"Yokoshari, are you sure about this?" a young boy of seven asked quietly.
"I'm positive, Haku. Now don't worry," a four year old girl, Yokoshari, whispered.
Haku gulped, "But Zabuza-"
"Won't know anything about this. Now will he?"
"No."
"Good."
The two quietly snuck into the sleeping Mist village.
"You go that way, I go this way," Yokoshari said.
Haku nodded and separated. Little did the friends know that the next time they saw each other, would not be in ten minutes, but in 8 years. Zabuza had found Haku only moments after they left. He then searched high and low for Yokoshari only to discover that she had disappeared completely.
-Yokoshari-
A man stared down at a picture of a four year old girl with black hair and a blonde streak on one side. The same girl was walking, more like sneaking, through a quiet street.
"That her?" his partner asked.
"Yes," the first man said. "Let's get her."
Yokoshari stopped in her tracks. Someone's here, she thought. She started running, fully aware of the men chasing her. Yokoshari ran as quickly as she could into the forest. She slowly, but surely, lost her pursuers. Using what Zabuza taught her, she jumped up into the trees above to wait. Once she got into a decent spot, she took out two senbon and sat still.
When the men appeared, Yokoshari pulled her hand back and sent the senbon into their necks, rendering them unconscious. Sighing, she continued on the path she had taken to escape her pursuers.
Three days later, the four year old girl was still traveling having gotten lost not long after she knocked the two men out. She had no idea where she was. Traveling with barely any food or water or rest was starting to take its toll on the child. Unknowingly, Yokoshari stepped on a branch that was too weak to support her weight and fell to the ground, hitting her head along the way.
A few hours later, a man with silver hair, a mask, and his headband covering his left eye discovered her. There were two other people with him, a teenage boy with a black ponytail and onyx eyes and a teenage girl with red eyes and black hair.
"Look, Kakashi. A little girl," the red-eyed girl said.
"Yes, Kamaya, I see her. She looks around four years old," Kakashi, the silver haired man, said.
Kamaya looked at the boy with onyx eyes and said, "Is she alive, Itachi?"
Itachi kneeled down and put his hand on Yokoshari's neck. Her hand shot up and grabbed his wrist squeezing it hard. Her eyes opened and she looked up at him nervously. Itachi tried to move his hand, but it wouldn't budge. He noticed that the girl was unbelievably thin, covered in bruises and scratches, and seemed like she was about to pass out again.
"It's okay. You're safe now, you're a few minutes outside of Konohagakure. I am Itachi Uchiha, and these are my comrades, Kakashi Hatake and Kamaya Yuhi. We are from Konoha. What about you?" he said softly.
Yoko's eyes softened and she released his wrist. As Itachi rubbed his wrist, she sat up slowly and cleared her throat.
"I am Yokoshari Harashino. I'm from Kirigakure," she muttered.
Suddenly, a loud growl came from Yokoshari. She put a hand on her stomach and chuckled nervously. Kamaya giggled, Itachi chuckled, and Kakashi sighed.
"Kakashi, I can take her home with me. I'm sure Kurenai-nee won't mind," Kamaya said.
"Alright, but bring her to the Hokage's office later," Kakashi nodded. He then disappeared in his signature puff of smoke.
Itachi helped Yoko onto Kamaya's back. Yoko looked between Itachi and Kamaya.
"Am I going to be living in Konoha?" she asked.
Itachi shrugged, "If the Hokage says you may."
"And you can stay with me and my sister if you want," Kamaya smiled.
Yokoshari smiled back and quickly nodded. As they walked back to the village, she looked at Itachi.
"Um...Itachi...nii?" she tentatively asked. Yokoshari was a pretty decent judge of character for a four year old. She felt she was safe with these people.
Though she couldn't see it, Itachi's eyes widened. His face relaxed and he looked at her, smiling. "Yes, Yokoshari?"
"I know Kamaya-nee has as older sister. But what about you?" she asked.
"Well, I have a little brother. He's five and his name is Sasuke. Maybe you can meet him later," he replied.
Yoko nodded and said, "Okay. I like meeting new people." She laid her head down on Kamaya's shoulder. She fell asleep as they reached the gates. Itachi looked over at Kamaya.
"Do you want me to walk you home, Kamaya?" he asked.
"Um...No. I-it's okay, Itachi. I'll meet you at Lord Hokage's office later. Bye!" Kamaya said, before speeding off.
As she disappearered, Itachi shook his head. "Sometimes, I do not understand her. Why does she stutter around me like that?" he said to himself.
Kakashi, who just so happened to be watching, sweatdropped and slapped his forehead, "He's a genius...yet so stupid."
-Haku-
Zabuza was beginning to get worried. Haku has neither talked nor slept since Yokoshari disappeared. The boy stood at the window, staring out into the trees. Zabuza came up behind him and placed his hand on Haku's shoulder.
"Don't worry, Haku. We'll find her, I promise," the Nin said, softly.
"How? When? Yoko could be in another village or another country by now! I don't think we'll ever find her," Haku croaked. His voice was hoarse from lack of use.
A small smile lit up Zabuza's face. "We will find Yokoshari. It may not be soon; it may even be years from now. But we will find her. I swear," he said. Haku nodded.
"Okay, Master Zabuza. I believe you," the little boy said, wiping his tears away.
-Yokoshari-
Kamaya walked into her home and went into the living room. As she laid Yoko down, her sister, Kurenai Yuhi, came into the room. She looked at Yokoshari.
"Who's that?" Kurenai asked.
"Oh, hi, Kurenai," Kamaya smiled. "Her name is Yokoshari. She said she's from Kiri. Poor thing hasn't eaten in days."
Kurenai disappeared into the kitchen and reappeared with two bowls of soup, a bowl of rice, three rolls, two glasses of water, and a plate of cookies. Yokoshari slowly woke up at the smells. Her bleary eyes blinked several times as she sat up. Kurenai set the tray in front of her and the young girl pounced.
Two hours and lots of food later, Kamaya, Yokoshari, and Kurenai, along with Itachi and Kakashi, were standing in front of the Hokage's desk. The elderly man looked down at Yoko and smiled.
"So, you are our new arrival, correct?" Sarutobi said. Yoko nodded. "I'm afraid I'll have to ask you a few questions. Nothing too hard seeing as you're a child."
Yoko nodded again and stood up as straight as she could, "Okay."
"What is your name, how old are you, and where are you from?" Sarutobi asked. He was writing everything down as he said it.
Yokoshari cleared her throat, it had suddenly become dry. "My name is Yokoshari Harashino. I'm four years old; I turn five in exactly two months. I'm from Kirigakure."
Sarutobi nodded and continued writing. "Is there any family there that you can return to?"
Yokoshari thought of Haku and Zabuza and shuffled her feet. I'm sorry, Haku-kun…
"No, sir, I don't really have a family anymore. My parents died two years ago and my aunt who had been raising me died last year." Of course Yokoshari knew she was lying. Or at least about having an aunt was she lying. Zabuza had taken her in when she was two and a half after her parents were killed by a burglar. He had happened across her while she was hiding in an alleyway.
Sarutobi noticed her shuffling and caught Kakashi's eye. He nodded, showing that he had noticed as well. I won't press the matter for now…she's too young to have any enemies.
"Can you tell me what you were doing outside our village?"
Yokoshari nodded and told the Hokage everything from the moment she noticed she was being followed up until she woke up to Itachi leaning over her. She left out anything related to Haku and Zabuza.
"So you got lost after you abandoned the two men following you? Can you describe them?" Sarutobi asked. He had stopped writing a few moments after Yokoshari had started her story.
"Yes, sir, I can. The older one, he looked like he was the boss, had gray hair and a scar running across his face like this," Yokoshari said. She ran her finger down her face from the top left corner to the bottom right. Kakashi tensed as soon as she did.
"And the other man, what about him?" Kakashi asked.
Yokoshari looked at him confused, "He looked not much older than you, Kakashi-san. He had green hair, which I thought was really weird. He had green eyes, too, though they were a different shade."
Sarutobi nodded, "I believe that'll be enough for now. Thank you very much, Yokoshari. I will leave you in Kurenai Yuhi's care. I want you to focus on any recovery you need to do from your journey." He looked over at Kurenai, "I'll need you two to return here when she's fully recovered to take care of further business. You may take her home now."
Kurenai nodded and bowed to the Hokage. She picked Yokoshari up and left with Kamaya and Itachi in tow. After the door closed, Sarutobi sighed and put his hands together. He was reflecting on part of Yokoshari's story that confused him.
"What would a couple of rogue bounty hunters want with a four-year-old little orphan? Especially when those bounty hunters are the Blade Cousins?" Kakashi asked.
"That's exactly what I'm wondering," Sarutobi said. He sighed and looked down at the paper he had been writing Yokoshari's information and story on. "Something doesn't feel right."
"You mean you think she was lying?" Kakashi asked. "She's four years old."
"No. But she wasn't telling us everything. Even young children can have secrets. Sometimes they can have more secrets than an adult. Don't underestimate this girl because of her age, Kakashi. There's something about her that's older than her age."
Kakashi looked at the Hokage, his eye filled with confusion. He walked to the windows behind the Hokage's desk and looked out at the small group leaving the building. He watched as Itachi turned to go to the Uchiha compound and the Yuhis took Yokoshari towards the shops. Probably to buy the young girl some clothes, he figured. Kakashi sighed as he finally realized just how much danger this child, this four-year-old girl from Kirigakure, could be in if the Blade Cousins were after her. He sighed again when he realized how she didn't know as she began to start her new life.