Kaeru stood frozen in the dark forest, the moon overhead obscured by the sea of trees. Her long, filthy black hair that fell to her knees seemed to lift and stand on end in the stillness. Her emerald eyes darted around the clearing, listening warily for movement. A bead of sweat fell off of her forehead and onto a black hoodless cloak with sleeves, a long neck and blood red designs of clouds. She wrapped it hastily around her body, covering her grubby, malodorous dress that had been haphazardly sewn together with tattered pieces of cloth.

"W-Whose there?" she stammered.

A twig snapped, and a voice called through the thick trees. "Stay where you are!"

A woman appeared from between two bushes, a look of surprise on her visage. Her dark mauve hair drew attention away from her golden eyes, which shimmered like gold in the shadows of the forest and seemed to be permanently narrowed. A short ninja katana hung around her waist, and a broad sword rested on her back. She was wearing a short black denim skirt, a burgundy chain mail shirt and a black scarf that covered her nose and her mouth.

I'll have no problem with killing her, Kaeru thought. As always, I'll only hurt her if she tries to hurt me. It's a shame they never realize it's a trick.

Kaeru caught her breath as the woman stopped a few feet from her, her hand on the hilt of her katana. More sweat was added to Kaeru's brow, and she clenched the cloak tighter. Few seconds passed when Kaeru threw her arms over her head, falling to her knees, and cried, "Please, don't kill me!"

The woman chuckled, removing her hand from the katana. "I'm not going to hurt you," she said sweetly.

Kaeru brought her hands down from over her head, crouching in the damp grass. She slowly rose, shaking madly, the cold night air cutting at her upper face, the lower portion covered in the neck of the cloak. "You're not going to hurt me?"

"No, of course not," said the woman, taking out a clip board and flipping through several sheets of paper. "You're not on my list."

"Who…who are you?" Kaeru asked, taking a diminutive step backwards.

"It's impolite to ask someone's name before giving your own," the woman chastised with a smirk. "but my name is Jamie."

"I'm Kaeru," she said, lowering her head slightly and pushing the cloak back a bit, revealing her ragged dress.

"Oh, goodness!" Jamie exclaimed. "I knew that your hair was dirty, but this is horrible!" She rushed over to Kaeru, putting an arm around her and taking her through the bushes to a black horse. Letting Kaeru go, she rapidly went through one of the saddle bags, handing Kaeru a piece of bread after pulling it out. "You have to be starving!"

Looks like she's a keeper, Kaeru thought. I have lived my whole life out here…if she offers, I'll go with her.

Kaeru held the bread piece in her hands, examining it's freshness against her filthy hands. "I don't deserve this. This is yours," she said, holding the bread out to Jamie, but she didn't take it.

"No, it's yours. Besides, you're coming with me anyway," Jamie told her, picking her up and putting her onto the horse. Kaeru didn't say anything but ate the bread more rapidly than she meant to, falling asleep as the horse began to move as Jamie led it along.

The next morning Kaeru was still on the horse, Jamie leading it knowingly along a path. The sun seemed to be only a few hours into the day, and ahead Kaeru saw a large village, a huge cliff with four people's faces at the far end clearly visible.

"Oh, you're awake!" Jamie alleged cheerfully when she glanced a Kaeru. "That's Konohamaru," she added, nodding towards the village. "It's where we'll be staying."

"The Village Hidden in the Leaves?" Kaeru asked, astonished. "Some people came walking by me a couple days ago. Did it really get attacked by Orochimaru?"

Jamie's face became stern. "Yeah. The security into and out of the village will be extremely tight because of that," she reached into a pocket of her jeans, pulling out six pieces of paper. "These are our papers."

"But I don't have papers," Kaeru stated.

"Well, you didn't. I had to stop and get you some," she said, showing them to Kaeru and putting them back into her pocket. "It was hard to keep your eyes open for the picture."

"Why didn't you wake me?" Kaeru questioned as they approached the entrance of the town.

"I didn't want to wake you. You seemed immensely tired."

Jamie handed the papers to the gate guards, pocketing them again when they were handed back. Not intending to speak anymore, Jamie led the horse, which Kaeru was of course riding, through Konohamaru, not attracting as many eyes as either of them thought.

"We're going to get you a nice hot bath, too," Jamie said jauntily when they arrived at a pristine hotel. A man hurried outside, bowing before Jamie and taking the horse as soon as Kaeru dismounted. Jamie grabbed hold of the cloak that was still around Kaeru and pulled her inside, immediately ordering two rooms. The man at the desk bowed deeply, handing Jamie two sets of keys. Handing one to Kaeru, she began pulling her up the stairs to the third floor where the halls were draped in silk and velvet. Jamie pointed to a door, indicating it was Kaeru's room, and entered her own.

"I'll come get you for breakfast in an hour," Jamie called through her closed door.

Kaeru walked over to her own door an inserted the key, unlocking it. When she opened it, her eyes widened. Her room was magnificent. Lamps lined the walls, and the walls themselves were a royal blue. The carpet was lush and a midnight color, and the bed was set against the wall to her left, on either side of which was a nightstand made of timber. On the far wall opposite where Kaeru was standing was a double-door made of glass paned with oak that led onto a balcony.

On the wall to the right was another, full-wood door that went into the bathroom, which was even more extravagant. The walls, the tiled floor, the bath, and the sink and counter were made of sandy-colored marble, the cabinets under the sink made of dark wood. The sink and bath faucets were gold, and a vase of daisies were on either side of the sink. The mirror above the counters, which stretched its entire length of three feet, was spotless like everything else. The bath, which looked like a hot tub, had unopened shampoo, conditioner, and scented soap waiting to be used at its edge. The toilet was a shiny, clean black, a roll of unused toilet paper on its hood.

Having taken a bath only once before in her life of thirteen years, she turned the knob of the bath and let the water rise. Gently folding the cloak and setting it on the toilet lid and throwing her grubby dress on the floor, Kaeru grabbed a cloth to wash herself with and opened the scented soap, lathering it onto the cloth. She scrubbed herself as thoroughly as she could. The water was almost black when she started to wash her hair, and it was when she finished.

Now that she was clean, she dried herself off and put the cloak around her, walking into her new room. Jamie was sitting on her bed twiddling her thumbs and some clothes on her lap.

"Oh, there you are," she said, standing up. "I brought these for you." She set the clothes on Kaeru's bed and started out. "Oh, and I wanted to ask you two things. One is 'where is your old dress'."

"It's on the bathroom floor," Kaeru replied. Jamie ran in and came back into the room holding it away from her.

"We're going to burn this," she said, holding her nose with her free hand. "Okay, the last question. What is with the cloak?"

Kaeru hesitated. "You might think it's weird, but it belonged to a handsome man," she explained.

"Oh," Jamie said, sitting back onto the bed. "What did he look like? Did you know his name?"

"Um, I never knew his name…but I got to know him because I followed him."

"Ooh, you stalked him! Anyway, go on."

"I didn't stalk him!" Kaeru yelled. "As I was saying, he had long black hair tied in a ponytail, and his eyes were usually red with black spots. When he was resting they were black. He also had a headband like a lot of the people here have, with a leaf like design, but his had a carved line across it."

Jamie gasped. "I think you're talking about Itachi Uchiha! He's bad news, Kaeru. Stay away from him from now on."

"No, he's not. He was very sweet to me. One day, about a week after I started following him, he was resting and his friend left for something. He called to me in the bushes and said he knew I'd been following him for the past week. He coaxed me and we talked. Then his friend came back and almost killed me, but Itachi held him back, giving me his cloak before telling me to run."

Not like I couldn't have fought him off myself…

Jamie gasped again. "I just thought you took it! You don't know what this means!" she yelled at Kaeru.

"What?"

"Those cloaks are very special! There are only nine people who have them, and-- never mind. I can't tell you. I promise you'll find out, though!" Jamie got up quickly and left the room, leaving Kaeru alone to examine her new clothes.

She picked the pile up and let it unfold. It was a deep-purple kimono with short sleeves and the hem stopped way above her knees. The fold trimmings on the sleeves and hem were a lavender, and the obi was a poison green.

"Lovely," Kaeru muttered sardonically. She let the towel fall to her feet and put on her new kimono. She wrapped the cloak around herself and walked out of the room, downstairs, and out the front door, deciding to take a walk.

"Oh, wait!" Jamie called, running out after Kaeru. "You need to wear this!" She handed her a leaf village headband. "Wear it so you don't get in trouble see you later bye!"

Kaeru shrugged, having no idea what Jamie said (it was so slurred and was spoken so fast), and she tied it around her forehead like most everyone had it and started walking off again.

"I think I'll go and see if I can find a nice spot to relax," she said to herself.

An hour went by as she walked through the village. It was noon before she found a park with a swing in it, which she gladly sat in to rest. She swung back and forth in the swing, watching people pass by in the road. The cloak she had wrapped around her shoulders hung open and went with the breezes.

"But, Kakashi, I don't want anyone else to train me!" a yellow haired boy yelled as he, two other people his age, and an older man walked into the park with him.

"Naruto, we've talked about this already," said the man. He had a Jounin outfit on and had white hair, his headband falling over his left eye.

"Yeah, I bore witness, Naruto," said the girl, who had short pink hair.

The smile Kaeru wore fell as she looked at the boy with black hair. "Yeah, you couldn't do Chidori even if your life depended on it," he said. He had black hair, letting his bangs fall at the sides of his face, the rest of his hair looking like it was gelled back in a spiky fashion. He looked like a miniature Itachi that was her age.

She stood up off of the swing in shock, taking an unsure step towards the group. Naruto, who Kaeru was sure was the yellow haired boy, stopped arguing with the miniature Itachi and looked at her.

"Hey, who's that?" he asked, turning to his group and pointing at Kaeru.

Kakashi, the older one, looked over at her and his eyes widened slightly, but just as soon regained his usual posture. Still staring at mini Itachi, Kaeru didn't notice Kakashi walking over to her and stopping next to her.

"Excuse me, but may I ask where you got that cloak?" Kakashi inquired politely.

Kaeru didn't hear what he asked, though, because she was about to yell at the pink haired girl for talking to the small Itachi.

"Who is that?" she asked Kakashi, pointing to the mini Itachi and not even looking at the Jounin.

"That's…that's Sasuke Uchiha. Why do you ask?"

Kaeru shook her head. "No reason. I thought he was someone else…what were you saying?"

Kakashi bent down a little so his face was level with Kaeru's. "I need to know where you got that cloak."

Kaeru took a step back. "It's none of your business," she said with a hard expression. "I don't think the person who gave it to me would want anyone to know whose it is."

"Very well. I was just asking," Kakashi said pleasantly, standing back upright. "I would like to introduce you to my students, though. What is your name?"

Kaeru gave him a sour look. "It's Kaeru. Kaeru Suru."

Kakashi's eyes narrowed slightly. "That's a very…uncommon name," he said quietly. "But very pretty. Come with me." Kakashi took Kaeru's arm and pulled her over to his students, who all went quiet when they approached. "This is Kaeru Suru, everyone."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed when Kakashi said her name, then took a step back when he got a good look at the cloak she wore. Naruto and the girl smiled pleasantly.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki!" Naruto said happily.

"My name is Sakura Haruno," the girl said cheerfully.

"And of course, this is Sasuke Uchiha," Naruto whispered to Kaeru. "He thinks he's such a hotshot."

"Sasuke looks a lot like someone I've…seen before…" Kaeru said. "Um, do you have a dad or brother or something, Sasuke?"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed even further and took another step back. "What's it to you?"

"Answer the question, Sasuke. Don't be rude," Kakashi chastised.

"Yeah, I have a brother named Itachi," Sasuke said grudgingly.

Kaeru gasped. "You look so much alike…" she muttered.

Sasuke walked up to her and looked her in the eyes, then bent to her ear. "I need to talk to you alone. Stay here and I'll be back about ten minutes after we leave." He stood straight again and began walking away. "It was nice meeting you," he said loudly. "But it's time we left."

Sakura hurried and followed him, followed by Naruto. After giving her one more contemptuous look, Kakashi hurried after them.

Kaeru began wondering if Itachi really was a bad person. The thought just couldn't come to her, though. She just couldn't believe it. Why would he have held off his own friend to save her? After seeing that, it would be impossible to convince her that he was bad. Even his own little brother hated him…what could he have done that made him so bad? After awhile, Kaeru decided that she would like him even if he was one of the most evil figures in the ninja world. He was too nice to her, the way he talked and acted, for her to hate him even in the slightest.

"You know where my brother is, don't you?" asked Sasuke violently after he had come back alone.

"You have his cloak, I know you know him."

"I don't," Kaeru replied truthfully.

Sasuke grabbed the collar of Kaeru's kimono and pushed her up against the tree. "Don't lie to me."

"Let go of me!" Kaeru yelled, trying to push him off.

"Tell me where Itachi is!" Sasuke bellowed in her face.

Kaeru struggled slightly, not really trying to break Sasuke's grip on her. "Help me!" she cried. The street was unfortunately empty at this time, and no one even poked there head out of a window. As Kaeru struggled even more, but still holding back, a kunai flew out of no where and hit Sasuke in the shoulder. He grabbed it, and pulling it out, let go of Kaeru and she fell to the ground. She looked into the forest to see a head with long black hair that was tied back into a ponytail disappear behind the trees.

"I'll find out where he is," Sasuke seethed as he dashed off.

Kaeru smiled weakly as she got up. Feeling happier than she did even earlier, she took off the cloak she always carried with her and set it neatly folded on the ground in front of the swing and went back to the hotel.

"You know what he will use her for," Kakashi was saying to Jamie as Kaeru approached. Kaeru jumped behind a few people sitting a table, close enough to eavesdrop.

"I know, but you can't take her! She doesn't know of her true powers," Jamie protested. "She's defenseless!"

"You know as well as I the power Kaeru has, and we have to take that she can release it at will. She'll be fine, I promise you."

Jamie opened her mouth a few times before saying what she intended. "She's like my daughter."

"We'll take care of her."

"If she's hurt, I'll murder you."

"We'll have tight security during her training."

"If she dies, you'll spend an eternity in pain."

Kakashi laughed. "You have absolutely no need to worry about that," he assured her. "We'll have maximum security."

Uh, yeah. I think I'll leave now. Kaeru thought to herself, turning around and walking away.

She was thinking that maybe it was a mistake to come with Jamie. Of course she figured she might get a bit of suspicion, never having been there before, but being taken away and made to go through training sessions? There was no way she was going to do that. She had complete control over her chakra and jutsu--for the most part, anyway.

May wound her way through the village, taking herself back through the exit to leave. People were on top of houses fixing their roofs, others were fixing walls, windows, or doors, or repainting. It was noon, and people should have been eating lunch, but they were all busy helping each other fix their homes. It made her start thinking about what happened with Sasuke earlier. Why hadn't she just attacked him? Her technique was to lure people into thinking she was weak. If they threatened her, she would just attack them. Jamie was nice, so of course Kaeru didn't attack her. But Sasuke had threatened her, so why? Her thoughts brought her back to that he looked so much like Itachi. But why would that make any difference? It wasn't as if she liked him.

Her head had started to throb from the questions, and she dismissed them into the back of her mind to be assessed later, perhaps one at a time. She also had to focus on the gate to the village she was approaching, because they could ask for her papers, which Jamie had. If they did, there were two choices: One was to say she had forgotten them and leave, then find another way out. The second option was to barge head-first through the guards. She had the pleasure of choosing neither, because they let her through with pleasant smiles.

Ten minutes down the road, Kaeru realized that she had left her money back at the hotel. It was too late to go back and get it, and the Jounin and other ninja of the village would surely be waiting and searching for her. She cursed herself and her forgetfulness, her mind wandering from what she would do.

"I'm tired of questions," she said jadedly. "That's all it's been lately is questions, questions, questions. 'What will happen? What will I do? Where will I go?' I'm sick of it."

No sooner had she said this but realized the area around her obi felt weird. She reached into her kimono and pulled out a heavy purple coin purse. Opening it, she found many gold coins. Counting them, there were one hundred and fifty. That was enough to buy a small house!

"That's very odd," Kaeru muttered ominously. "That wasn't there about five minutes ago…or maybe I just didn't realize it was there. No, I'm positive it wasn't. I would have noticed."

She looked around quickly, scanning the wood surrounding the path on either side of her. There was no sound but for a few birds, and a small stream a few feet into the thicket. She turned around to the way she came from, examining it.

"Heh," Kaeru said humorously. "It isn't like anyone could take me, anyway. What do I have to worry for? If I stay on my guard, I'll be fine." As she turned back around, there were five ninja with katana in their hands, ready for killing. They had bulky muscles and worn clothes that seemed to be too small. "I have a big fat mouth, don't I?"

"Eye, yeh do, mi'y," said one of the thugs in a hard accent. "No' Ma'y o' the peo'le arou' here think they'd get atta'ed."

"Yeah, well, you made a big mistake choosing me to mug," Kaeru replied, replacing the purse into her kimono.

"'Ey! 'Ow dare yeh insult our boss!" said a second brute.

"I didn't insult you, you retard. I just said you picked the wrong person to steal from."

"Well, you jus' insul'ed us then, now didn' yeh?" said the first, taking a few steps forward.

"Yeah, it may sound like it, but I was only telling the truth. You guys really are stupid."

All five men yelled and charged. They were extraordinarily slow, their feet making thudding noises as they hit the dirt. Kaeru only had to step aside to dodge them. But, unexpectedly, one of them swiveled rapidly, cutting open her right side. Yelping, she turned also, doing a counter-blow with her fist to the bandit's skull, cracking it open. The other four thugs howled a battle cry, charging her all at once again. Holding her right side with her left hand to keep it from bleeding so much, Kaeru pulled out four kunai and tried to hit them all between the eyes. All but one hit the mark. Three of them fell to the ground, crying out in pain the second before they died. The last bandit stopped in his tracks, turning back and running away. Kaeru pulled out a thick ribbon Jamie had given her and tied it around her wound tightly, straightened up and began walking again.

"Well, that was definitely pointless," Kaeru said to herself. "Not only that, but I got hurt."

She grimaced as her steps caused the gash to throb with pain. To take her mind off of the wound, she sang a song she had made up when she was little. It was a very sad song, of sorrow and loneliness, but it was all she could think of at the time she made it up. It also happened to be one of her favorite ones.

"Finding my inner light will always be a lonely journey," she sang. "I don't want to be alone for this, and I want you to help me, but you don't love me like I love you…"

Kaeru sang the song two times before moving onto another, happier one, because that song wasn't exactly helping. After about an hour, though, her thoughts finally drifted off onto other things than music and the throbbing pain, because she was nearing an enormous bridge where many stands were set up. Nearing the bridge, and young man a little older than herself was pulling a noodle cart, and she stopped him.

"Excuse me, but where does this bridge lead?" Kaeru asked him.

He gave her a condescending look before answering. "It leads to the Village Hidden in the Mist, ma'am. I'm surprised you don't know that."

"I've never traveled before, so of course I wouldn't," Kaeru alleged naively.

"Well, here," the man said reaching into the cart, pulling out a carton, and handing it to Kaeru. "Take this. You look malnourished, and I certainly won't miss them."

He smiled and walked off, leaving Kaeru alone. She opened the carton to find freshly made ramen. She slowly ate it, making her way across the corpulent bridge. A lot of people had set up stand, and there were many people looking to buy, making the bridge overcrowded. Ten minutes of trudging through crowds finally brought her to a town on the other side. There were fewer people here, as most were shopping on the viaduct.

Happy to be rid of the commotion, she looked to find a pleasant, cheap location to stay. The first inn she stepped into instantly satisfied her. They only sought two gold pieces a night, and their service and cleanliness was exceptional. She booked herself for three nights, intending to get some rest and time to think. She paid the rent for the three nights and was handed the key to her room, and decided to go out and look for something interesting to do. While out looking around, though, she heard Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto with Kakashi.

"Why are we here again, Kakashi Sensei?" Sakura asked politely.

"Yeah!" Naruto shouted. "We're already Chuunin! Well, most of us, anyway."

Sakura shot him a death glance before Sasuke broke the lethal silence. "We're here to find someone."

"Exactly," Kakashi concurred. "You remember that young lady we met earlier today with the long black hair?"

"Oh, yeah!" Naruto said excitedly. "The one with the purple and green kimono? What'd she do for us to go looking for her?"

"She didn't do anything bad," Kakashi said before Naruto's hopes got too high that he was looking for a criminal. Naruto moaned. "It's just that it's very important we find her and take her back to the village. It has to do with…with two very important, clandestine things."

"That means we're not allowed to know, Naruto," Sasuke explained hotly at the look of incompetence on Naruto's face. Feeling like she was in danger, Kaeru quickly hid in an alley as the company of four passed by.

After they had passed, she quickly made her way back to her room, feeling it would be much safer to lay low for awhile and think about what to do. But, as she was passing through the office, she spotted more Leaf Village ninja. Getting very suspicious, she stopped and listened to their conversation.

"So, Guy Sensei, this girl…Kaeru, is it? Is she pretty?" A boy with black hair in a bowl cut asked.

"I can't answer on account that I'm thirty," the Jounin escorting the boy, along with another boy and a girl, said. "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, anyway."

"She probably wouldn't like you anyway," the other boy, who was very handsome with his long brown hair and white-blue eyes, sneered.

"Oh, come on, Neji, don't pick on Lee," said the girl.

"It is all right, Ten Ten," Lee said. "I am very much used to his rude remarks."

Guy Sensei smiled and turned to the front desk clerk. "Excuse me, sir, but did a girl with long black hair wearing a purple and green kimono come in here?"

The man looked up in thought for a moment. "Ah, yes. The kimono was short sleeved and high-cut? She checked in here for three days, I believe."

Gee, thanks, dude, Kaeru thought sardonically. She turned and walked out of the inn quietly, stopping in the middle of the street to look it up and down. What to do now? The answer would have to come soon, because even more Leaf Village ninja were coming towards her from the way she came, which was from the bridge. At first they didn't notice her, but Kaeru realized it too late when they froze and they stared at her.

"Is that her, Asuma Sensei?" a girl with long blonde hair in a pony tail asked, pointing at Kaeru. The Jounin escorting the three Chuunin nodded.

"Don't startle her, though. We need to be polite," Asuma said.

The four of them began walking forward, but Kaeru remained frozen on the spot. Exactly how many was that now? It was twelve now. Of course it could have been her, but she was sure people were trying to hunt her down. Finally realizing, though, that she was going to be brought down by 'The Man', Kaeru took a few steps back. Asuma stopped his accompany by holding out his arms.

"Hold it, she's wary. Take it slow."

"What is it you want with me?" Kaeru asked cagily.

"We just need to take you back to Konohamaru, that's all," Asuma said gently.

"It's okay, we're your friends. We came as guards to escort you back," said a chubby boy. "I'm Choji, this is Shikamaru, and Ino, and of course Asuma Sensei."

"Man, this is a drag…" Shikamaru mumbled.

Asuma hit Shikamaru in the back of the head. "Will you come with us, please?" Asuma asked civilly.

Kaeru was about to reply, but decided to take a minute to think. What exactly did they want? Of course to come with them, but when she got back, what would they do with her? Kakashi's words rang through her mind just then.

We'll have tight security during her training…

But how could they have noticed her gone so quickly? Were they stalking her? And why was it so imperative that she be brought back immediately? Kakashi said something about someone using her for something. What was it? Kaeru decided that she'd find out without their help. She turned around and made a beeline down the road.

"Don't let her escape!" Asuma yelled in a gruff voice.

Kaeru heard Guy and his company speed out of the Inn to see what was going on. She figured they'd chase her too. She couldn't chance to look behind her, save she would run into something and knock her down. While she was running from the eight of them, she saw still more Leaf Village ninja. This Jounin was a woman who looked like she had a dress made from white kimono obis draped over one another. She had long, shaggy brown hair with red eyes and light blue eye shadow and red lipstick. Under the obis was a red kimono shirt. The left sleeve looked like it was missing, and the part that went over her chest was a net shirt.

She was accompanied by a shy-looking girl with bluish black hair and white-blue eyes like Neji. One of the boys had a dog, and the other looked shady, the neck of his shirt covering most of his face, his sunglasses covering his eyes. Kaeru, of course, skidded to a stop.

"Oh, Kurenai Sensei…isn't that her?" the girl asked.

"Yes, Hinata. That's her," Kurenai replied.

Kaeru looked around, turning to her right and running off that way. That made sixteen! Was she that important? She was just a girl who was orphaned before she could remember! She lived on her own her whole life, honing her skills all by her lonesome! What made her special?

Deciding it would be best, and knowing it was the only way off this island, she turned right again so that she was heading for the bridge. She was running out of breath, and she might have to take some drastic measure. She concentrated and brought her chakra down to her feet and legs, making them move faster. Within seconds the viaduct was in sight, but Kakashi, Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto blocked it. Skidding to a stop before them, she panted hard as all sixteen ninja cornered her. Eyes peeked out of windows to get a look at the scene.

"We're not going to hurt you," Kakashi said breathlessly, apparently having run himself.

"Sure you're not, that's why you've cornered me and are trying to kidnap me," Kaeru said venomously.

"We're trying to protect you!" Hinata argued bravely.

"You have to let us explain why we're trying to take you," Kurenai swayed.

"What I want is for you all to leave me alone and let me be free," Kaeru shot back.

"Please let us explain!" Asuma begged.

Kaeru was out of ideas, and she didn't know how she'd get away from sixteen trained ninja. It was just her luck that they would try and take her. Why did it upset them so much? It wasn't like she couldn't take care of herself. She lived her whole life alone in the woods, after all. She voiced this point to them, but they still argued.

"We know, but what if the situation you're in right now happened again, but with ninja that are going to try and kill you?" Guy shot back.

"Why would it happen if I don't even do anything?"

"You're a…very special person at the moment," Kakashi explained. "There are people out there who are trying to get at you right now."

"Why?"

"It's classified. We're not supposed to tell you."

"Why?"

"You might…freak out."

"That's a stupid reason! I'm a very calm person!" Kaeru shouted in frustration. "I'm not coming with you. I'll be fine by myself." Kaeru walked up to one of the Chuunin, Hinata, and glared at her until she stepped aside and let her through. Surprised it was that easy, she turned back to look at the ninja as she walked away. They were running after. The hunt was on again!

The bridge finally open again, Kaeru turned back, baffling the others, and ran right through them for the bridge. She sped past the merchants and buyers, all of whom were giving her reproachful looks, as she made her way back to the main road. Perhaps she could make it back to Konohamaru! No, that would be bad. That's what they'd expect. She would have to go to another village. She was atrocious at going to certain places (always getting lost), and didn't know the name of any villages except the Village Hidden in the Mist and the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

Arriving at the other side of the viaduct, Kaeru had no choice but to wing it. She came to the crossroads she had come to on her way to the Land of the Waves, and definitely not wanting to go straight back to Konohamaru, she turned right. On a sign she passed, an arrow pointing in the direction she was going, it said 'Village Hidden in the Clouds'.

"Goody," Kaeru panted.

Having no idea where she was going, she just kept running. It was very quiet on this path, and she could only hear her heart pounding in her head. Maybe she had lost them? Taking a risk and looking behind her, she stopped. No one was there. They could have gotten stuck on the bridge. There was a lot of people on it. The crowd could have caught them up. Or maybe…they ran into something bad while trying to chase her…No, they couldn't have. Even if something did show up, sixteen trained ninja would be able to handle it easily. They had to be back at the bridge.

Now sure that she could rest, Kaeru sat down on the side of the road under a tree. Her stomach growled and she patted it. "You're lucky I brought those noodles that guy gave me," she told it.

She took the small box out and began eating it with her hands since she didn't have any utensils. They were cold, but satisfying. Finishing her noodles and having her energy back, Kaeru stood up and was about to start walking when she heard the bushes shake. Before she knew it, she was pushed to the opposite side of the road and into the bushes, a hand clasped over her mouth.

Kakashi Sensei was holding her to the ground. He was covered in blood, cuts, wounds, and who knows what else. His left eye was revealed. It was sharingan. He was panting heavily, and as Kaeru's eyes widened in surprise, he put a finger up to his masked mouth. Lifting his hand, Kaeru yelled, "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, SCARING ME LIKE THAT?!"

Kakashi quickly placed his hand back over her mouth. "Please, be quiet!" he begged in a whisper. "They're coming for you! The others are back fighting the rest of the Akatsuki…we don't know where Itachi is, but Kisame is coming for you. Please stay quiet…we can't let them have you!"

Kaeru nodded, and Kakashi removed his hand. Everything was unusually quiet. The surrounding area seemed to be void of life. As the seconds passed, and not knowing what exactly was going on, Kaeru's heart began to race. Whatever it was exactly, it was taking sixteen ninja to prevent it, and from what it sounded, and looked like via Kakashi, those sixteen ninja were loosing. Also, Kakashi said something about Itachi…Itachi was good, for what he did for her, wasn't he?

After what seemed like an eternity, feet could be heard. They were moving past, and skidded to a stop just on the other side of the bushes on the road.

"I know you're here somewhere, Kakashi, I can sense you…ooh, and with a friend? It wouldn't be who I'm after, would it?" said a cold voice. It made Kaeru shake. Kakashi pushed Kaeru closer to the ground, making it so she couldn't be seen under his body. Kaeru realized that she was in danger and began to shake. She could feel this man's chakra for some reason, and it terrified her. It was immense power.

"Oh, what do we have here?" said the voice again. He had obviously found Kakashi, and Kaeru knew that, even though she couldn't see him through Kakashi, he couldn't see her. "Why are you lying on the ground like that? Are you dying?" Kaeru heard him step through the bushes. "There are two chakras here. Where is the other person?"

"Kisame, leave. I'll have to kill you if you don't," Kakashi said venomously.

"Ooh, does that mean you're protecting the girl, then?"

"Leave."

"If this is how you'll be, I'm afraid I'll have to take her by force," Kisame said in a mock nice voice.

Kakashi didn't move. "I won't let you take her."

"Of course you won't. Nothing is that easy anymore."

Kaeru heard Kisame move, and suddenly Kakashi leapt to his feet and bombarded Kisame with a barrage of punches. Kaeru gasped as she got a good look at the man who was trying to take her. He had blue skin that looked rough, and round eyed. On his cheeks were slits that looked like gills. What caught her eye, though, was the cloak. It was black and hoodless with sleeves, a long neck and blood red designs of clouds.

Kisame knocked Kakashi away like he was a bug. He approached Kaeru as she still lay on the ground, unable to move, she gasped. "Don't worry, you stupid girl. I was told to bring you alive," Kisame said. "For what reason I know not, but my partner wishes to have you."

"Leave her alone!" Kakashi yelled, knocking Kisame to the side with a shoulder thrust.

"You pest, I'll be rid of you!" Kisame shouted, unwrapping a sword that had been on his back. It was unlike any sword Kaeru had ever seen. It was a pinkish purple with curved spikes covering every inch of it. Swinging it, he hit Kakashi across the abdomen. Blood fell to the ground as Kakashi did the same. "I told you to leave me be, but you go and get yourself killed." He turned to Kaeru. "And now, it is time for us to leave. Stand," he commanded. Kaeru did as she was told, shaking badly. "Right, say goodnight…" he whispered, punching Kaeru in the stomach. She blacked out.