Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

WARNING: some characters, specifically Boruto characters are OOC. In the most loving way I will say if you don't want to read anything out of the ordinary and like to see our beloved characters as they usually act, you probably will not like this according to some of the reviews I've received. Basically all you need to know regarding that is that my OC is the instigator. So if you believe that the the Naruto-verse characters are acting out of the ordinary, it's not their faults, and I am aware they are OOC. The reason I wrote them this way is because I wanted to highlight the character's aloneness (of her own choosing) and distrust as this is a large theme; I wanted to explore what hatred and distrust do to people since these are larger themes of Naruto as well. This isn't me trying to ruin the Boruto characters that I do have in here, nor is it me trying to write a Mary Sue; my character is deeply flawed and if I had to choose between her and the Naruto characters regarding her actions, I'd take their side every time. This is a story I've been working on for years and I know doesn't all follow canon because of it lol. Relax though please, it's fanfiction. We're all here to have fun and I APPRECIATE all you readers taking the time to even read! Just keep what I said in mind. :) Please read the summary and the note underneath!

Longer summary: After the Fourth Great Shinobi War, Hinata breaks away as do other members of different villages to create new Shinobi villages not apart of that organization. (A little out of character as well, I am aware; but she is dead so isn't a huge part of the story.) Her daughter, Ayana, knows about the original Shinobi union that houses her mother's home village, but what she "knows" is that they wronged the new villages; beyond that, however, Hinata doesn't speak about her past life. As a result Ayana grows up with a distrust toward other villages and outsiders. Her mother's last act before she was brutally murdered is to send her across lands to her previous home, but how can Ayana trust the new village, the seventh hokage, and new mentors after her experiences growing up? And how can she stay there now, especially when her whole purpose is to now get revenge against those who turned her world upside down?

Naruto is now tasked with training the girl and he is harboring some secrets of his own. She digs up a lot of painful memories for him, while at the same time Kakashi, Sasuke, Sakura, and Tsunade are keeping one bombshell of a secret. These secrets and the choice to keep them threaten the very world they fought so hard to build. What will happen when the secrets start to spill?

I started thinking of this story before Boruto was around, so I'm trying to incorporate some characters in where they fit- it's a hell of a lot easier, and probably more enjoyable to read for you all since you know the characters, than making up all new characters. Sasuke is a pretty integral part to this story since a major theme is revenge, so he'll be around more than is canon.

Because it's been floating around my head for so long, it's difficult to get on paper juuuuust right. Overall I'm trying to keep characterization up since that's what we all fell in love with in the first place! Feel free to leave a comment and constructive criticism. :)

Is it so hard to forgive the way

That we've been made to live?

How much is required to set things right?

Have you confused your power with mine?

Tennis "Origins"

There was a lot I promised myself I'd never write down. You know, too dangerous and all that. My mother taught me that writing lasts forever and any permanent record can be used against you in any measure the enemy chooses; they can use any and all information to track you and beyond that they can use any sensitive information to gain an advantage, going so far as to hurt the ones you love most. In any case it's better to keep all records temporary or encrypted as much as possible, or at least that was the rule she reminded me of everyday.

As careful as my mother was, I assume this slip up is the reason I ended up crouched into the follow arch of a tree in the longest thunderstorm we had all summer. The wind howled for weeks though no rain blew in, and I even remember looking into the sky the week before, staring at the clouds running across the sky away from our village, with an eerie feeling crawling up my spine as I thought the wind was bringing something else entirely, a foreshadowing of sorts.

I didn't think that it would usher in the burning of my home, my mother's throat spraying blood through the hallways, a folded note with instructions to the konohagakure written seventeen years ago, and a six day trip that left me dumped in a tree closest to the gates of the village.

Lightning struck the sky and spotlighted the looming gates into the village before darkness shrouded it in a shadow again. The same flash illuminated a man standing next to the gates, casually, as though waiting for someone, unphased by the rain and wind.

That must be him, I thought, the person my mom told me would be waiting. My muscles tensed as I braced myself to crawl into the rain but stopped short. Wait. But what if it wasn't? What if the enemy arrived here before me? What if this was the end?

I sank deeper into the tree again as a thought struck me at the same moment a tree branch fell directly into my path with a WHACK: But I also didn't care if the enemy got me.

Lightning lit up the sky again for longer, giving me a moment to take in the figure. I could see long black hair and the Leaf Village's symbol. But I also noticed something else: the figure was looking directly at me. Awesome. I made it six days without so much as a run-in with anyone, and as soon as I get here I'm noticed in a blackout thunderstorm. You're getting sloppy, Ayana.

CRACK! BOOM! Thunder boomed as another bolt of lightning crackled through the sky. I could see this time that he figure held his hand up, the other hand jammed into his pocket. I took a shaky breath.

I could stay here and catch pneumonia or get struck by lightning. Or I could trust him. If he was from the Leaf Village I am safe...but if he was from the Leaf Village he might not be safe. Memories from my mom echoed in the back of my mind. Or he could be who murdered my mother and let me think I was getting to safety before striking, making my journey all the more worse.

Outside the tree the rain rang out louder as it picked up the pace. Okay. So I couldn't just stay here. I fingered the folded up paper in my hand, conflicting thoughts bouncing around my skull. What are the odds that the man standing outside was the man whose name appeared on this paper? Was he really going to come as my mother wrote? I'd never heard her so much as mention his name, though to be fair she didn't speak much of her past before me. All I knew that this village ruined my mother's life and killed her entire family; this village and others left a sour taste in the mouths of our village and the surrounding ones after the Fourth Great Shinobi War. Plus what if sixteen years was too long and she only thought their relationship, in whatever sense, held fast? My mother was never wrong, but this was uncharted territory… What if these people weren't the same as she knew them? She made it clear she left for a reason. And this was against everything I ever learned in school… You do not trust other villages, especially outside our organization.

The question of Why? loomed large in my head again. I mean, why would she even send me here, to a place she maintained didn't care for their own villagers? I could see her large pleading eyes inches from my face, feel her hand painfully squeezing mine as she pressed the handwritten directions to the Hidden Leaf Village into my hand. "Go," she had hissed. "Now. Run."

If she didn't look so serious- or if I didn't even see her myself- I never would have believed these directions were real. I'd never have believed she wanted me in the Leaf Village in the first place. Why would she tell me I had to leave my home to a village she herself had fled?

My legs vibrated as lightning struck ahead and the thunder boomed louder, announcing its arrival at the gates. I didn't really have any more time. The man at the gate was now beckoning me with his hand. Since he knew I was there and there was a large possibility I was going to die if I stayed, I didn't really have any other choice than to go.

In the directions scroll my mother also included the name of the man who would be meeting me along with a code phrase. I checked the scroll one last time to ensure I remembered it and began to crawl out into the storm. Wind whipped water into my face so hard I was sure I'd have bruises, but I pushed on as fast as I could to the man who still stood unmoving in it with both hands now jammed in his pockets.

I reached him, and immediately made note of his looming presence. He threw his head back to clear his drenched hair from his eyes and his dark eyes immediately pierced mine, beckoning me to speak. He did not smile.

This is it, Ayana. You have to say something.

"Wouldn't it be fine to see the rookie nine all alive again?" I sputtered forward as he confidently spoke the phrase simultaneously. Overhead the thunder crashed again, shaking the ground beneath us.

"We have to hurry," the man said. "This storm might kill us if we don't get inside." He looked back to me before pushing open the gate doors. "Oh. And welcome to the Village Hidden in the Leaves."