Reminiscences of the Past

Within twenty minutes into the fight, I was impressed that Sasuke lasted this long. But now I have to end this. I stalked over to his form as he tried to push himself up. I held Eimin over his head, smiling.

"It is time that I ended this useless play," I sang out. Naruto's eyes widened as he realized what I meant.

"No, Ayame-chan! You can't kill him!" He shouted out. My eyes met his.

"And why not? I usually kill those weaker than me. He challenged me first anyways." Sasuke glared at me with his black eyes.

"Ayame!" A sharp voice rang out in the night. "What do you think you're doing? He is one of my best ANBUs." I sighed, rolling my eyes.

"You need stronger ANBUs then, Tsunade. Besides, this brat challenged me, knowing that I was in a foul mood." I replied. Tsunade's voice came out quieter.

"Did you… dream about him again?" I laughed drily.

"Of course. I swear, it's like he enters my dreams just to haunt me, Tsunade." I looked at her with my golden eyes with craziness in them. "I dream that same scene over and over for the past two years! I sense him everywhere I go!"

"You were only fourteen, Ayame. I'm sorry for making you go through that. I didn't mean to use you like that, but the Leaf Village needed you at that time." Tsunade slowly made her way towards me. I still had Eimin poised over Sasuke, ready to strike the moment he resisted.

"What happened?" Naruto and Sasuke asked.

"The Fourth Sinobi War." She answered calmly.

"What do you mean 'you used her'?" Sasuke narrowed his eyes at Tsunade. She looked at me worriedly before explaining to the two of them.

"She is a very important member of the Leaf. Many other villages and rouges would love to have her in their hands, but it is a miracle that Ayame chose to stay with us after the War. Ayame is –"

"A killer." My voice was strained, but emotionless when I said that.

"No, Ayame, you're not a killer. You only had to do what you had to. He killed everyone you held dear in front of you. You're nothing like him," Tsunade said. She continued to inch closer until she was standing next to me. "Let Sasuke go now, Ayame. He doesn't pose as a threat to you."

"I smelled him on Sasuke," I spat. Tsunade froze and the two boys continued to stare at me. "I will destroy everything that holds him in it, including this boy. If not today, then maybe tomorrow, or in the future."

"Who is this 'him' you talk about?" Naruto asked. Tsunade shot him a glare, but neither boys saw it.

"Orochimaru," I growled. "He killed everyone during the War. My parents. My friends. My family. I was glad when I left him incapacitated. Even Kabuto couldn't heal his arms and legs because of my elemental beasts." Shock and recognition flashed in Sasuke's black eyes.

"So you are the one who left him like that…" he murmured. I threw Eimin down, narrowly missing his head on purpose. I leaned down, snarling, "You saw him, then, little pet? Where is he?"

"I-I saw him right after the War. I only m-met with him to tell him that I was done working with him. I saw Kabuto infuse Orochimaru into himself, so Orochimaru's no longer in this world." Sasuke stammered slightly. I was furious. How dare he?! Kabuto, damn it!

I threw my head back and howled angrily into the night like a wolf. My chakra leaked out of me, forming my elemental beasts of gold and purple. My wolf, tiger, lion, bird, and bear stood next to me. The three big cats roared into the night, along with my howl, disturbing the peaceful night. Sasuke and Naruto looked on, frightened and awed. Tsunade backed away from the beasts, standing next to Naruto.

"Shouldn't we stop her, Granny Tsunade?" Naruto asked. Tsunade shook her head.

"She's letting her emotions out. This is the only how Ayame can cope with everything. You know, she didn't cry. Not once even after all the war and blood she's seen at fourteen. Everyone else in the war at that time were all age seventeen and older, like you, Sakura, and Sasuke. Ayame had to deal with the stares and whispers of everyone in the village even after she stopped the war. Ayame is the strongest of all ninjas in all of the nations at the age of ten, you know."

I didn't care that they were talking about me. I just wanted to scream and go on a rampage. My only goal in life was taken away from me, and now I had to find another goal.

"Kabuto!" I howled out with the voices of my beasts. "I'll find you and kill you! You can't escape from me! And I'll be coming after the remaining Akatsuki next! You hear me, Kabuto?!" My anger built up, so did my chakra. The shingles around my feet cracked, floating in the air as I created small craters where my feet touched the roof.

"Shit! Ayame, calm down!" Tsunade shouted. "Naruto, Sasuke, be careful with Ayame in this stage! She's only using 5% of her chakra right now. I can't read how much force she's using, but be careful!"

Naruto and Sasuke nodded their heads before leaping into action, trying to take me down.

"Elemental Beasts: Fusion!" I screamed. My animals jumped into me, fusing with my chakra. They pinned me down as my animals fused with me.

"Ha, 5% chakra and she's already down. Too easy," Sasuke muttered, holding one of my arms down. Naruto glared at Sasuke, "But Ayame-chan totally took you down earlier. I don't think this is easy." I smiled, showing two rows of pearly white, straight teeth with four extremely sharp canines from my wild cats. I easily threw them off me, sending them flying in the air. I teleported over to my favorite isolated area: an empty place with a waterfall cascading over the rocks, with stone monuments of the Hokages standing in a fighting position. I screamed in rage and punched the stone behind the waterfall, instantly shattering the boulder. Tiny bits of sharp rocks flew, one scratching my face. I continued to punch the hole, making it bigger and bigger, large enough for ten people to fit into.

"Why?" I whimpered. The stoned Hokages looked down at me with frozen expressions. "Sarutobi-oujichan, I get why you put that seal on me now. Minato-san, I wish you and the others were here to help me like you used to." I looked up at the statues of the strongest men that I had admired.

[Flashback]

"Stay away from us, you monster!"

I shrank away from the man who was brandishing a knife in front of me. He stood protectively in front of his family.

"But Papa, she's my friend!" The five year-old boy tugged on his father's shirt. He was a friend that I had recently made at the playground one day.

"Shi-chan, it's okay. I'll leave your family alone, sir." I tried putting on a brave façade, only to have tears trickle down my face. I turned around, look back to see the sad and crying face of Shizure. I quickly ran off to nowhere in particular. I soon found myself at the Hokage's building and went inside. I snuck in quietly, running into the Third Hokage.

"Oomph!" I fell onto the cold tiles on my butt. The Hokage chuckled before helping me up.

"Are you alright, Ayame?" He asked warmly. My father was a special shinobi who worked directly under the Hokage.

"I'm fine, ouji-chan," I muttered, rubbing my behind. He sighed cheerfully.

"I'm not that old, Ayame! I just look older," he laughed. I rolled my eyes, already used to his weird sense of humor. Sarutobi noticed my tear-streaked face and patted my head.

"Were people being mean to you again Ayame?" I shamefully nodded my head. Sarutobi held out his hand for me and I took it as he led me into his office. He closed the door behind him and I sat down on the velvet couch.

"I'll show you a trick to nobody else knows of, ne? It'll be out secret." He winked at me as I stared at him in awe. Sarutobi began to form hand signs before placing a palm flat against his bookshelf.

"Secret Jutsu: Ghost Summoning!" Three ghostly figures swirled into view. I immediately recognized them to be the previous Hokages.

"Ouji-chan, is that…are they…?" I stammered. He nodded his head with a smile on his lips.

"Hashirama-san, Tobirama-san, and Minato," Sarutobi introduced proudly. I gaped at them in awe.

"Hiruzen, what is the meaning of this? You already called us five times this week. Not to mention, this is the sixth time in a row!" The first Hokage groaned. They then noticed me sitting on the couch.

"Who is this young maiden?" Minato flew to my side, staring at me in wonder.

"Can you three watch over her? This is Hatake Ayame." Sarutobi introduced me. Minato's head whipped towards his old sensei.

"Hatake? As in Hatake Kakashi?"

"Yes, but he doesn't remember a thing. His father made sure to erase their memories."

Huh? There's another Hatake? Papa erased whose memories? Can't be my papa…

"Let's keep her accompanied!" With that, Minato began to play with me, showing me jutsus that I never knew.

Days eventually passed into months as I continued to venture into the Third's study to play with the previous Hokages. They warmed up to me and taught me more. I graduated top of the Academy at age seven as the youngest. I became a chūnin at the age of ten as I continued with the lessons from the Hokages. Within two years, I graduated to a jōnin at the age of twelve. The four Hokages wanted me to join the ANBUs, but I refused.

"Why not, Ayame? You have incredible talent!" Tobirama, the second Hokage, persuaded.

"Too much of a trouble for me. I'm only twelve after all. Papa complains how much work it is under ouji-san already. Mama wanted me to play with the other girls in the village, but they're busy studying to become a better genin." I explained, giving the Third a pointed look. Minato chuckled.

"But Ayame, think about it: since everyone is working hard as a genin, you should work hard to become an ANBU too." He smiled, as if he knew he won our argument. I shook my head.

"Nope, I'm already a specialized jōnin, going solo on S-ranked missions. The older jōnins don't want me to go any higher. Especially the ANBUs. Have you heard them talk? It's quite funny," I chuckled. The three ghosts shared a worried look before turning back to me.

"Did they…say anything rude?" The First Hokage Hashirama questioned. I waved his question off.

"No, not like that. They just didn't approve a twelve year-old who isn't as mature or as old as they would like to join the ANBUs." The four of them mused over a thought before Sarutobi took over.

"You should join team 7. The team is fantastic, and the genins are advanced. They're all three years older than you, being fifteen," Sarutobi suggested with a hint of pride in his voice.

"But you still send them on D-ranked and C-ranked missions," Hashirama dead-panned. I laughed.

"Ouji-chan, really? Can't I join a team with A-ranked or S-ranked missions?" I argued lightly with the Third.

"Well, it's because Minato's son is just a ball of energy, so it's hard to keep him occupied and safe unless he's busy chasing cats or pulling weeds!" Sarutobi joked. I glanced at Minato, surprised at this information. Minato's…son?

"No thanks, ouji-chan. I think I'll just spend my time hunting special missions with the other jōnins and ANBUs. Maybe I'll try for the ANBUs in half a year, or next year."

Those were the happy memories I had before disaster had hit my village.