The girl opened her eyes. She was in a small bare room. She was covered with a white blanket. An IV connected to her pale hand on the bed. Bed? It had been a full 10 years since she had slept in a proper bed. Where was she?

"Mimiko, you have woken." Mimiko turned at the sound of the stern voice. The origin was a blonde lady who stood tall and fierce. Around her stood 3 grownup ninjas. Mimiko hadn't been surrounded by shinobi for a long time. Am I in enemy hands? No, this is Konohagakure. Do they think – do they think, I'm a… a threat? I guess that's possible, since they DID want me dead 10 years ago. The adults stood around her like she was some criminal. It was unnerving to see so many strange people, after she had lived in solitude for 10 years. She then realized they were waiting for her answer.

"… How do you know who I am?"

"Ah, we figured that out easily. The Fifth knew who you are the moment she saw your back. Your clothing was obvious. Too obvious."

She blushed, ever so slightly. "I always keep that covered. My cloak is never intended to come off."

"I see," said Tsunade briskly. "Do you mind telling us what happened? The full story, Miss Mimiko."

Mimiko narrowed her eyes. Konoha did order for her death 10 years ago after all. "Why should I trust you?"

"Because, we are the only ones that will help you for your own good," Tsunade said simply, her caramel eyes boring into Mimiko's deep black ones. Mimiko knew in her heart that was true. If I don't take a chance now, I would be killed. I have no family. Danzou ordered for my death 10 years ago, but I can only hope these people are different. After all, I have no allies anymore.

Mimiko closed her eyes briefly, took a deep breath and began: "I have a message for Konoha. I have news on Akatsuki and Uchiha Madara."

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Noon. The Konoha 12 gathered in Tsunade's office. Naruto was almost sleeping while upright. Sakura held his ear at arm's length and punched him half awake. "Sakura-chan…" Naruto murmured. Tsunade ignored this.

"We have new information from a reliable source that Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Sasuke – " Naruto jerked, fully attentive now, and Sakura stopped trying to lecture him.

" – are working together." Some of the Konoha 12 were surprised. Some of them were expecting it, but they hadn't expected things would change so drastically and for Sasuke to turn almost into a monster.

"and their goal is to bring down Konoha," Tsunade finished. Naruto gritted his teeth, Sakura looked at Naruto with concern, and the rest of the Konoha 12 looked worried.

"That's very nice of Sasuke is it?" said Kiba sarcastically. Naruto clenched his fist so hard it cracked.

Shikamaru tried to make sense of it all. "Where was the information from?" he asked.

"From me," said Mimiko, stepping up behind the Fifth Hokage. The Konoha 12 surveyed her. Mimiko was around their own age, and deep black eyes that shone brightly, the entrance of an intelligient and active mind. She was a tall girl, but looked rather malnourished. Her hair, which had been covered by dirt and blood the other day, was long and black. Hair framed her face and she also had 2 thin strands of it right in front of her face, like Kiba's sister. The rest of her black hair was tied in a low ponytail. The girl had on a pale blue coat a few sizes too big for her, so that it covered almost every inch of her body. She wore a darker blue belt and light purple boots. A bamboo flute (dizi) hanged down her front. It was stringed and she put it around her neck like a necklace. Her hands, forehead, and whatever was exposed of her legs were wrapped in bandages. Mimiko's skin was pale, making her look even sicker.

A look of recognization appeared on Sakura, although not so much on Naruto. "You're – you're the girl we saved!" exclaimed Sakura.

"Yes, thank you." She bowed.

"It was her who brought the information to us. She heard a conversation between Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Sasuke. It's a wonder she survived to bring the message here."

"She will be staying with us for a while. She will be temporarily assigned to Team Guy starting tomorrow and her name for this period is Ayaka. Meeting dismissed."

The teams looked surprised. Tenten asked, "With us? But – "

"I will not answer any questions. This is final," said Tsunade. She turned her back to the shinobi.

Who is this Ayaka? thought Neji. Why is she so important that Tsunade has to keep her with us? For us to accept her as a comrade or for us to watch her? Perhaps Naruto and Gai-sensei will know more.

"Meanwhile, Shikamaru, I will see you after this meeting alone. I need you to think up a plan and make sense of this. You are the best leader out of these teams. With Konoha in ruins and my body and brains failing me, it is time for the next generation to take charge. She sighed audibly.

Me to take charge? The Fifth is backing down? What is happening? "Hai."

The teams began trickling out of the room, with Naruto and Sakura at mental unrest due to the new information about Sasuke.

"Thank you, Hokage-sama," said Mimiko, now called Ayaka. She bowed deeply before starting to walk away.

"This will be best for you," said Tsunade. Ayaka paused, then continued walking. Best for me? Or best for you to watch me? Thought Ayaka. Konoha still does not trust me. How can they, after I mysteriously disappeared and appeared again with sensitive information? To gain their trust is important, but before that – I have to visit Father and Mother. Ayaka started in the direction of her family cemetery.

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Team Guy minus Guy and Ayaka, gathered in the woods of Konoha early the next day.

"Neji, Lee, come look at this!" called Tenten, gesturing to a clearing. Two kunai knives were attached to the ends of a thick rope. The knives were stabbed into two adjacent trees, thus stretching out the rope. On that rope was a perfectly balanced sleeping Ayaka, hands on the back of her head acting as a pillow.

"She sleeps with her coat on?" asked Neji, with a hint of amusement in his voice, noting Ayaka's attire. She looked the same as yesterday except that her coat was unbuttoned and inside were robes of lavender and violet, the latter being the pattern of simple but elegant floral designs. The robe had buttons like Tenten's and was lined with white satin trim.

A look of sudden realization washed over Lee's face. "OOOOHHH!!! Tsunade-sama assigned Ayaka-san to our team because she is strong, and sleeping like that must have something to do with it!" He produced a pen and notebook from nowhere and started with great power, to jot down his new findings.

Neji raised his eyebrow.

"Or, it could mean that she's terrible," said Tenten as Ayaka, who seemed to be peacefully sleeping one second, was falling to the ground another second.

"Mimi! Don't push me like that!" said Ayaka rather angrily. She rubbed her sore head.

Team Guy went open-mouthed. Nobody had pushed Ayaka out of her rope. "Maybe she's nuts," suggested Tenten.

Ayaka looked around suspiciously, buttoned up her coat, put on a pair of pitch black goggles, switched to a strange taijutsu stance that almost resembled Gentle Fist, and sent a kunai flying to Lee's position. The kunai exploded the second Lee deflected it back, sending ash raining down Team Guy. After the dust cleared, Ayaka disappeared only to appear again behind Team Guy with that strange taijutsu stance again. Her feet were in horse stance, her right arm was outstretched in front of her parallel to the floor with her hand swiveled to point upward at the sky with her palm facing the opponent. Her left arm stood by her side, bent at the elbow, palm to the sky and pointed straight ahead.

"Who are you?" came Ayaka's stern voice. Not wanting any more trouble, Lee jumped into the sun, pulling Neji and Tenten with him. "It's us."

"Oh, it's you guys. You should have said. Were you spying on me?" said Ayaka, quickly straightening up and taking off her goggles. She coughed slightly.

"No. We just happened to see you," said Tenten. "What are you doing in the woods anyway?"

"This is my home. I used to live like this far away from Konoha. Now that I'm back, I still like to live the way I did. After all, I'm broke. I can't exactly afford to live elsewhere."

"Your home? You sleep balancing on a rope?" asked Lee, more confused than ever.

"It's a type of taijutsu my brothers taught me," answered Ayaka calmly. "It focuses on meditation, balance and chakra control."

"So Ayaka-san, you train while you sleep too?" Lee jumped ahead. "What kind of taijutsu is that? Can you teach me?" asked Lee eagerly.

Ayaka's expression did not change. "If you want to, sure, although I doubt you will be able to learn that. It is a kekkei genkai." Lee lost enthusiasm as quickly as he obtained it.

"So," said Tenten, changing the subject, "would you like to train with us?"

"Sure," said Ayaka, putting on her goggles once more. "I'm ready."

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Naruto was walking down a former street of Konoha, now reduced to rubble, when Konohamaru jumped out behind some trash and prepared to ambush him.

They both looked at each other and for a moment, all stern and hard. Then, suddenly…

"Orioke no Jutsu!" Then, in the middle, Konohamaru stopped.

"What's wrong, Konohamaru?" asked Naruto, transforming back into himself.

"Naruto-niichan. You promised you would teach me a bigger Rasengan. He he… Could you teach me today?" asked Konohamaru sheeply.

"Oh? Sure, but not today. I have to join Shikamaru and the others are planning about what to do with this situation. And also what to do with Sasuke…" Naruto tightened his fist and looked away for a moment. Silence.

"Uhh… can I come?" said Konohamaru gingerly. Naruto nodded, and the two left for Shikamaru's tent.

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"Katon: Spirit Dragon Demon!" yelled Ayaka as flames engulfed Lee and about 100 trees surrounding him, frying him into a cooked onion. Ayaka quickly suppressed the flames and went to Lee's aid.

"Lee, you should really just stop," remarked Neji with an almost comical tone in his voice. Tenten worked hard to hide her giggles.

"Lee, are you alright?" asked Ayaka, helping Lee up. "Neji is right, we should at least take a break."

"No, I must learn how to evade fire jutsu like that!" said Lee. "Thank you for helping me, Ayaka-san. One more time!" He stood up, and then almost immediately fell again. Ayaka eased him against a half burnt tree.

"You can barely stand, Lee. I refuse to cooperate if you self destruct like this!"

"Please, one more time. Just once."

"Okay. Think about how to react to it." Ayaka closed her eyes for a second. She disappeared. "Spirit Style: Fire Dragon Release!" Flaming hail rained upon Lee. Lee quickly dodged each one. Concentrate. Find her, thought Lee. The hail stopped. Ayaka was nowhere to be seen.

"Ayaka-san?" asked Lee, panting. "Oh no! I forgot that she was injured! We have to find her!"

"Byakugan!" Neji surveyed the surrounding area. He caught a glimpse of Ayaka half a kilometer away resting upon a tree. She went that far in such a short amount of time? Ayaka coughed up some blood. Injured too. She's strong. Ayaka raised her head. Neji caught a glimpse of her face. He gasped audibly. No… this can't be… How can she be alive?

"What is it?" asked Lee concernedly, mistaking the gasp for the indication that Ayaka was hurt. "Where is she?"

"Half a kilometer southwest of here. She's coughing up some blood, but she seems to be fine otherwise."

Lee immediately set off to find Ayaka. Tenten started to follow, then stopped. "Is something wrong, Neji?"

Neji forced his expression to soften. "No, everything's fine." He leapt to the direction Lee went. Tenten followed, unconvinced. By the time they arrived, Lee was next to Ayaka, helping her cough out all the blood.

"How- how … did… you…" Ayaka collapsed into a series of coughs.

"Neji found you with his Byakugan," said Lee.

Ayaka looked at Neji with strange, almost scared eyes. Neji's face was hard, unlike the relaxed expression he had on earlier in the training session. So he knows. "Let's call it a day. I would like to rest if possible."

Lee and Tenten agreed. They carried her to her little camp. Lee and Tenten started in the direction of Konoha. "Aren't you going to come?" asked Tenten to Neji, who stood staring at Ayaka.

"I'm just going to talk to Ayaka for a minute," replied Neji. "Go ahead without me."

"Well don't take too long!"

Neji waited for the others to be gone completely. Their footsteps could no longer be heard. Neither Ayaka nor Neji said anything. A slight breeze picked up. Leaves rained upon them. Ayaka closed her eyes.

"What is the meaning of this?" said Neji finally.

Comments:

I lied about the Narusaku moment. This chapter stretched out more than I had planned. Well hopefully I can get it into the next chapter. To know who Ayaka is, what Neji has seen, and what the Konoha 12 will do with Sasuke and Madara, keep reading! Thanks for bearing with me and PLEASE REVIEW!!!