The house where she'd lived had been empty for three years now. Dust lay thick upon the floor and tables. The fabric of the couch faded from the sun and a spider web stretched across the arm. The fridge held barely anything now. What was in it had turned green and blue with mold long ago. A broken window had let the lilac tree outside put two branches inside. A family of mice hid under the floorboards, using a shattered board as the entrance. The bed sheets still lay in disarray, half on the floor from the day she'd left. The door, decorated by the painted symbol on its front, hung by one hinge, the knob torn from its bearings. Her bedroom showed little of herself. Some rusted weapons lay on the dresser next to the only two photographs. One showed her as a teenager, strangling a boy who looked a lot like her; the setting placed them in front of a waterfall and both had been surprised by the camera. The second posed her younger by three years. The school she'd attended in the background, a boy with blue hair hugged her and a girl with red and black streaked hair. The woman behind them looked as if she had expected something much worse.

An older version of the boy from the picture picked it up now. Disturbed dust caused him to cough. He'd come to this place in hopes of some hint, but that hope seemed to be gone now. His oldest friend and the girl he'd always loved had sacrificed herself to save the rest of them and vanished. Now sign of her body after the explosion. They'd seen the blood trail leading away from the enemy, but at the end of it only a fast flowing river. That had been a year ago. After a month of searching, she'd been assumed dead. As official as it was, he had never wanted to believe it. Now thinking of her and seeing the old picture, he remembered everything from the moment they'd met…

It had been eight years ago. He'd joined the Ninja Academy along with everyone else at age six. Half a year had passed since they'd started when the transfer student was accepted. At least transfer student was the best way to describe it. The black haired, dark-eyed, quiet girl had no clan name, no family, nothing to say who she was. Except her name was Shitaka. The day she started, he'd had no interest in talking to her.

"Sarutobi, as the Hokage's grandson, you'll be in charge of making sure Shitaka get settled in here at school. I don't believe there's anyone sitting next to you."

"Ah. Of course, ma'm." There he was, Chojan Sarutobi, stuck babysitting the new girl. The days passed and she never asked questions. The teachers kept telling her to pay attention. Whenever he took a glance to see how she was doing on their work, she'd be staring at the walls or the ceiling, half in a daze. Until she got called on. Then she'd jerk to the front and mutter about not listening. Even in the physical class, she'd go at it half-heartedly. She hung at the back of the crowd, doing just enough to not get yelled at for slacking. He didn't think much of it, till he noticed that unlike the rest of them she never sweated, and her homework always came in with one wrong, never more never less. He finally took the time to talk to her after school let out. Two months had passed.

He spotted her heading out after the main crowd left. "Shitaka!"

Her head came up sharply. No surprise showed in her eyes. No emotion at all. She walked over to him. "Yes? You need something?"

"I was wondering how you were doing. You kinda keep away from everyone. And well, I was curious."

"Yes, I'm fine. No worries." She turned back to the gate and walked away. Chojan groaned to himself and quickly caught up.

"Why are always so distracted in class? If you paid more attention, the teachers would leave you alone."

"I'm not interested in it. They don't teach anything I want to know."

"What do you want to know?"

"I want to know how to hunt. How to find something that others can't find. I want to know who I am."

"That's not something they teach in Ninja Academy. If that's what you want, then why are you even attending?"

"Cuz my mom died and told them to take me here so I could be a ninja. It's all silly to me, but I really don't have a choice."

"Ah…" Chojan struggled for something to say. "I'm sorry."

"Why? It's not your fault."

"Well… you lost your mom and… I dunno." He took a look around the path she'd chosen. "You're not from around here right? Where are you staying?"

"A house down that street. Some guy my mom asked to take care of me. But he really isn't around all the time. He hasn't come back for two weeks now."

"You live alone?"

"Yea. Why is that a problem?"

"I'm just a little surprised is all. You don't have a very good guardian."

"It's not too different from back home. Mom didn't care much to keep an eye on me."

"Regular wild child huh… you should still at least have someone keep an eye out for you."

"I don't need someone watching me." She stopped and looked at him, for once showing emotion, though he felt he'd touched the wrong subject. "Your concern is noted. I don't need it. Please don't bother me anymore." She turned and continued down the street. Chojan remained there feeling like he failed at something, though he had no clue what.

The next day, she acted as if they hadn't even spoken. He didn't say anything either. He did notice she looked badly rested and her hair hadn't been brushed. The week passed much the same. Her distracted attitude never changed, but her hygiene never improved. Since he'd actually started paying attention, he saw dirt under her nails, her clothes repeated after a couple days with an appearance of not being washed and she looked almost as if she weren't sleeping right. Lunch break came. Chojan got up and went to the teacher.

"Iruka-sensei, can I talk to you?" he looked at shitaka's desk and confirmed that she'd gone outside already.

"Sarutobi-kun. What do you need?"

"It's about Shitaka. I talked to her a week ago and it seems she's living alone. And she looks… I dunno, like she's really on her own."

"That's odd. Thank you for telling me Sarutobi-kun. I'll look into it."

"Of course." He bowed his head and hurried out the door to eat his own lunch.

Sitting in her usual spot by the swing, Shitaka dumped the rock out of her lunch bag and hugged her legs to her chest. She'd seen Chojan go up to the teacher. He probably was going to say something about her living conditions. She'd get in trouble for not living in the dorm. She didn't want to live in that place with the other kids. The noise bothered her. Two other girls left the building, looked at her and then ran on past. Shitaka got up and ran to the gate.

Iruka came outside after speaking to Chojan. He'd seen Shitaka sitting by the swing most days. He didn't see her there now. He walked over to the spot and saw the empty lunch bag. "Wouldn't normally just leave it there." He saw Ino and Sakura nearby. "Yamanaka-san, Haruno-san, did you see Shitaka around?"

"She was sitting by the swing as she always is. If she's not there, might have gone to the bathroom. We didn't see her leave."

"Alright. Thank you." He turned and went back inside. He'd have to wait till after class to talk to her. She always left last, so it wouldn't be a problem.

However, she didn't return after lunch break. He noted it in his mind and continued class like normal. Chojan gave him a worried look afterwards and Iruka just smiled back, trying to reassure the boy. When the kids had left, Iruka ran to inform the other teachers.

They were all in the lounge. "Iruka-san. You look worried," Yuhi Kurenai said.

"I am. Sarutobi-kun expressed a concern that Shitaka wasn't doing well and then she didn't come back after lunch."

Ebisu said, "Isn't she that special admittance from a small village on the border of the country?"

"Yes. Her mother requested she be taught to be a ninja like her father."

"She's a bit of a troublesome student, though. Doesn't put much energy into the class," Kurenai mentioned. "If she didn't come back, that might be a problem. Since we've only got paperwork to do, I suggest a quick search of the village."

They nodded an agreeance.

Elsewhere, Shitaka stared at her reflection in the river. She remembered her mother's face only vaguely, but she knew she looked nothing like her. She'd been glad to find the training ground empty. They'd probably check the village first. They wouldn't come here looking for her.

She pulled her hair out of her face and held it back in a ponytail, considering the look. Behind her Kakashi Hatake saw her as he came to the training ground. For an instant he thought he saw Uchiha Itachi instead of Shitaka. Then she let her hair fall back into its wild mess and the look disappeared. He walked over. She turned as he approached. Not being someone she recognized, she let him sit down next to her.

"Aren't you shitaka?"

"That's my name. Why?"

"Just wondering what you're doing here. I wouldn't expect to see someone your age at a training ground."

"I wanted to be alone for awhile."

"Were you thinking of tying your hair back?"

"Ah, yea. My hair doesn't like to stay put."

"It'll probably help if you brush your hair first."

"I do. But it gets messed up running around. Get in my face too." Kakashi didn't reply. He sat there looking at the river. Shitaka looked up at the clouds.

Kakashi eventually commented, "I've seen you running around the village in the morning. Is the academy training not enough for you?"

"It's too slow. I could run laps around the others if I went full out during school. I don't want that kind of attention. Being the new girl in town is enough. Sarutobi called me a wild child. He isn't that far off the mark."

"Interested in a little sparring?"

"With who?"

"Me. I'm curious about your fighting abilities."

"So, a test? I guess that's okay."

Kakashi stood up and gestured for her to follow him over to the three stumps. "Here's how we'll do it. We stop when you give up or manage to land a hit on me. I'll just dodge. Start whenever you're ready." Shitaka grinned and rushed forward. She never managed that one hit of course, but kakashi found himself enjoying himself some as he studied her skill. A rough type that he'd expect from someone raised off the streets. Coordination was good, but as a child she had no focus, no refinement.

Later, Iruka spotted Kakashi jogging into town with Shitaka on his back. "Kakashi, where'd you find her?"

"Oh, Shitaka? She'd fallen asleep at training ground three. Were you guys looking for her?"

"She skipped the second half of class. And when I asked around if she'd been seen at the dorms, they told me she'd never even been there. Sarutobi-kun said she looked like she'd been spending time elsewhere."

"Ah." Kakashi thought back on what she'd said to him. Iruka sounded as if she hadn't spent any time in the dorms. He smiled to himself, but Iruka didn't notice cuz of the mask. "I'll take her to my place. Please make the change in the books about it."

"Yea… why are you taking an interest in her, Kakashi?"

"An interest? Well, not really. I just feel like it."

Iruka said, "You didn't find her sleeping, did you? It's kinda obvious. You're not very good at lying. Don't worry about it. I won't say anything."

"If she knew, she'd probably say thanks." He took her to his home, and then went to collect her belongings. The next day of school, Chojan noticed the difference in her appearance. She'd tied back her hair and she no longer looked all rugged. Iruka-sensei must have said something to her, because she surprised him by asking for help on the math work and pointing out what he'd done wrong in geography. The days passed and she started talking more.

He remembered how during summer break he found out why she never put effort into school. Kakashi offered to give him some training if he wanted it. Time had twisted into a fate he'd never expected. This no-identity girl became his closest friend.