Konohagakure: 13 years ago
Ahiko peaked at the growing bruise forming on her thighs, tracing the edges with her small and slender fingers. She gloomily covered it up with her pants. It was obvious that she would be impeded to walk properly for a while. Ahiko sat in silence on her bed, feeling the familiar rumble of her stomach. Tiptoeing towards the door of her bedroom, she peaked down the long corridor to her adoptive parents room, despite the pitch black darkness that engulfed the hallway. When she was reassured that they were sound asleep, Ahiko slowly made her way to the kitchen of their apartment. This became a nightly routine for Ahiko. She did whatever she wanted to do at night, and stayed out of her parents way in daylight. Do not get her wrong, she was completely fine with doing this, in fact, she was happy. She never knew her biological parents, since she was an infant when they passed away. Being only 6, she was not permitted to entering the academy, thus not having any sort of friends. She did not go outside often, but when she did it would always be late at night, so she really did not see anyone on the streets of Konoha. She was grateful for her parents, despite the torturous physical and mental abuse she had to face. They were the only people she knew in her whole life.
When she really thought about it, she knew nothing about her parent's lives. Not their career, or even their favorite food. She assumed they worked an important job though because they would leave in the morning and wouldn't be back home until the evening everyday, but she wasn't sure. It twisted her heart when she thought of them. She loved them dearly, holding on to the only people she ever had in her life, however, it seemed this feeling wasn't mutual.
Once Ahiko made her way to the kitchen, she took a small slice of bread from the pantry, sitting on the cold tiles of the floor and eating in deafening silence. Slowly, her hunger diminished, despite the rather small meal. After finishing the poor excuse of a snack, she decided to turn in for the night. Making her way to her bedroom, Ahiko stopped halfway to glance back at her parents bedroom. She tiptoed over to their room, slowly opening the door. Just as soon as she did, she immediately regretted ever going to her parents bedroom. What laid in front of Ahiko would forever be haunting her dreams. The skulls of them had been cracked wide open with blood and organs spilling out. It was truly a horrendous sight.
Ahiko felt the urge to throw up, her knees hitting the floor with a small 'thud'. The only sounds that could be heard were the retches of the 5 year old. Wiping away at her mouth, she looked back up in time to see a strange man with eyes she had never seen before staring back at her with a taunting look. The man had long black hair tied back and a long black kimono-looking robe. Ahiko whimpered in sadness. "Why...?" She hoarsely said, tears gathering at the ends of her eyes. The man only turned around and headed to the window of the bedroom, then stopped again. He tilted his head to address the girl, his eyes turning into an intense shade of red she had never seen before. He smirked, snarling in the worst ways evil. "I know who you are, little one. I know what you're truly capable of. Seek vengeance, and you shall find me" The mans smirk knotted Ahiko's stomach a million times. "Until we meet again, little one." And just like that, the man had flickered away into the cold night, leaving the girl in the very scene that would plague every aspect of her life.
X
Footsteps echoed through the semi-bare shops of Konohagakure, the heavy rain pattering against Ahiko's luscious, curly strands. With nothing but a cotton jacket and some leggings on, she picked up her pace, her hopes reaching an all time high. She had ran into Shikamaru earlier while heading to her favorite Manju shop, mumbling something about how Kakashi was just about to call her in for something important. Already having an idea of what it could be, she dashed away, failing to hear his sudden remarks.
Seeing the Hokage tower just a few meters away, she picked up her pace even more. Stampeding through the corridor leading to Kakashi's office, Ahiko ran bumped into someone. She stumbled back, panting and huffing, desperation flaring her emotions. "For Kami's sake Ahiko, why are you soaking wet?" Tsunade's booming voice rang in Ahiko's ear. She looked up at Tsunade with a disturbed expression. Tsunade lowered her voice and spoke in a more gentle tone at the sight, "I assume that you heard Kakashi was calling you in?". Sighing, Ahiko nodded. "Yeah, and I think I have an idea of what it could be." Tsunade says nothing more, gesturing for Ahiko to follow her. She lead her to the door of Kakashi's office, allowing Ahiko to burst through the doors. As soon as she did so, Ahiko grimaced at the numerous stacks of paperwork piled on his desk. The look on Kakashi's face showed Ahiko that he was expecting her to react this way. "Ah Ahiko, I assume you bumped into Shikamaru? How have you been?" He questioned tilting his head to the right, silently acknowledging Tsunade. "Kakashi-sensei..." Ahiko exasperatedly said, she knew he was stalling. "Okay okay, I get it" he raises his hands in surrender. "Alright, well, I've had a few meetings with the council discussing Sasuke's presumed release date" he paused, raking his eyes over her soaked body. "I've - somehow - convinced them to release Sasuke in one week, on one condition. He must not use any chakra and carry weapons, and he will have an assigned Officer he needs to report to every week".
Ahiko stood there, utterly shocked. 'Was it really that easy?' She thought. Ahiko unconsciously took a step backwards, totally catching both Tsunade and Kakashi off guard. They glanced at each other with a look of worry plastered on their faces. Out of all the reactions they saw coming, they did not expect that. Sensing her questions, Kakashi spoke again. "It was difficult to convince the council, do not get me wrong, however as you know Sasuke was of great disposal to Konohagakure for his avail in the shinobi war. I simply added a few other details to fully convince them" Kakashi crinkled his eyes in what appeared to be a comforting smile. Ahiko didn't know what to say. She suddenly felt very nauseous. "Can I be the one to inform Naruto?" She asked wobbling closer to Kakashi's desk. Kakashi nodded, bewildered that that was her only question. " I see no reason to object. I will explain the details to the both of you tomorrow, same time."
Reality washes over her, crashing into her senses. Team 7 was finally going to be back together! But was she really ready to see him after that day on the battlefield? Ahiko bowed, showing her appreciation, feeling even more sicker. Tsunade noticed this, furrowing her eyebrows in concentration. "Ahiko, are you feeling okay?" She nodded, immediately regretting it afterwards, a pounding headache starting to form. " I uh, need to go, thank you Kakashi-sama and Tsunade-sama for your help." She practically bursted through the door, not even waiting for Kakashi or Tsunade to respond.
Ahiko started to sprint once again. She had to find Naruto as soon as possible. She made a mental checklist of the possible places he could be at. Ichiraku, the training grounds, her apartment, were all possibilities. She decided to go to the place closest to the Hokage tower. Ahiko panted heavily, unaware of the feelings swirling inside of her. She needed to find Naruto right away. Nearing the training grounds where she knew he enjoyed sparring, she couldn't believe her luck as a spurt of blond flashes before her. She finally slowed her pace, panting moderately. She thanked Kami for her amazing stamina she managed to build up all these years. It really did come in handy at times like these.
"Naruto!" She called out to him in desperation. He spun around almost immediately, seeming concerned at the tone of her voice. He panted with sweat running down his temples "What's up Ahiko-chan, are you o-" you took long strides, standing right in front of him. "Kakashi-sensei, along with the council, finally approved Sasuke to be released..." she paused, feeling nauseous once more. On the contrary, Naruto's eyes lit up like flames in the dark. "No way - your kidding right? What did Kakashi-sensei do to convince the council so easily?" "He told them of Sasuke's help in the fight with Kaguya" Ahiko couldn't even say his name without a small pang of sadness hitting her chest. Even saying his name apparently shook her up. The light in Naruto's eyes slowly died down. "There's got to be some sort of condition, right?" He asked, stepping towards the girl, towering her slightly shaking figure. "Well, he can't use chakra for anything at all, and he has to report back to an Officer about everything he has done every once a week".
They stood silently in the rain, the sound of the pitter-patter calming the two. Comfortable with the silence, Ahiko sighed quietly. "Ahiko, I know somethings wrong, you seem weird. Is everything really okay?" He asked suddenly, snapping Ahiko out of her trance. She kept silent, just gazing up at him with a blank expression. She knew he was serious when he didn't use his common endearment after he said her name. She opened her mouth, then closed it, feeling tears welling up. Of course, it would be difficult for anyone to tell in the soaking rain. Apparently, Naruto was an exception. "Hey hey it's okay, I got you" he pushed her against his wet and sweaty chest, not caring if neither of them were drenched. After a while of just holding her, he decided to speak up "Tell me" Naruto asked with a much more gentle voice. She finally responded, purposely muffling her words in his chest. "I'm scared to see him again" was enough to make Naruto understand volumes. He widened his eyes in shock. 'So that's what it is'. He wrapped his arms around her tighter than before, finally understanding her weird behavior. "Ahiko-chan, he won't ever go anywhere anymore, he'll stay right here with us, no ones taking him away again. I won't let it happen like it did that day." He tried his best to comfort her, hating to see her all depressed like this. Ahiko snuggled closer. "I know, I'm sorry." She sniffled, feeling pathetic of her feelings. "Don't you dare apologize, Ahiko-chan. Everything will be fine, I promise." If it was even possible, it started to rain even more than before. The chill of the rain sent a very noticeable shiver down her spine. 'Maybe he's right', she thought. 'Maybe everything will be all right'.
X
Sunagakure; 6 days till Sasuke's release
The stark difference between the weather of Konoha and Suna always seemed to baffle Ahiko. While the Leaf usually had low temperatures and an atmosphere with a lot of moisture, Sunagakure was always humid and very, very hot. Ahiko was on her way, along with the small medical-nin she gathered, to Suna to aid the minor outbreak they had. Sunagakure was always the village that depended on others when it came to medical issues due to the financial state of the village. It is known that Konohagakure was wealthy and well known for it's outstanding shinobi and successes throughout the 4th war. And it was known by everyone that a particularly powerful and wealthy village in a country would always leave another village in that same country living on the brink of poverty. There had to be balance in order to avoid something like that. It was no wonder the Kazekage had to rely on Konoha for a mere outbreak of the flu. Ahiko made sure to remember to discuss this issue with Kakashi when she got back. What did concern Ahiko, however, was one individual patient she seemed to worry about. Yua, a small, skinny little girl, aged only 6, had shown signs of more severe symptoms of the flu. Ahiko used her chakra to cleanse a quarter of the virus from her system from her previous trip to Suna, but she feared the relief would only be temporary.
Ahiko had known the girl before, she was neglected at home, just like Ahiko was when she was younger. It was oddly strange that Yua also had no memories of her biological family. The first time she found her was 2 years ago, when she was travelling to Suna during the war. Ahiko had been looking for Shizune to discuss on medical terms, and when she found her, Yua's small fragile body looked skeleton-like, ravaging for food in the trash. Ahiko immediately took her into the nearest hospital, and took care of her as if she were her own child. At first, Ahiko made sure she was hydrated and no longer hungry. She spent the majority of her free time looking for a good caretaker for Yua, as she knew she would be to busy to nurture a young child during the ages of war. Ahiko wanted civilians particularly to take care of Yua because of the horror one would endure in the ninja world. She feared that Yua would become like Sasuke. All power-hungry, and filled to the brim with a hatred burning so bright, it's blinding. It scared her immensely. Ahiko had experienced her best friend and teammate go through this path. How could she live with herself if another person she dearly loved followed this trail?
Ahiko did all that she could to help the little girl because she saw herself in those big hazel eyes of hers. The glint of happiness every kid possessed at Yua's age seemed to be non-existent. She reminded Ahiko of her childhood. No child should ever go through that. She couldn't bare to see anyone suffer the same way she did.
The small little girl had beautiful long brown hair that curled at the ends, big chocolate brown eyes and a natural blush on her cheeks that indicated sensitive health. Poor Yua did not talk much, she had seen too much to stay an innocent child. The girl was not a cold person, rather she just did not know formalities, though Ahiko was able to teach her a few things. Quite frankly, Yua and Ahiko had gotten real close, despite living in different villages. In fact, Naruto and Kakashi knew her quite well too. Especially Naruto, since he was the sort of person to get along with most people. Before Ahiko had found a nice woman to take care of Yua, when Ahiko worked a late shift at the hospital, Naruto would usually accommodate Yua and make sure she was okay. She wondered if she could introduce Sasuke to Yua when he was released.
"Ahiko-san, we are here" one of Ahiko's medical ninja she had chosen to accompany her spoke up with an exhausted expression. Ahiko blinked and turned around to face her team. With a determined nod, she picked up her pace through the sand and stopped. Suddenly feeling joyful, Ahiko waved at the familiar shinobi who stood waiting for her team. "Temari, Kankuro" she wrinkled her nose in a pleasant smile. "I hope your journey was well?" Kankuro greeted. "Yes, it was, except for the humid temperatures" She grinned. Temari returned her appreciation with a nice hug before stopping halfway in blunt disgust. Smirking, Temari replied, "You guys seem worn out. Kankuro, show Ahiko and her team their hotel rooms and the hospital." Kankuro groaned, but obliged. "Kazekage's orders, not mine" Temari shrugged then turned back towards Ahiko. "On Gaara's orders, every med-nin will be under your direct command. If there is anything at all that you need, you know where to find Kankuro and I." Ahiko nodded, dipping her head in acknowledgment.
"Okay! As soon as we head to the hotel, we are to meet at the doors of the hospital in 20 minutes." She cheerfully turned around to her team. Clasping her hands together, Ahiko and her team followed behind Kankuro towards the busy streets of Sunagakure.