Disclaimer: I don't own KHR or Naruto

Ch. 2

A year has passed since Yume arrived at the Yūhi orphanage in Konohagakure, or simply put the Hidden Leaf Village. The head of the orphanage, had explained the circumstances on how she arrived at the orphanage. She had said a shinobi had brought her in the middle of the night during a heavy storm. She had been a mess, with her clothes being nothing but strewn fabric on the floor, leaving very little to cover her body. Not to mention her body had been littered with bruises and cuts, the only things that were left untouched were her boxes and rings. Her boxes had laid next to her while her rings had been clutched tightly in her fists. Of which she had been grateful that they were undamaged and that the shinobi had decided to also bring the boxes.

-Flashback-

The huge woman stood over her, gazing at her with a mixture of pity and resentment. Pity because she could only assume thing terrible had happened to her. Not only that but during the few days she's been unconscious there was no word about a missing child. Therefore, she could only assume her parents or guardian dead or abandoned her. However, the ladder was probably the correct answer since there had also been no word of any deaths in the village.

Despite, this she felt some resentment as well. Money was tight as it was, and the funding they received Bi-weekly could only extend for them to buy the necessities the children would need. Thankfully, she had quite a few volunteers to help her, regarding the many orphans and some of the older orphans also helped with what they could.

'Honestly, why couldn't that shinobi just take her to the hospital to be taken care of, we don't have the time to care for such a child.' As frustrating as it was, she knew it was probably do to the fact that many of the medical staff were swamped with taking care of more serious injuries. One of her volunteers had some knowledge about healing injuries and thankfully that had been enough to take care of the child. Still, with how she had been a hospital and more thorough examination would have been better. She continued to stare at the wide eyed, shocked child, as the child unconsciously backed away with obvious pain.

The woman sighed as she then spoke, "Hello child." She spoke softly as to not startle her further and her resentment lessened as she saw the child become warier and tense. The child's eyes held caution and suspicion. "I'm not here to harm you." There was no change in the child's expression.

She put on a kind smiled, "I am Tachibana Machiko, and I am the head of the Yūhi orphanage in Konohagure." The child frowned, confusion riddled her face, replacing most of the wariness and suspicion she held in her gaze. "Now little one, do you think you can speak?" The child hesitantly nodded. "Do you remember what happened to you?"

The last question caused the child to flinch, and she noticed how her hands clenched tightly to the sheets. She made a note to avoid digging for more information for now. "What is your name? Do you remember?"

"...I…Y-Yume..." She croaked out and Machiko sighed again. " You must be thirsty. Would you like some water?" This caused the wariness to return at full force causing her to wonder what this child could have gone through to act like this.


Yume watched the tired looking, grey haired, huge woman, with shock and apprehension, and by the heavens above she will deny fully that she backed away slightly as she approached the foot of the bed she was on. However, she got her emotions under control quickly as she gazed at the woman warily as she began to speak in a soft tone.

"Hello child. I'm not here to harm you."

'Uh, do you think I'm stupid or how many time I've had it drilled into me not to trust strangers by Reborn and Lal? Well mostly Lal, but I do not want them to ever find out I dropped my guard and got- actually you know what they're still going to fuckin torture me for doing just that.' She thought annoyed with herself as she kept that emotion in check and kept eyeing her in caution as the woman smiled kindly. Which was not entirely fake, but couldn't really be entirely sincere either.

"I am Tachibana Machiko, and I am the head of the Yūhi orphanage in Konohagure." This surprised her a bit due to the fact of how sincere it sounded. So, either she was good at lying unnoticeably or that was the truth. If it was then where exactly being Konohagure, and how did she get from here from the mansion. Did that mean something terrible happened Tsuna and everyone else and they were being kept separated? She squashed out the rising panic but her confusion still showed on her face with her small frown, along with the wariness and suspicion she held towards this Tachibana Machiko. "Now little one, do you think you can speak?"

'Should I answer or not? Then again, I could be able to coax some info out of her if I do so, especially if she is truly a regular civilian.' After a bit a while she gave a hesitant nod. "Do you remember what happened to you?"

'Erm, that's actually a good question before waking up here I remember getting that guy and then- Oh god! It hurt so much! It burned!' She shuddered as she clenched the sheets as she began recalling that sensation of becoming a human pincushion and what she could only imagine being burned alive felt like. As she kept recalling the sensation she dropped her guard, a fact that she would kick herself later, because that is something you just don't do no matter what. How many times had Lal had her go through training just to instill that into her.

Thankfully, Machiko changed the subject, allowing for her to break free from the memories of burning and quickly tossing that to the back of her mind, where she would try and repress it. She never wanted to recall such feelings again when she's at her most vulnerable. "What is your name? Do you remember?"

"...I" She tried to speak and mentally grimaced at the raspiness and high pitch quality of her voice. "Y-Yume…" She managed to speak, omitting any mention of a surname. She tensed again when Machiko asked her if she was thirsty and wanted some water.

'Is this some trick question? Dangling the offer of water to get more information? Or is it poisoned?' She continued gazing in suspicion before she sighed, in truth she could tell she was being overly paranoid right now and that the woman didn't mean any harm to her…for now as far as she could see. She slumped forward, giving a small nod and with that it brought back to awareness just how much her body ached.

"I see…" Machiko began softly. "Well I'll have someone bring you some water Yume-chan, and then you rest. I'll continue to ask you more later time." Yume gave a slight nod as she watched her leave without taking her eyes off her.


True to her words, someone else had brought water to her in a ceramic, worn out looking cup. She had slowly drunk the whole cup, and then laid it on the worn looking dresser beside the bed. She grimaced both at the protest her body made by stretching that much just to lay cup down and by how unnerving it was to see her tiny limbs.

She sighed mentally as she laid back down in the middle of the bed and before long she lost consciousness. Mostly due to how fatigued she felt, and the shock of being turned into a child.


It wasn't until a two days later when she Machiko visited her again. Thankfully, by this time her body didn't ache as much as it did, and she had gotten used to seeing the world much bigger than she remembered and her limbs much smaller compared to them. Although it still brought discomfort not really knowing where she was and how the situation was back home. Not to mention her rings and boxes, she didn't know where they were or even if they had appeared with her.

Worry, and dread filled her mind as they crossed her mind while she lay there. Waiting, to see if this was all a big ploy, to either lower her guard and gain information or ultimately kill her. Although just like that last time, she knew she was just being overly paranoid, and that was starting to look more unlikely as no one entered the room. At least, not until they brought her some food, water, or helped her use the toilet.

A bath, appeared to be unlikely, since she noticed that most of the children unless, overly dirty didn't take a bath at least once every three days. Which brought her into questioning about the living conditions here, if this place was remote or perhaps on the outskirts of a city. However, it was probably the former since she didn't hear the noises of any vehicles passing through. All in all, it didn't appear to be any different from any normal building, if not run down, with a whole lot of children to take care of.

It wouldn't be until a while later that she would come to find out exactly where she was and how far from home this place was.

Yume glanced towards the approaching Machiko, her gaze still wary, but not as much as before. The woman appears nice, if not tired and so did the other adults that came and passed by the door to the room she occupied. She noticed that the woman held a clipboard and a piece of charcoal in her hand, and she hid a frown as she kept her watchful gaze.

"Hello Yume-chan." Machiko greeted softly in not tired, with a bit of caution in her words. This caused Yume to narrow her eyes slightly, which went unnoticed by Machiko as she continued. "It's so good to see you're doing well. Also, today you're finally going to be allowed to get out of this room. Isn't it great?" She smiled happily at her and this caused Yume to blink in surprise.

'So, I can finally move around?! Finally! I need to look for my rings and boxes asap!' She couldn't keep the excitement from showing on her face which made Machiko smile more. "Of course, before that I need to finish asking you questions from the first time you woke up."

'Ah, right…well I suppose I can comply with giving some information…but it should be mostly vague.' Yume gave a nod, itching to get outside

"Good! Now, last time when you gave me your name, you didn't mention a surname. Do you know what it is? I think if we have one we may be able to find any links to your family." Machiko murmured the last bit to herself and Yume frowned as she gazed at her hands. 'Ah that...' She shook her head as she looked at Machiko sadly.

"I see…" Machiko sighed as she made a note on the paper. "So…no surname do you know if your parents or any guardians of yours are alive? Perhaps any relatives?" Yume shook her head as she spoke in a detached tone.

"No…my parents…and blood relatives are dead."

The older woman looked at the little girl before her with a resigned look, it wasn't that uncommon to expect such an answer nowadays. "I see…" Sounds filled the silence as she wrote a few other things down before she continued in a soft voice. "Then she proceeded to ask ordinary questions; what her age was, any allergies, where she came from and so on. Of these questions, she either gave a few honest answers, most were vague or lies. All the while, Yume could tell that this seemed routine to the older woman with how quickly she jotted down information and her tone took more of a practiced feel to it.

When she finished, she gave Yume a nod. "You're good to go now, but don't over exert yourself. We don't have that much time to be taking care of you again…. or the resources for all you kids." She muttered the last part a bit rescind as she began to take her leave.

'Finally! Now- '

"Oh, right I was forgetting this. But when you were brought along here, I was told these were near you." The older woman turned around as she took out her missing rings and boxes from a pocket in her skirt.

'My rings! 'Her eyes widened as she hastily got out of bed and headed towards her before stopping a bit away. 'Wait, could this be a trap? No, no. I'm just overthinking things but with this anyone that knows what they mean could find me if they've investigated in this…but then again…no. It's doubtful they could have considered this with the lack of advanced technology I've seen here.' She looked hesitantly at the objects in Machiko's hands and the older woman chuckled at the sudden lively and a bit stiff reactions of the little girl.

"It would appear you do recognize these objects. Please remember not to lose them because after this it's not my responsibility what happens to any of your personal belongings." She looked at Yume sternly as stated this. "After your called back for dinner and your finished one of the volunteers will show you where you will go and what chores your expected to do." She continued.

Yume nodded as she quickly grasped the boxes and rings in her hands, not entirely fitting in both of her hands. Thankfully, the second hand brown shorts she had been given were hole free and had pockets in where she could keep them. She smiled at the familiar texture of the objects and didn't notice the departure of the older woman.

'I'll never let you go again…never.' She thought to herself as she put them into her pocket reluctantly. She hated the fact that her hands were now too small to put on her rings. She would have to find a way home, one way or another.

'First things first…I'm going to have to get a layout of where I am and the possible routes I can take to get back.'

Oh, little did she know just how long or difficult that would become once she got a good grasp what her actual predicament was. It was far from just appearing in being transported to a random isolated location somewhere in her country.


'Oh, you have got to be kidding me.' Her eyebrow twitched as she gazed to what was the equivalent of Mount Rushmore, only where faces of U.S. presidents would have been there were faces she did not recognize. 'Ok. Either a) this place is very secluded where such a thing would be undiscovered, or b) I am very, very far away from home.' She frowned as option A was very doubtful because those carvings were very much in your face to be anywhere near inconspicuous. Not to mention it would have been discovered long ago and made a tourist attraction due to how it seemed very important to this village.

Also, this village is not really a small village as she had first thought. She had taken a lot of care to climb the tallest tree she could find near her vicinity and all she could see for miles on end were lots of buildings, and streets.

Option 2 however, was more probable, and she had a sneaking suspicion she would not like the answer she would find as to how far away she was from her home. Which really put her off guard, seeing as the language spoken was very much Japanese, so the question was. Where exactly was she.

She frowned and her face showed an expression that was very odd on a young child's face. She sighed as she gazed at the housetops and noticed quick blurs hopping frequently on top of them. She narrowed her eyes in annoyance. Along with being a child once more, all the training she had been thrown out the window and shredded into very tiny little pieces seeing as she hadn't changed back to her original age, and she noted just how tiny and frail she was.

She slumped as she leaned against the bark of the tree once carefully climbing down. 'I hope I can convince Verde to change me back to my original body state or I am going to have to go through a lot of hell training and growing up.'

She sighed as she gazed the other children playing around excitedly, enjoying their time while having no chores. She could even see some kids playing a version of tag she wasn't entirely familiar with and it reminded her of Lambo and the other children.

'I want to go home…' She closed her eyes as she pushed back the sadness trying to break through. 'No, now's not the time for this. I'm going to have to get more information before I start formulating my plan to get home. Finding a vehicle to sneak into is out of the question though, and there are no airplanes either… I'm going to have to ask an adult….and I'm going to have to act like a child more or less.'

She frowned some more but how exactly would she go about that naturally. Sure, she had been given lessons in how to play certain roles, to act like a normal citizen as possible in any situation but she had never even tried learning how to act like a child. Where was she even going to begin?

Acting like a cheerful, energetic child was out of the question because even if she tried she was sure it would only come out as unnatural and she couldn't even rely on facial control to hide emotions she felt all the time.

"I swear…whenever I get home I am going to beat the hell out the guy for doing this…no actually I'll kill him because this was aimed for Tsuna." She glared at the ground as itched tot her guns and do what she said at the very moment. However, if she would even get a chance to go at him with the other guardians having first dibs on him.

She was brought out of her musings as they were being called for dinner and she blinked in surprise. Time had passed by far too quickly than she had thought it would. As silently as she could she made her way towards the end of the line that had formed to get her dinner.


"Um…you know kid the younger ones are supposed to be at the front of the line not the back, right?" A dirty blonde haired girl of around twelve told her as she glanced Yume in amusement. Yume blushed in embarrassment that she did not know that, as she looked towards the line and saw just how noticeable that fact was.

The older girl laughed, not with any malicious intent but with genuine amusement. This helped calm Yume and felt a smile start to form on her face but quickly stamped it down as she took to observing the older girl cautiously. The older girl noticed and smirked. "You're a quiet one eh? You must be the new girl some of the other kids were talking about a few days ago. So, what's your name? Mines Izumi, I-zu-mi, got it?" The girl spoke cheerfully as they continued moving forward in the line.

"Um…mine's Yume..." She didn't speak that loudly, disliking the fact of how high pitched and childish it sounded when she spoke in a normal tone.

"Yume huh? No surname?" She shook her head.

"Eh, figures. Most kids here also don't have last names either. Well, except for most with shinobi parentage, they usually have a last name to them. Oh, and the clan kids too." Izumi stated matter-of-factly. "So how did you end up here anyways? Is it true that you were brought in by a shinobi? Was he cool?"

'Uh, hold up. Shinobi?' Yume looked at Izumi confused. "Um…I don't really know." Was what she said as she got a plate that was handed to her by one of the volunteers who looked at her in understanding and smiled at her kindly.

"Dear, next time you need to be in the front not the back okay?" Yume gave a nod towards the volunteer as she was served her portions as Izumi followed.

"You don't know? Do you have amnesia or something?" Izumi looked at her confused as she steered Yume towards the end of a long table. Yume noted this fact and was starting to think that the older child was taking her under wing so to speak.

"I…guess?" Was her response, as she couldn't really explain her explanation nor did she want to. She gave a small shrug as Izumi frowned.

"You are totally not cute you know." Yume gave a flat stare as she slowly ate her bland tasting food quietly and a bit clumsily. Yeah, her motor skills would need a lot of refining if she didn't want to clumsily walk into or break things.

She wondered just how long it would take for Tsuna and the others to find her. Of course, that doesn't mean she isn't going to try and find a way back to a more technologically advanced city to contact them. She blatantly ignored the small voice in her mind that such a thing is impossible.

Ah, ignorance is such a blissful thing.


The next day Yume woke up with a smiling face close to hers very early in the morning. It wasn't even sunrise she could guess from the lack of sun outside the window. Nor did she see any of the other children she roomed with stirring from their slumber. Yume gave the older girl a dry stare as she continued to smile at her silent question.

"You know you're actually quite adorable when asleep." The older girl poked her cheek as Yume sat up with a resigned look on her face. "Although, I didn't exactly expect you to wake up." The girl pouted as she began to pat her on her head.

Yume resigned herself to being treated as a little kid, since she was one but technically was an adult. "You should go back to sleep now Yume-chan." Izumi said as she stopped patting her head and Yume gave her a blank stare as if to say 'Yeah-no-I-am-wide-awake-now-and-it's-your-fault.

"Heh. Well if you're up then you can help me with something." Yume gave her a puzzled look as the older girl got up and helped her get dressed without her permission. Yume let out a startled yelp as that happened and with a red face she followed the older girl outside as she finished. All the while the older girl ignored the ineffective glare from Yume, because really what glare from a three to four-year-old looked menacing.

Well, excluding Reborn and the other arcobaleno, they were an entirely different story. She gave an involuntary shiver as she remembered those looks that ended up giving her nightmares the first time she had been on the receiving end of them.

"Ok. Here we are!" Izumi exclaimed as they stopped outside the orphanage onto the play area. Yume gave the older girl a puzzled look, as she gave the surrounding area a cursory glancing. There was nothing here so why would she want her to be here. She looked at the girl as she got onto a position ready to do push-ups. "Ok. Yume-chan I want you to get on my back and count okay?"

Yume hesitated on following the request but ultimately complied after receiving a pleading look from Izumi. That wasn't the only reason however. 'Maybe I can get some information out of her but first…'

Yume quietly counted as the girl began to do push-ups. Sometime in she finally began her questioning. "Izumi-san…"

"Hey, its fine to call me Izumi-neechan you know?"

Yume ignored that as she continued. "Why are you doing this? What's it for?" Her tone was genuinely curious if not soft as she looked upon the exerted face of Izumi.

"Ah, that's easy! This is to get stronger so I don't get beat in the academy!" She said happily as she continued to push herself more.

"Why?"

"Eh? Well every shinobi wants to be strong, but I want to be even stronger than the other Kunoichi in my class! Especially, with the whole war going on."

'War?' Yume thought in surprise as she looked at the older girl in shock. 'Wait! Are they…does that mean they have child soldiers going around here basically?!' She had already surmised after that they were they were prepped into being ninjas after her first sentence but war? This brought a whole new light onto things.

Sure, the same can be said about certain famiglias that raised and prepped the children to kill at an early age, but with Tsuna leading the Vongola he had put a formal stop to such practices occurring with Vongola and its allies.

"Oh…" Was what she said as she continued observing the older girl before continued asking. "War with who?"

"Um, I'm not entirely sure, but don' worry I'm going to work hard to keep everyone safe!" Izumi said determinedly as she continued to push herself forward despite looking exhausted. It had already been about fifteen minutes since she began after all.

"I see-oof!" Yume let out a startled noise as Izumi flopped onto the ground unexpectedly. Izumi giggled as she lay on the ground, not minding the dirt while Yume recovered from her surprise and got off Izumi.

"So how many was it?"

"About 212…I think."

"You think? Were you even counting?"

"Yes."

"Well…fine. I guess that helped, and now onto the next thing. Help me count again, oh and you're going to have to help me…"

Yume felt her head hurt after counting far too much and observing the type of training the girl did, which were some katas, running, stretching, and a few other things that she wanted to practice on. It didn't help that her attention span had taken to being distracted by other things and it took a lot of effort to remain focused.

By the time, Izumi was finished the sun was rising, and the girl began to rush on getting cleaned a bit and grabbing her food. Yume merely followed and mulled over things that she had learned from asking Izumi questions and getting more information.

For one, they were in the land of Fire, that there were other countries that followed a similar namesake such as the land of wind, they were in a war, this was a ninja village out of many, and why living conditions were as they were. Well the last one was more an inference than anything, given that provisions would be used more towards the war than its own citizens.

Which again brought up the question of where exactly was she and how could such events not been given to the Vongola. All possible conflicts that occur around the world were documented, and reported so that they could be well informed about areas that they should avoid or be careful of no matter where they went. Not to mention, Reborn would have scouted and reported if these ninja villages were a threat to the mafia.

A sickening feeling began to form at the pit of her stomach which only worsened when she was taken along with other kids after breakfast for a short lesson on writing and then moved on to a brief overview of the countries that bordered the land of fire and at that moment she felt her heart drop.

She did not recognize any of those maps, any of those landmarks nor any of the places mentioned on those maps. Her mind blanked out as all that the information that was being given went in through one year and out through the other. It wasn't until she realized that she was outside and out of the sight of the orphanage volunteers that she was brought back to her senses and she began to panic.

'No. No, no, no, no!' She thought in disbelief, she hadn't been transported to an isolated region. No, it was far worse than being countless miles away from her family. She realized she was in a whole other dimension entirely. She felt herself start to cry as despair encompassed her at that fact. How was she going to get back to her home, with her family, to where she belonged? She felt her flames start to go haywire as well as another foreign energy in her body.

Caught up in her own grief, she failed to notice that another person appeared close to where she was. It was one of the volunteers who had some training in the shinobi arts, and had sensed a small chakra flair in distress. When the volunteer went to look, she noticed that the new orphan they had received was the one who let it out.

Pity, filled the eyes of the volunteer as she gently picked up the startled young girl who began to cry harder as she did so. She had read the report about the child as had the other volunteers who had the time to do so. She had been found injured and possibly abandoned, who knows what had happened. She had noticed in passing that the child seemed fine, if not quite and very reserved, but she supposed that could have been because of shock. It probably wasn't until now that the whole situation hit her that it overwhelmed her.

Sighing, the volunteer soothingly rubbed her back, as she made her way back towards the orphanage. She'd need to let Machiko and someone else know to cover her shift for now. It was unlikely Yume would calm down anytime soon, and she would need attention.


Yume kept a blank face as the older girl gave her a frustrated glance. Honestly, Izumi did not know what had happened to the girl that would bring about this drastic change from how she had been a few days ago.

She had even gone to their caretakers with in worry but they had all said that it would pass while avoiding looking at her. It was as if they were keeping something secret that they didn't want to let her know. Izumi pursed her lips as she kept her gaze at the lifelessness the younger girl excluded. This was a big puzzle she could not figure out. Before she had left the girl was fine, if not tense, but when she had returned it appeared as if her soul left her body.

Her movements were more mechanical, and she hardly ate, or spoke as the days passed. It was clear to Izumi that this would not just pass. If this continued it was clear the girl would waste away and not live to see the next new moon, or whatever fancy wording those from higher backgrounds would use.

'Ok. Food didn't work, prodding her didn't work either, so what do I do? Have her join me in my training? Nah. That wouldn't work, plus she wouldn't last long either so…oh! Maybe a present or- '

"Izumi-chan shouldn't you be at the academy by now." She saw the headmistress of the orphanage look at her disapprovingly. Izumi knew she disliked allowing the children they took in going off to the academy and in her words "becoming cannon fodder". However, she usually kept her mouth shut as she watched each one join the academy and then becoming genin, never to return.

"Ah. Yeah, but…" Izumi bit her bottom lip as she glanced back at the motionless girl gazing outside without even seeing anything. Machiko raised her eyebrow before she looked towards one of their newer charges and she held back a small gasp.

She had heard from other volunteers that she had gone into shock, but were certain that it would pass in due time. She hadn't had the time to confirm this but she could tell it was more than just shock. It was as if the girl had lost her will to live. Sadness filled her gaze, as she recalled such an expression gracing many faces with the loss of loved ones.

Machiko pinched the bridge of her nose. However, such a thing was not good and was very eerie being on the face of a little girl. Gently, she approached the little girl as she turned Yume's face to her. "Yume-chan." She began and then pinched her cheeks hard causing Yume's face to contort in discomfort.

"Yume-chan, snap out of it. What happened, happened, nothing can be done now. You must move on, and whether you understand what I'm saying or not I will make you snap out of this. You have two perfectly good feet, so use them to stand up!" She said in a commanding tone. "If you don't stop sulking, and continue acting like this I will take more drastic measures, and I'll have you force fed if need be." There was a long silence before something flickered in Yume's eyes as the lifeless look in her eyes was replaced by determination.

This caught her a bit off guard but smiled softly as the little girl seemed to understand that she could not remain like this. Machiko nodded as she let go of the girl's cheeks before turning to the wide-eyed Izumi.

"Now don't just stand there get to the academy. You're late enough as it is." Izumi broke out of her stupor and nodded as she bolted. Machiko chuckled at the girl's antics before nodding towards Yume. "And you." The little girl turned her gaze towards her and for once she noted that her eyes held far too much intelligence to be that of a normal three-year-old. However, she pushed that to the back of her head, thinking it only a trick of the light. "You will be taken back to the dining area and eat, no matter how cold the food is. We don't have enough to go about wasting it understood?" Again, she ignored just how unnerving the action was as if the child completely understood everything she meant. She then walked out, going back to resume her duties. Never once noticing how the gaze of the little girl turned pensive in thought before schooling it into a look a normal three-year-old would have. Wide eyed, and innocent, if only slightly marred with a wobbly uncomfortable smile.

-Flashback End-


After the older woman had brought her out of her despair, she had made a resolution of finding a way back home. No matter the cost, she would get back and she felt stupid for not realizing that her family would bring her back one way or another. In turn, she should also do the same, and try to figure a way out however to do so would be tricky. For one, since this was a ninja village and a time of war this meant that the shinobi around here would be on high alert considering any suspicious activity. She didn't doubt they would eliminate her if they thought she was an enemy.

As a result, she had taken to observing the actions of regular children and trying to replicate it herself until it became natural. Thankfully, or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, her mind and body seemed to take on certain aspects that a normal three-year-old would. However, that is not to say it was easy, playing around with the other children made her feel uncomfortable at times since she would prefer to watch them play than join or practice her hand writing in the small sand box whenever she had the chance.

She would refine her motor skills to a T, and she had an idea of how to get stronger without being looked at suspiciously as she grew older. That was to obviously become a shinobi or kunoichi as they put it like Izumi. Speaking of Izumi, Yume hadn't seen her in quite a while after she had become genin. The girl had taken a shine to her and Yume would admit she did enjoy the company of her despite using her as a cover in a way.

Izumi had allowed her to start training alongside with her, but Yume only did Yoga and a few pushups while the rest of the time helped Izumi in her own training. Yume made note of what exactly Izumi did and she was happy that it wasn't the hell training she had gotten from Lal and Reborn.

She and Tsuna would swear on the heavens above that they were demons sent from hell to earth. Although, she would admit that Tsuna was speaking only about Reborn but she would argue that Lal could be just as bad as him. She gazed at the sky longingly as she recalled her memories of her family. The laughter, the fighting, and all the chaos that ensued when they were all together. A fond smile formed on her lips, as she felt a cool breeze pass by as it ruffled the leaves from the tree she was under.

She sighed as she felt her flames thrumming to harmonize with the others, but there were none. Her eyes darted towards the large monument of faces that had now become familiar to her. Yes, in order to find her way back, she would use any means to go home, no matter the cost, save for the fact of killing or involving anyone that was not involved in this situation.

She frowned. If things went awry she would undoubtedly be killed or left unable to find a way home. 'There is a possibility that there is something in those shinobi art and secrets that could help me find a way back.' She thought as she recalled Izumi performing jutsus using energy she called chakra, which she surmised was the energy she had started to sense from other people.

'But getting my hands on that information is difficult.' She began to hum as she had taken into account from the shinobi she had begun able to observe and they had quickly caught onto the fact that she was watching them. Nothing a wide eyed, admiring look didn't solve as most children obviously wanted to become shinobi. Some of them gave her a scowl, others a small smile, but most just went back to ignoring her. 'Tch. They're paranoid as hell, and no doubt keep a close lid on their secrets.'

She was brought out of her musings as she felt an increasingly familiar chakra signature approaching her. 'Ah, that should be Izumi…I think.' She blinked in surprise, having not expected her to return, at least not for a while as most older children that had become genin moved out and most did not come back until a few months later if at all.

Sure enough, the older girl appeared in front of her holding a big smile on her face as she encompassed her in an unwelcome hug. Yume made a face as she struggled out of Izumi's hold. "Yume-chan! I'm back! Did you miss me?"

Yume gave her a dry look instead of responding, mostly because she disliked speaking up with her high pitched childish voice so she avoided talking if she could help it. Izumi giggled at her as she set her down. "I thought you wouldn't be back for a long while."

"Eh. Well I had some spare down time ya know?" Izumi stated while patting her on the head. "I'll end up going back soon though." She smiled lightly as Yume knew the gaze that the older girl held in her deep brown eyes and understood. Izumi had her first kill, or maybe even more than just one.

Deciding not to prod Yume nodded. "Okay."

"Mhm…So how have you been? I've heard that you've been doing fine with the rest of the kids, but you're still hm…how to say it." Izumi gave her a cheeky grin. "A stick in the mud."

Yume gave a shrug not rising to the bait as Izumi pouted. "Tsk. Still haven't gotten any cuter have you." Yume ignored that statement as she gazed back at the sky. "I'm going to join the academy." That caused Izumi to pause and her frown turned serious for a while before shifting it into a smile.

"Well obviously, but that's not going to be for another few years you know."

"No. I'm going to start next semester…if I pass the entrance exams." Of which, she had no doubt she would. Izumi gave a chuckle.

"Of course, you will, but aren't you just too young for that? Things at the academy are very hard you know, not something a little kid like you can handle."

Yume huffed. "I'm not little, and I can handle things."

"Uhhuh, suure."

"…I'm being serious you know. I just need Machiko-san to sign the papers, and I'm all set to take the entrance exams next week."

Izumi looked at the girl incredulously before snorting. "You know, she won't allow you to."

'So you think, but I have my ways.' Yume thought as the older girl looked at her pensively. "You're honest to kami-sama determined to do this aren't you." Yume nodded, as the older girl sighed.

"…I don't think you should do this…but to is going to change your mind."

"…"

"…Fine, if you're doing this, just make sure to not hurt yourself." There was concern laced in the older girl's voice and Yume couldn't help but look at her fondly.

"I will." They remained in silence while gazing at the clouds passing by and Yume couldn't help but feel the stab of longing hitting her as it usually did. 'Guys, I'm going to do my best to get stronger to get home faster…I'll do my part too, so…please be don't worry.'

M:So yeah, here's the second chapter, and admittedly it's waaay longer than the previous chapter 2, and well new character? Honestly she came up as an idea as I was writing and well it fit I guess. Anyways, I hope you've enjoyed!

P.S. I'll work on the other chapters soon but since tomorrow I'm going to be under a minor surgery and Idk if I'll be able to actually work well if I'm still feeling the effects of sedatives. That and my finals are drawing ever so much near so most of my attention will be on that too.

Anyway, till next time! :D