Imperfection

Chapter 3

New Moon

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The next day was a complete blur to her. Sasuke was officially declared missing nin after she alerted Tsunade. A team of ninja, Neji, Naruto, Shikamaru, Shino, Choji, and Kiba, was sent to retrieve the prodigy before he fell into the wrong hands.

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Aiyuri was numb. Not physically so, no, but mentally. When Naruto told her he was leaving to bring back 'that idiot Sasuke-teme', she just sat looking blankly at a wall. After he left, she blacked out in her living room – which is where TenTen found her, and brought her to her current location. The hospital.

She was numb – her mind was blank. It wasn't as if she were catatonic, it was more like she was completely devastated. Her friends tried, and tried… each failing miserably at bringing her out of this condition. Soon, they stopped trying.

It was one o'clock in the morning when she finally 'woke'. The choking cries of a small child brought her from her reverie. Looking down at the needle in her arm (it was feeding her), she grimaced at pulled it out, switching off the drip. Rummaging beneath her bed for a bandage, she quickly fixed herself before seeking out the injured person.

After almost getting lost, she found the lobby, where a pre-teen girl sat, now only sniffling loudly with fat tears plopping onto her lap. She held her arm, which was twisted at an odd angle and cut, in her lap.

"What happened?" Her own voice sounded foreign to her.

It simply scared the little girl. She inhaled sharply, not knowing that there was anyone with her. "I – I…" She looked positively ashamed.

"It's okay, you know. I'm here to help." She worked what she thought was a soothing tone into her voice.

Apparently it worked, because the little girl broke down in tears again- relieved.

"My daddy – he – he got drunk again, and he came home – and – and…"

"Your father did this to you?!" The young woman knelt next to the little girl. "What's your name?"

"K-Karei…"

"Okay, Karei. This might hurt a little bit, but I have to move your bone back so I can heal it – okay?"

"Are you a doctor?"

"No – but I know what I'm doing. And I'll make sure your daddy never does this to you again, okay?"

"Uh-huh…" The little girl only winced as the older one moved the bone into its proper position.

Focusing, Aiyuri wielded her chakra skillfully, aiding bone marrow production, mending the broken bone and healing the superficial scratches. Probing around the girl's body a slight bit, she pushed the other bruises and cuts to heal. With a sigh, she finished, a slight sweat working up on her forehead.

"What do you think you're doing?" Suddenly,. Shizune was there, watching the shinobi and the young girl with wide eyes.

"I-I…" Aiyuri stuttered, flustered.

"She fixed my arm!" Karei proudly held out her arm for the woman's inspection.

"How did you know how to do that, girl? No – wiat, let the Hokage ask you. Report to her office immediately."

"The girl comes with me." Aiyuri's voice was suddenly stony.

"…She'll stay here to make sure she was healed properly." Shizune's voice was authoritative, as if daring the girl to go against her.

She dared. Her eyes narrowed, and her voice was icy. "She was healed perfectly fine. She comes with me, or I don't go."

"…" Shizune was suddenly frightened by the rather imposing creature before her. "… Whatever." No matter, she was only saving face.

"Fine. Come with me, Karei." A hand was held out to the youngster.

The younger girl took it, and with a quick glance from Shizune to her new friend, she followed the teen girl obediently.

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Tsunade stared at the girls before her, eyes traveling from the younger one's arm, to Aiyuri's eyes. "How did you know how to do that? Healing bones is complicated – many of my jounin nurses can't even do that completely!"

"…I'm in Team Seven. My partners are male – and rowdy ones at that. I spent a month in the library, researching how to heal."

"You're lucky it was her arm – it's the easiest bone to work with."

"I know… If she had had anything else broken, I probably would have passed out – or just not been able to heal it completely. But I didn't want her to have to wear a cast."

"I see…" This girl is remarkable… "How did this happen to you, Karei?" the Hokage turned to the fidgeting child, who in turn gripped her friend's hand more tightly. "I-I… My daddy…" she sounded very small – sort of how she felt.

"Your father? What-"

"He beat her. He came home drunk and he beat her… I will not allow her to go back to her home. She can stay with me until you throw him in jail, and find her a new family."

Tsunade was amazed at this girl's audacity. Telling the Hokage what to do? Not asking? She would go far – or end up hung. "…You said Team Seven, right?"

"… Yes."

That explains it. "Where do you currently reside, Aiyuri?"

"I live with Naruto."

"… He's currently on a mission, no?"

"Sent to retrieve Sasuke."

"The girl may stay with you tonight. I will have a family for her in the morning."

"Arigatou – Hokage-sama." With a smile, Aiyuri and Karei turned to leave.

"Oh, and Aiyuri?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama?" The girl looked over her shoulder, pausing.

"Report to my office tomorrow. I have an offer that might interest you."

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Sukeji Iroto – Karei's father, was exiled. It was reported that he was ambushed by an unfamiliar ninja or group of ninja outside of Konoha's border – and killed.

That was, of course, because Tsunade was the one who investigated.

The unfamiliar ninja sat in her office at that moment, reading a document – her first assignment as Tsunade's protégé.

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Karei was happy with her new home, and new name. She planned on joining the ninja academy, just like her hero and 'older sister' – Aiyuri.

She practiced writing her name as she sat at the kitchen table – Haruno Karei.

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This chapter is dedicated to IAmAurora.

Thank you for the single-most wonderful review I've ever received.

Preview:

So, now that Aiyuri has become Tsunade's pupil – two years pass yet again. This is where the real story begins: Sasuke returns, stronger and deadlier than ever before. What he wasn't planning on was coming face to face with the one girl he could stand – and realizing that standing her isn't all he's capable of. But she seems to belong to Naruto: The jinchuuriki and his best friend are closer than ever before since their partner's betrayal…And their own two year period of being apart.