If?

Chapter 10

Disclaimer: No, I don't own Naruto, no matter how much I wish I did… oh well…

A few brief but rather loud raps to the door, had a woman scrambling out of her bed. With a kunai in hand, just in case, she made her way quickly and quietly to the front door. It would not be pleasant for anyone if the little bundle of joy in the back of the house woke up from the noise. Asai was a handful when he was fully rested, when he was tired, then he turned into an absolute nightmare.

When she arrived at the front door she wrenched it open with such force the unlucky people on the other side took a swift step back. She glared furiously at two of the members of the old genin team she taught before they grew up and became capable ANBU.

"Why in the world do you have to cause so much blasted noise in the middle of the night Kiba!" Kurenai whispered angrily. "Are you trying to wake Asai and make my life difficult?"

"Neh, sorry Kurenai-sensei. I wasn't trying to…" said Kiba, as he chuckled guiltily.

Shino decided now was the time to finally step in. "We are actually here on orders from the Hokage."

Shino then stepped aside to allow Kurenai to finally see Ren standing behind the two men. Although there wasn't much too really see, for Ren stood behind the two men with her arms crossed and her back turned to the little 'reunion'. She refused to cooperate with this whole farce. She was certainly not going to become all buddy-buddy with these people. She would do her time and then get the hell out. But Kurenai spared only a glance at the back of this unknown woman, and then she turned her questioning gaze to Shino with a look that clearly demanded an answer.

"Who is she?" Kurenai asked bluntly, obviously not in the mood to stand there all night playing twenty questions.

"She is a valuable asset to the village and her welfare has created a shared interest among many people." Shino said in a monotone voice, directly quoting/ mocking the Hokage.

Kurenai only raised her eyebrow at Shino's statement. She knew full well that Shino was evading the question, or at least telling her without actually saying it that all would be explained at a later date. Probably out of earshot of the girl. It is rather rude to talk about someone when they are standing right there.

Kiba, currently feeling left out of the conversation and not enjoying it one bit decided to elaborate. "The Hokage asks that you house Ren for the night as well as escort her to the Hokage tower at 10 am."

Kurenai simply bowed her head and sighed. 'Great, a babysitting mission…' She thought to herself. She turned her head to get another look at her new 'charge'. 'Long hair, good posture, bit of an attitude… great… just great…'

"Fine," Kurenai said suddenly, "hey, girl! Are you even going to look at me?"

Ren simply turned her head to the side just a touch to look out of the corner of her eye at the abrasive woman. It only took a second for her to take in Kurenai's appearance. 'Dark, rather curly hair, rumpled clothes… obviously we woke her up. What the…? Are her eyes seriously red? Creepy…' Ren tilted her head up just the slightest and sniffed in a very arrogant fashion before turning to fully face the woman.

"My name is not girl, thank you very much. It's Ren, and I expect to be addressed as such." She said in a very haughty voice.

Kurenai's eyebrows shot up in surprise before coming down to form a sharp and angry expression. "Excuse me? I'm afraid I didn't know your name, because it is customarily polite for a person to introduce themselves instead of standing away from the group with their back turned. It is especially rude when one of those people is willing to put a roof over your head and food in your mouth."

"I never asked for you to do such a thing, nor do I really care what is customarily polite at this certain point in time, because believe it or not, I don't really have a choice as to where I am staying." Ren replied in a tight voice.

Kiba growled at Ren's display of disrespect and cut into the argument. "You don't have to stay here you know." He said angrily.

"Kurenai-sensei is being kind enough to allow you to stay with her instead of in a prison cell." Shino added in as well. "But we can quickly remedy the situation if you are so opposed to staying here."

Ren glared at the lot of them and marched her way towards the group and got right into Kurenai's face.

"Alright, I'll play nice, for now. So, where will I be sleeping, warden?"

"Come, I will show you to your room." Kurenai said as she motioned with her arm for Ren to go ahead of her. She threw a glance back at the two men outside as she shut the door.

This was going to be a long night.

.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.

As she heard the door behind her close with a soft 'click', Ren finally allowed her shoulders to sag as she let out a heavy sigh. She was in a small room in the back of the house on the second floor. As she and the woman, Kurenai, were walking to the room that Ren would be staying, Ren counted the doors in the hallway. There were four doors, so assuming that one was a bathroom, which meant that it was a three bedroom home. Once again assuming, Ren figured that she was placed in the guest bedroom. Why else would the room be almost completely empty except for a double bed, a dresser, and a desk and its matching chair and a small table lamp.

She was silent as she strained listened for Kurenai to walk away from the other side of the door and go back to bed. But no such luck. She heard the stairs creaking as Kurenai made her way back to the small living room they had passed. Of course, this Kurenai must be a shinobi as well, and automatically knew that she had to make sure that Ren couldn't escape.

Ren walked over to the bed and took off her dirty, travel stained clothes. 'Eww… I have been wearing the same clothes for weeks… even if I was able to wash them, they are still gross.' She stripped down to her undergarments and crawled into bed.

As she laid there in bed waiting for sleep to claim her she thought about Hama and Himoro… Were they worried about her? 'Of course they're worried…' She told herself. Is Hama going to be okay without her? Were they looking in town for her? Will they know where to look for me? How soon did they realize she was missing? Have they already given up? These questions and many more flashed through Ren's mind as she slipped silently off into a fitful slumber.

I finally decided to continue with this story after a lot of debating. I still can't believe I lost my notebook with the story in it, but hey, it happens…

I can't remember where I was going with this story, but I will try my best to continue… but I have lost my creative edge.

I am a very ocd person, and it bothers me to leave the story unfinished… but I can't think of where I was going or want the story to go.

Sooooo… I'm asking anyone who reads the story to drop a review with any ideas, or contact me through FF messages. Any ideas would be most appreciated…

ANYWHO… PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!