There was a bright ray of sunlight that managed to sneak it's way into Lee's room. He groaned and pulled his covers over his eyes. Mornings weren't really his favorite time of the day. If it were up to Lee, he'd never have to get out of bed in the morning and he could relax all day.

"LEE YOU LAZY BUM. YOU NEVER CLEANED THOSE FLOORS LAST NIGHT!"

Ah, so much for relaxation. Lee rolled out of bed like most days and headed for his unavoidable chore without so much as a change of clothes. This attracted several remarks from his sister, who was concerned that a customer would see him in such a state. Lee decided to hurry up to escape Yuka's nagging and to slide away from anything that resembled real work.

Tetsu, Gai, and Fuji were exploring more of Daisuke when they heard Lee approach them. The short blonde stopped running when he recognized them and waved. "Hey, Fuji!"

Fuji half-heartedly waved back. "Hello, Lee. Aren't you going to say hi to Gai too, since you know him and all." She smiled smugly at Gai while Tetsu chuckled.

So this is the powerful man that Gai had to fight? I knew it… He thought.

"Of course! Hello Gai!" Lee nodded in Gai's direction, how could he not remember him?

Lee had led his new friends through the village, giving a detailed tour as they went along. Gai and Fuji both seemed to be concentrating on everything Lee told them, while Tetsu seemed disinterested about the matter. After several hours of getting to know their way around Daisuke, they stopped inside a small building that Lee promised he'd get them food in. Tetsu froze, remembering the place from yesterday. "Not more curry…" He grumbled.

Meanwhile, Kamiko had woken up to a small list of chores left by her father. Most of it involved housework, which was something she could get to right away. There was a point among all the sweeping and wiping that she wondered why Lee hadn't showed up at her door yet; he was always trying to find an excuse to hang out with her. After what seemed to take forever, Kamiko noticed how it was nearing lunchtime. Kamiko brushed her dress off, and looked through some cupboards. She could fix something herself, or she could find Lee, wherever he was, and they could find something else.

"Do I have anything else I can do…?" Kamiko took a last glance at her to-do list. The instructions at the very bottom made her heart freeze with realization.

Gather some flowers for Aimi.

Aimi Rock had been her mother, and her birthday had been a few days ago. Both Kamiko and her father, Saku, had been occupied and couldn't find time to celebrate it. After all, things had been a lot busier in Daisuke Village since the mysterious attacks.

"I'll try to find your favorites." Kamiko promised.

Upon finding a good place to find the perfect flowers, Kamiko saw a little girl playing where some daisies were growing. "Hey!" Kamiko called, trying to grab the child's attention. "Where are your parents?"

The girl didn't give a reply. Instead, she started running, heading for the forest. Not that Kamiko didn't know her way around there, of course. She chased after her. "Wait, that's not safe if you're alone!" Kamiko warned. The girl may not have heard, or she didn't care, because she kept running deeper and deeper into the heart of the woods.

"Stop!" Kamiko pounced onto the girl to stop her, but instead, the child disappeared in a puff of smoke and she landed in the grass.

"Well, I guess Daisuke parents should teach their children to be wary of strangers, no matter how harmless they appear."

The speaker was a large tan man with long white hair, tied up with a ninja headband with a circle and a triangle positioned to look like a fish symbol. His body was covered with pouches that must have held several small weapons. On his back was a large sword, along with who-knows-what-else.

"…" Kamiko couldn't breathe. This was one of the ninja that were attacking her village, it had to be! By the looks of it, she was their next target.

"Hm. You don't seem to value your life enough. Why don't you scream?"

Why hadn't she screamed? Was it out of fear that she would only die sooner? "Why?" Kamiko asked, her voice cracking. "Why are you doing this?"

The ninja chuckled. "If I told you, you wouldn't live long enough to comprehend."

He raised his sword above his head, ready to strike down. Kamiko hid her face, not willing to see her own death. "Mother…"

There was a swift force that pushed Kamiko aside. She heard the ninja snarl with frustration, and felt a pair of arms hold her upright. "Maito Gai?" She asked, still afraid to open her eyes. She clung onto the figure that had saved her.

"My teammate? He's with your friend Lee at the moment. The name's Tetsu."

"Tetsu…" Kamiko opened her eyes to see the familiar ninja that had followed Gai and Fuji into Daisuke. He didn't look as strong as Gai. But Tetsu had other talents, as he was about to demonstrate.

"A Genin from the Leaf Village? This is all that was sent out to protect Daisuke? Our plans will be easier to carry out than we thought."

"Plans?" Kamiko's eyes shot up with fear, but it was ignored.

"Heh." Tetsu smirked, and bit his thumb. It was too fast for Kamiko to grasp, but soon there was another cloud of smoke, and a large white rat had appeared. Tetsu formed several other hand signs, and cried out, "Rodent Swarm no Jutsu!" and several identical rats joined the original.

"Wha-what's this? Stupid boy." The ninja got his sword ready, and started slashing away at the rats.

"Let's go." Tetsu grabbed Kamiko's hands and in a small "Puff!" they were gone.

After a long time of struggling, the enemy ninja had finally slain or frightened the rats. When he looked for his opponent he noticed the rats were only a diversion. "Clever."

"Where do you live?"

Kamiko's eyebrows shot up. "Huh?"

"So I can make sure you don't get ambushed on the way over to your house. Sheesh." Tetsu sighed. He hadn't stuck around with his teammates that afternoon, only because he disliked curry. Instead he managed to save a villager. How successful.

"Oh. Well, it's only down the road and to the left." She smiled. "Thanks for saving me, you know."

"No sweat." Tetsu yawned. "What were you doing down there, anyway?"

"I was getting flowers for my mom. My father still wants us to celebrate her birthday every year a memorial to her life."

"So she's gone?"

"Yeah. It was one of them- those people like that guy you fought."

"A ninja from the River Village…" Tetsu seemed thoughtful. "You know, those guys have never been so violent before. I'm going to tell sensei and the others about this. The River Nin must be hiding in the forest."