. "How old are you?"
Amaya crossed her arms. "That's none of you concern."
"It's not, is it?"
"Look I don't have time to mess with you. Lord Tsuchikage wants to see me about becoming an ANBU and I don't want to be late."
"ANBU, eh?" That's a high rank. "Are you sure you can-" his message was interrupted by a high pitched squeal.
The boy held his 'area' and fell to the ground.
"I told you I didn't have time for this."
Amaya lowered her knee and walked over to Maddy.
"Are you alright?" she asked
"Maddy slowly nodded and wiped an unshed tear from her eye.
"Y-you helped me." She stammered
"Of course. I couldn't just let him hurt you." Amaya smiled
"N-no one's every done anything like that for me before."
Amaya laughed. "Seriously? ... well then… if you're treated so badly… then why don't you come home with me?"
"Really?!"
"Yep!"
"Will you always be there for me?"
"What? Of course! Ill always protect you!"
End Flashback
"Hoshi Amaya? We've come for you." Kisame said, smiling