I thought I just write a warning to anyone who is reading this that I will be writing this story as I watch the anime, so once I run out of pre-written chapters I'll have to continue watching Naruto Shippuden to write more. Hope you enjoy.


Chapter Two: Naria's Pov

The first thing I immediately realized as I became conscious was that I was lying on a slightly uncomfortable bed (it was still better than sleeping on the forest floor) which meant that I was no longer in the forest and that I was probably now in Konohagakure. The second thing I realized, once the fog in my head cleared up, was that there was someone in the room that I was in with me and I had a feeling that I knew exactly who that person was. When I found Tamaki, the cursed ass, and I was most definitely going to find him sooner or later, I was going to make his life a living hell before I eventually killed him, I can guaran-damn-tee it because I know all too well what a living hell is.

Knowing this was inevitable and that I didn't stand a chance of getting away right now – plus, I did not run away from anyone or anything anymore, I refused to – I opened my eyes and turned my head to the right of the hospital room I was in, seeing Kakashi leaning against the window with one of the books the perverted sage had written in his hand.

I slowly pulled myself up in the bed, feeling a little sore and exhausted (not that that bothered me, I had a lot of stamina and was quite adapt at working hard and not resting for long periods of time; plus, I never really properly slept and was used to feeling tired all the time) and Kakashi realized I was awake. He hadn't changed one bit since I last saw him – he even still wore that mask of his, which he had another mask under it. I won't even get into that.

"How are you feeling?" He asked me and I shrugged as I pulled the cover off. I was still in my clothes, but my hair was undone, my sandals were removed along with my jewellery and my gloves had been taken off.

"I'm fine." I stated, not caring whether it was the truth or not. All I wanted to do was get up and get out of here so I could hunt down Tamaki, finding Mononoke on the way, and kick his ass.

"The Hokage wants to talk to you." Kakashi said as I stood up and pulled up my sandals, causing me to temporarily become a statue. Oh great, just great.

"Why?" I asked, my voice guarded now. There was a reason I had come to prefer the forest, even if it was unimaginably lonely living out there. If I was out there the only person I had to answer to was myself (I have a problem with authority and no, I probably won't stop having a problem with people in power until I meet one who doesn't use and abuse people and their position to get what they want, not that my own father did that.)

"I think you know why Naria, it's probably one of the reasons you didn't tell me about Tamaki." He said as I continued not to look at him as I placed my gloves and jewellery in my bag, which was beside the bed. That was one of the reason's, especially since I knew that the Godiame Hokage Lady Tsunade had been teammates with Orochimaru and wanted to know what he was up to, but I wasn't going to tell Kakashi that anytime soon.

"I didn't tell you about Tamaki because you didn't need to know, it's as simple as that. I'm quite capable of killing him myself." I simply stated with no emotion what-so-ever present in my voice. I didn't want him involved in this, I mean he saved my life so I didn't want to cause him to feel guilt by telling him that the man he left me with did a shit job of taking care of me and was now ready to kill me with the help of his curse mark.

"I see you've tried to become someone who doesn't care what anyone thinks of her and doesn't want anyone caring about her, and I understand why." He said and I turned around to face him now, part of my mask cracking to reveal my angry and hurt side.

"Don't you say you understand, because you don't Kakashi sensei!" I snapped, seeing surprise in his eye because I'd never gone off at him. When we first met, I didn't talk and even when I started I talked very little. "Every single person I have ever trusted in my life has either left me or has tried to kill me, so unless that's happened to you I don't want to hear you say the word 'understand'. I know you haven't had it easy in life, but still." I tried to calm down a little – didn't work that well. "I've accepted that I drew the short stick in life and that my life will probably continue to suck up until the day I die with the way things have gone so far, but accepting that does not stop the pain of being betrayed, attacked and abandoned any less painful – even though I should be used to it by now."

"So, you've stopped believing that your life can become better." Kakashi said and I nodded.

"I used to believe it, back when you saved me and gave me a purpose to keep going, but Tamaki has ruined that belief and I have seen nothing since he joined Orochimaru to believe otherwise." I said and even I knew his expression was grim. He had once told me not to give up hope, but it was really hard to do that now.

Every day it felt like I was suffocating because of the indescribable pain I was in and had been in for years. It didn't matter how strong or powerful I became, the pain didn't lessen, it only got worse. Mononoke helped and she was probably the one thing that kept me sane and on the right path, but even she couldn't remove the pain that had imbedded itself in my heart and mind. It was so bad that I struggled with the thought of killing myself every-single-day and yet somehow, I honestly don't know how I did it; I managed to let that thought stay just a thought and kept living the lonely life I had lived for years. Emotional pain and abuse is just as bad as physical pain and abuse. Worse actually! You can heal broken bones, I did it quite often and had a strange healing ability; you can't heal a broken heart and mind that easily, if at all.

"So, the reason you didn't tell me is that you don't trust me?" Kakashi asked and now I let out a humourless laugh, looking at him dead in his one eye since his other was covered.

"Actually, it's quite the opposite. I didn't tell you because I do trust you." I said, seeing as he probably did deserve at least part of the truth. I could see that he was slightly confused. "Like I said Kakashi, everyone I have ever trusted has either left me, hurt me or tried to kill me; I didn't want you to be the next person to do it because I want to continue trusting you. I can act tough because of my abilities and skills, but I am still afraid Kakashi and I probably always will be."

He seemed to understand my reasoning, but found a problem with it. "I did already leave you though; I left you with Tamaki and look what happened."

I sighed, taking down my mask a little more so he saw the truth. "Don't you dare blame yourself for what he did, he has his own mind and he was the one who decided to go to Orochimaru so he could get power and kill me – which means I'm gonna' kill him first so he can't do that – point is, it wasn't your fault. Also, you had to leave and I get that. I may be hurt, but I'm not blind to the truth or unreasonable. This is your home and your life has and always will be here, you had to return and I certainly couldn't come here with you."

"How did Orochimaru even find out about you? I'm assuming the reason he is after you has got something to do with what you are." Kakashi said and while he was right, he wasn't getting an answer to that because someone slammed open the door to the room the moment he finished asking.

I turned around, not really giving a shit who it could be, and came face to face with a blonde-haired woman with a hard gleam in her brown eyes. I knew who it was; it was actually pretty obvious that it was Lady Tsunade – the Godiame Hokage. I had never met her before today obviously and yet I knew about her because of who she was, the famous Sannin who was known as the most powerful kunoichi and practically the greatest medical-ninja around. Behind her stood another woman with short black hair.

"That is exactly what I would like to know." Lady Tsunade said and I had a feeling that my day was going to get even worse. I could easily run off and not tell her what I knew, but then again, I'd probably have leaf ninja on my ass and that is the last thing I wanted, especially if they were ANBU. I don't know if Kakashi told her. "I'd quite like to know who you are and I'd like you to tell me as Kakashi has already told me that the third Hokage knew who you were."

"I'm assuming I don't have a choice in this." I said and I could tell by the look in her eyes that I didn't. I could still get away, but I wasn't in the mood to try. "Fine, I'm used to not having a choice. Still, can I know if Mononoke is here?" I asked.

"Mononoke?" Lady Tsunade asked and I think she realized who I meant, which meant she was here. "The wolf is in the forest outside the village, she was waiting for you to wake up."

"Okay, then I guess it's time to talk." I said, because I'd accepted that this needed to happen. I wasn't frilled about it, but I didn't feel like pissing of the Hokage – I was nowhere near stupid enough to piss off her.

- Line Breaker -

After we made our way to the Hokage tower and into Lady Tsunade's office I was told to sit down and that is when I explained everything like she asked me to – alright, I explained everything that she actually needed to know about me and about Orochimaru, I left out all of the gory details about my life that she didn't really need to know about. She listened to it all, so did the woman that I now knew was called Shizune, and neither one of them interrupted me as I talked and explained who I was. Kakashi was also in the room, but he was more focused on the Icha-Icha book of his than anything else. How he could read that perverted Sages books was a mystery to me.

"It is hard to believe that you are the princess of the kingdom of dreams, however it does make sense. I've heard many rumours about that place and about the head family." Lady Tsunade said and I said nothing because there was nothing left for me to say. I was quite curious about what rumours she was talking about though. "Alright, I have a proposition for you and I want you to listen before protesting Princess Yukina Naria. I'm assuming you know how to do that."

"Alright, but do not call me princess... please. I really don't like it, being a part of that family is not something I'm particularly proud of after everything that happened." I replied because I honestly hated being called Princess Naria or Naria-hime, I had since I was seven and my life had become one that was debatably not worth living. I had even slightly disliked it before that. Still, I was quite surprised how hard it was for me to say please, but also that I didn't mind talking to Lady Tsunade.

"Fine then; now back to what I wanted to talk about. I would like you to remain here in the village for the time being." She said and I wanted to protest but she held up her hand to quiet me and I shut my mouth. "You agreed to listen so stay quiet and let me finish. I want you to stay here and, after I speak with the council and you have gone through some tests to prove your skills as a ninja and a medical-ninja, I would like you to go on missions for the village as long as I feel that it's safe."

"What?!" I asked, my mask falling out of place and my shock becoming evident on my face.

"I believe you heard me. If Orochimaru really wants you dead because of what you are and because you refused him, then you being here may give us a chance to find him; it means that you going on missions will be dangerous, but I have a feeling that won't bother you. Also, Asuma told me that you have considerable skills from what he saw. Not only that but, with Naruto currently off training with Jiraiya and Sasuke with Orochimaru, we could use the help of a skilful ninja right now." She said and I just stared at her. Was I really hearing her right, she wanted me to stay here and go on missions with the teams of this village?

"You want me to stay in the village, even though you know that I'm... different and that I have bloodthirsty assassins coming after me who will massacre anyone who gets in their way, though some are just idiots lured in by money." I said, because I was not used to this. Usually people drove me away for no apparent reason other than the fact that I was different, I think; it had happened a lot before - back when I was younger. It still happened now, although now it was mainly because I made myself seem unapproachable so people would stay the hell away from me.

"Yes, I gathered that. Still, I'd like you to stay here, though I'm quite sure that if you don't want to stay you won't and I won't be able to stop you either, no matter what I do. I won't force you to stay however, though I think you should consider it. Leaving the forest for a while might be good for you." She said and I thought about it, knowing Kakashi would have an opinion if I just automatically said no without thinking it through. "Also, any assassin would have to be incredibly stupid or cocky to even think of attacking you here."

I wasn't comfortable around people anymore, I'd admit that. Living out in the forest, I was isolated and more to the point, even if I saw people out there they never saw me. I didn't know how to act around people, the last time I'd spent time around a lot of people was when I was barely six – and eight/nine if I was being truthful – and that hadn't gone well. I was happier with animals and Mononoke these days, not humans; humans were complicated while animals were much simpler when it came to everything. Still, I couldn't deny that I was lonely and that the forest was starting to drive me loopy. As much as I enjoyed being outside all the time, being in the heart of nature and being away from people who could hurt me, it was doing nothing to quench my loneliness or develop my people skills. I was scared though. It was like I was in an endless battle with the world; I wanted to fit in but I was afraid of being rejected – in the end I had come to accept my loneliness because there was no way I could change it. People were afraid of me and they might continue to be, but should I let that stop me now that I had a chance to do something that didn't involve just protecting myself. Could I go through the pain of being feared; could I be seen as a monster again by other people after what had happened to me within my own village? Would people actually see me as a monster?

"What would the conditions be?" I asked slowly after a while, which I noticed surprised Kakashi-sensei quite a lot – even though it was hard to tell with that mask of his. Huh, so he hadn't been expecting me to agree or even think of agreeing.

"I can't say what all of them will be right now, but I can say that I will need to do a physical exam to assess your health and you'd need to do some tests so your stats can be determined. I'd also like you to show me your skills as a medical-ninja and prove you're fighting skills in a fight or test against Kakashi – that will be his decision to make." She said and the funny thing is that I had no problem with those conditions and, even though I didn't know what the main conditions would be, I could agree to them for now.

"For now, I'll agree, as long as Mononoke can stay with me if she wants to." I said and Lady Tsunade nodded.

"I cannot see why she can't considering Akamaru is her size now, so yes, she can stay. I'll find you somewhere to stay by the end of the day and tomorrow we can begin the tests, then once I know you're fine you can go against Kakashi." She said and I sighed.

"I can stay in the forest, it doesn't bother me. I've been living there since childhood." I replied since I could honestly care less. It didn't matter to me where I stayed; I guess you could sort of call me a nomad – I didn't stay in one place for very long and I never had a place to call home.

"No, since I'm asking you to stay I'll find you an apartment. Now, you can leave and I'll send Shizune to find you when I've found a place, so try to make it easy for her to find you. I'll assume you'll be in the forest." Lady Tsunade said and I nodded before bowing (I had been a princess – even if I did want to forget it – so I did know how to be respectful to people who deserved respect and were in positions of power. I might not like people in power, but I wasn't foolish. Plus, I'd also been taught to respect my elders and Lady Tsunade didn't seem to be like other people I had met.)

I left her office via the window and quickly took off via rooftop, knowing that I could easily track down Mononoke and that she'd smell me before I even reached her. I had a lot to tell her now and would see if she was okay with it; she probably would be since she wanted me to try to find some non-existent happiness. She was a wolf however and despite the fact that she could speak, she was wild; then again so was I. I couldn't exactly call myself normal – first I was a princess who was taught to do things regally until she was 6 and then I became a forest child who evolved into a ninja who can kill people.

Tsunade's Pov

As Naria leapt out the window I still wasn't sure what to make of her. She was not the type of person I was used to dealing with. She seemed to have a wild side to her (the irony of a princess being so wild was actually laughable, especially considering where she was born and whose daughter she was) and didn't seem to care much for authority figures from how she spoke (not that I could blame her), though she still acted politely towards me. However, I think her politeness was something she had surely learnt before she was thrown from her home, so it was most likely because of that. Kakashi seemed surprised by her actions, which made me wonder how much she'd changed since he last saw her.

"What do you think Kakashi?" I asked and he sighed. He hadn't needed to deal with students for well over two years with Naruto being gone, Sasuke abandoning the village and going with Orochimaru and Sakura training with me. Now one I didn't even know existed had turned up out of nowhere with a secret that even he didn't know about.

"She's changed." He said and I smiled slightly.

"What, she wasn't this charming before with her emotionless expression and cold and aloof attitude?" I asked and I saw that he didn't seem to care about the heavy sarcasm in my voice. I probably shouldn't be doing it since the girl's past was obviously horrible, but when I had asked what he thought I had wanted more than a two-word answer.

"Actually yes, Naria never used to be that cold; she was just sad and terrified back then – back then she was desperately clutching to the innocence of a child despite being so broken inside. She's more opinionated than she used to be too and today was the first day she actually talked to me properly. She was yelling, but still. She used to have some hope in her eyes that things could get better, now there's nothing but pain. She's given up thinking she can have a good life, she's accepted her loneliness and pain." He said and I was surprised by how serious he sounded, which is when I realized why. Despite my decision, I had a feeling this girl was going to cause some trouble around here.

"You blame yourself for what's happening to her now." I said and I knew I was right.

"Yes, but she'd probably hit me if she knew that, because she doesn't blame me. She may have a temper now, but she only puts blame where blame is due. The point is, when Orochimaru came here I should have warned her to be careful about where she went and what she did in the forest; I also should have never left her with Tamaki." He said and I had to wonder exactly what had happened between the two of them through their two months together when she was a child. What, other than the fact that she had a powerful being within her, made this girl so appealing to Orochimaru?

"Well she's here now; we can make sure she's safe." Shizune said and even I knew that that wasn't true. If people were to find out that Naria was like Naruto safe would be the last thing she was, even if she wasn't a Jinchūriki like Naruto and Gaara were. Also, she had assassins after her and a cursed sensei.

"That's the one thing no one can do actually, she's never going to feel safe until she stops holding onto the past." Kakashi said and I wondered for the first time what having her here would do. From the looks of Kakashi, he hoped it would help her and not make things worse.

Naria's Pov

I found Mononoke quite easily and the first thing she did when I reached her was tackle me to the ground, licking me (she was a wolf after all and she showed affection the way dogs do) as I tried to stop her. I was glad I'd taken off my backpack when I'd reached my location, otherwise she'd be in trouble.

"I'm okay, so you can stop now." I said as I got her off me and got up off the ground, running a hand over her head, her rough fur running over the palm of my hand and through my fingers. "We need to talk."

"Why is it I don't like the sound of that?" She asked and I knelt down in front of her so that my face was level with hers.

"Just know that this doesn't have to apply to you." I said because I didn't want her to feel inclined to stay with me if she didn't want to stay in the village. "The fifth Hokage has asked me to remain in the village and I agreed. I'll have to do some tests, but she's even thinking of sending me on missions as well later on... depending on how things go."

"You're willing to stay here?" She asked in surprise and I realized that even she thought I wanted to avoid people all together – I mean I did, but still.

"Yes, but that doesn't mean you have to stay with me. I'll understand..." She cut me off my jumping at me and knocking me to the ground again. I could have easily gotten her off me but she was the one person (even if she was really a wolf) that I didn't want to hurt.

"Naria, I didn't travel all the way from my homeland when I was still tiny to find you and be with you only to leave when you finally choose to stay in a village." She said, her light blue eyes fixated on my night blue ones. "I chose to come and protect you so I am not going anywhere until I have no other choice, even if living in a village will be as strange for me as I'm sure it will be for you. I just want to see you happy."

"Who says I'm happy about it?" I asked and she let out a humorous bark as she got off of me and allowed me to sit up.

"No one, but unlike you I have to hope for the best. I don't want you to be miserable for the rest of your life." She said. "Funnily enough, you may have to work on your people skills, they aren't like animals."

I glared at her. "Very funny." I said and she smiled widely, showing me all her sharp teeth and I just sighed as I flipped myself up and walked to get my bag. "Well, I guess we'll be staying here."

"Let the fun begin." She muttered under her breath, but I still heard her. At that I probably would have smiled if I could remember how. She knew what I was like and I was not good with people. So yes, let the fun of me becoming a part of village life begin.


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