How many nights has she been running? How long has she been like this? Hanare does not know the answer to those questions. She doesn't even have the time to think about the answers. What's important is for her to get away from the three men that has been trying to catch her.

She doesn't even know where she is right now. The last definite location that she remembers is the Tanzaku Quarters. She has been working there for three months, when suddenly, those three men came to capture her.

She went inside the forest. For days she has been seeing trees and plants and some wild animals, too. But it's easier to escape from a wild beast than fight those three men that had been pursuing her.

Maybe, she still has Lady Luck on her side. She got away from them when she jumped off a cliff. It wasn't that steep anyway. She didn't die, but instead got some bruises, but no major injuries. Just a broken bone on her right leg, but she'll manage.

She saw a cave and decided to go and hide there. She leaned on a rock formation on the cave floor. She feels so tired that she could not continue running anymore.

Aside from exhaustion, she's also starving. She could not remember when the last time she ate anything was. She focused on running away from those three men than looking for anything to satisfy her hunger and quench her thirst.

Never mind. Tomorrow, when she had rested for the night, that will be her next priority. She will find something to eat and look for a river where she could drink. That is if she will not be found by those men that were hunting her. But she feels so tired to think about that, and the only thing that she wants to do now is to sleep.

The sun is high when she woke up. She still feels weak even though she had slept the whole night. She feels her chakra is still not fully restored. Maybe it's because she wasn't able to eat yet.

She has been on long missions before where she doesn't have much time to rest. But even so, on those occasions she has enough to eat and drink. That is why even with not enough sleep, her strength and chakra are easily restored on those long missions. Unlike now.

She could feel the pain on her right leg. But even if her whole body is getting numb, she still managed to stand up. She has to look for something to eat and drink. She's aware that she could die any moment – given her situation right now – but she will not die without putting up a fight.

And it seems luck has never left her yet. She immediately saw a clean river. She went and drank on it. She then contemplated on where on earth she could be right now. She's aware that she's still on the Land of Fire. She just doesn't know what part of the country is that forest located.

She then thinks of ways how she could find food. She looked around and saw some fruit trees. She also thought of hunting inside the forest. But before she could decide on what to do, the three men pursuing her already found her.

"Is the water refreshing?" asked the tallest man in the group. He is also the leanest among the three.

The other guy has an average weight and height. The third one is the smallest among the three, but he's the biggest when it comes to size. They all wear the same ninja outfit – black long-sleeved shirt with matching pants and black open-toes boots. They have forehead protector with the symbol for the Land of Keys, and their mouths are covered with half masks.

Hanare slowly stood up. Here we go again. She prepared herself for the battle that's about to happen.

"And she's ready to fight!" said the shortest guy.

"Maybe she had enough rest last night," said the average guy.

"Well then, let's see how well you've rested," said the tallest guy.

Hanare suddenly remembered what day it is.

March 19.

It's her birthday. She smirked.

Happy birthday to me, then, she thought as she changed her stance and anticipated the coming attack.