Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters that will be featured in this story. This is purely a fictional work that will garner no profits.

I've been out of the fanfic writing game for a while now, but I just recently re-watched Naruto and had this floating around in my thoughts now that there's a new generation to toy with. Tell me what you think.


Chapter 1

The cool night breeze that gently grazed the bamboo covering of the sliding door was not a comfort to the child lying upon a futon. She listened to the wind carefully, memorizing the sound so that she might have one more comfort of home to take with her when she left in the morning. It wouldn't be enough, just the sound of the wind. No memory would be enough to solidify home in her mind when she would be so far away.

It was what made her lay awake, her eyes staring up at the wooden ceiling above her. There was a lit candle in a corner opposite her, offering the faintest of light in the otherwise dark room. With nothing to see above, she focused on her thoughts.

Tomorrow she would leave behind her clan, her home, her parents, her village - and never return.

Two years had passed since her second eldest brother had left for the Village Hidden in the Sand. He was to live the rest of his life there, pledge his loyalties there. And she would be sent to the Village Hidden in the Leaves, to Konoha. The same would be expected of her.

But was it possible? She was going to miss her Mama and Papa very much. Even thinking of all the things she would miss brought stinging tears to the corners of her eyes at that moment. However, she could not stay. It was the rule.

Whenever the Head of the Kihara Clan had more than one possible heir, those born after the first were to be sent to other shinobi villages. Her Papa told her it was to prevent internal fights within the clan, but he never had a sibling himself. He couldn't understand the pain of separation from one's family.

She sniffled, burrowing herself further underneath the thick blanket atop her body. It was warm.


"Michiko, be well. You know Mama loves you," her Mama told her, hugging the little girl too tightly. It was hard to breath, but Michiko didn't mind. She wanted to hold onto her Mama forever.

But her Mama pulled away and she was faced instead with her Papa. He simply stared down with his intimidating gaze, his mouth a thin line. It was the same expression he wore when he was scolding someone.

"Listen, Michiko. You will represent our clan in Konoha. Should you fail to present a good example, our name will be shamed. So, you should continue to do well in your studies and become a good kunoichi. Do not fail this task. Understood?"

To that, she offered a short nod, meeting his gaze only for a few brief moments. Studying would be no problem, but she didn't understand what it meant to be a clan representative. She was being sent away from the clan forever, not just a few days. It would be no good to contradict or ask questions though.

The shinobi escorting her, four jonins from her clan, turned at her father's hand signal. One pressed a hand lightly against her back, nudging her away from the front gate leading into her clan's area and further towards the road. They didn't want to delay any longer.

She turned her head while walking, looking to her Mama, who stood watching from the gate. "Mama," she called to the woman, "I'll be fine! I love you!" Not trusting herself to hold back the tears if she continued to look back, Michiko looked forward once more, her gaze focused only on the garment of the shinobi in front of her

Her sniffles continued for quite a lengthy portion of the walk, teardrops eventually falling upon sand. The tiny bit of salt water stayed but for just a moment before it was absorbed, forever lost to the ground. In a way, she was like her tears. The further they moved away from Kumogakure, the more clear it became that she was never going to return as Lady Michiko Kihara.

"We're going to start moving faster now. Are you ready, Lady Michiko?" The question was posed by a friendly face peering down at her. She recognized this jonin from her clan, Ayame, one of the people who'd been there to train her over the years. But Ayame's smile was no longer able to distract her from the pain inside her heart, no longer able to reassure her that she still had time before she was to be sent away.

"Yes," she replied softly.

And so they began to run at a faster pace. The journey lasted five days, though it would have been shorter had they not stopped at inns along the way.


She waited outside the Hokage's office, transitioning from lacing her fingers together to rubbing her index finger and thumb together due to nervous energy. Perhaps it would be decided that she wasn't welcome here afterall. Then would she go back to Kumogakure, to her parents?

The voices inside were not loud enough for her to overhear, or rather she tried not to listen. What she'd seen of this village was certainly different from her own - though it wasn't hers anymore. This was to be her village now. She kept having to remind herself of this.

Sighing, she turned to look out the windows and down upon the many buildings. There had been a Chunin Exam recently, but something had gone wrong and the exam was called off in the final round. She'd heard about it back home but could now see construction from a distant on the stadium that'd been destroyed.

It was good that her Papa had decided not to attend, though she had wanted to see her second eldest brother. He might have been there among the crowd. It would have been an opportunity to see him again after two years. Though already a chunin, it was possible he could have gone along with other Suna shinobi. When she brought this to her Papa's attention, he'd told her that her brother was no longer a child and was sure to be on a mission.

That had always been a fault of hers to her Papa. Even after growing tall enough to climb up stairwells by herself, she continued to behave like a child. She did not train with as much diligence as her eldest brother, instead preferring to gaze at clouds and play with other children. Such behavior had resulted in punishment so that she might learn to act differently.

Finally, she heard the sound of a door opening and turned quickly to look upon the faces of the jonin from her clan. She expected only them, but two men were with them, staring down upon her. One had blond hair and appeared friendly from his smile, whereas the other, the one with his hair in a ponytail, looked as if he'd rather be somewhere else.

"Michiko?"

It was the friendly one that spoke to her, so she looked at him.

"Welcome! I'm looking forward to watching you become a great Konoha shinobi!"

The greeting was unexpected and it made her take a step back, as if she were trying to retreat from the man. But there was nowhere to go as the wall was behind her. She looked down at her feet, noticing the dust upon her shoes and the little signs of tearing at the edges from all the walking she'd done recently.

Glancing back up, she felt that the man was waiting for her response. If she didn't give one, he wasn't going to stop smiling. "Thank you," she responded quickly, bowing her head.

"Of course! Shikamaru, you're going to escort her around, yeah?"

"Yeah, I'll do it. It won't take long."

"Thank you!" The blond-haired man told the other, the one who began to walk towards Michiko. He had a unique beard, perhaps this would be how she would come to remember him.

But then, maybe this would be the first and last time they met. Konohagakure was not small and there were surely to be many new faces she would encounter. It was possibly there would be so many that others would be forgotten with the passage of time. She might even forget the faces of her own parents. Her fist clenched at the thought.

"Well, I suppose you'll be headed back to your village now. Don't worry! We take care of our comrades in Konoha!" This time the blond-haired man was speaking to the jonin from her clan. He still lacked a formal tone, something that stood out starchly in comparison with Michiko's father.

Staring at the people that had brought her here, Michiko felt something rise within her. It was a plea, one that they take her back with them. But they wouldn't. The request would be not only useless, but childish. Her Papa was right; she was very childish. It was selfish to be that way in regards to the clan. The clan was more important than one person, more important than her.

"Lady Michiko, we'll be off now. Take care," it was Ayame who spoke to her.

"Yes, I'll be fine." The words seemed to flow from her lips naturally. It wasn't what she wanted to say, but it was the right thing to say.

The four jonin bowed to her first, then the blond-haired man. "Clan Kihara is indebted to you, Lord Hokage." With that said, they turned and disappeared around a corner.

They were gone and she was left behind. There was no turning back now. No need for tears. But she would cry that evening, when she was alone in her apartment - her new home. Just as he'd told the man she now knew to be the Hokage, that other man had shown her around the village. He'd introduced himself as Shikamaru Nara. Before departing for his own home, he had slipped her a book full of Sudoku puzzles, both numerical and alphabetical.

Rather than sleep that night, she sat at the kitchen table working out puzzle after puzzle. It was fun.