I don't own Naruto.

Chapter Two: Are You Afraid of the Dark?

I hate myself. I hate everyone. And most of all, I hate my father. Father, heh, he never admits to having a daughter. Sure, he could dress me up, keep my hair short and pass me off as a pretty boy to everyone. But I guess that this is a secret one can never keep. How foolish of him, he should have killed the assistant too. Then, no one would have found out. It doesn't matter anymore, does it? Now that he's dead… and here I am.

Kyoshi quickly broke from her thoughts and averted her eyes when she heard the door opened.

"How are you feeling?" Tsunade asked the slender girl seated at the edge of her bed.

"I'm feeling… rather well now." Kyoshi stood up quickly and walked silently towards the fifth Hokage. "I greatly appreciate your hospitality," she made a graceful bow and eyed Tsunade, waiting for her to respond.

Why is she so weary of me? She eyes me like an enemy expecting an offensive.

"There is no need to be afraid of me. I am not here to harm you," the Hokage said sincerely. Kyoshi's shoulders relaxed but she maintained her weary glance.

"I have a request, is it possible that a stay here?"

"Until you're ready to go? Of course," the elder woman replied, smiling warmly.

"No, I meant… I want to make this my home," Kyoshi said in a quiet voice.

"Oh…I shall consider your request. Right now, you should have some food and rest." With that, the fifth Hokage was gone, leaving no trace that she had ever been in the room.

"Kakashi," Tsunade looked up from the piles of paper she was going through.

"Yo. You asked to see me?"

"Yes, I need you to find out as much information as you can about Kyoshi."

"The kid Naruto found?" he raised his eyebrows questionably.

"Are you questioning my intentions?"

"Why the sudden interest in her? She probably wants to go back home when…"

"Apparently, she doesn't want to. I want to know why. And who she really is."

"Right, I'll be on my way then," Kakashi replied, giving the fifth Hokage a pseudo salute before heading out.

Neji coughed hard and tasted his blood as it sputtered out of his mouth. While he loved the fluid movements of the gentle fist, he hated being the victim of one. He looked up in a daze; Hinata was apologizing for the third time today. She's getting so much better. She is going to surpass me at this rate. It was strange to imagine that such a timid, gentle and quiet girl would make him bleed. Hinata waved frantically in front of her cousin's face, she hoped that she did not hit him too hard. Neji grinned; it was still the same old Hinata, worried about getting anyone hurt. It was good that she trained to become a medical nin, but her gentle fist could cause grievous pain as what Neji had just experienced. The boy got up promptly, shoving his worried cousin aside and then signaled to her to attack again. She readied her stance and moved quickly towards him when they were rudely interrupted.

"Hinata-Chan!" Naruto called out, leaping of the Hyuuga mansion's wall and swiftly landing directly onto Neji.

"Hinata-Chan… you train so hard. How about we have some ramen? I bet you must be hungry!" Naruto asked giving the Hyuuga heir his trademark spastic grin. Hinata began to blush deeply and nodded her head ever so slightly. Same old Hinata.

"Oi, Naruto you idiot. Get the hell off me!" Neji called out from beneath the blonde ninja's feet.

"Hey, Neji. What are you doing hiding down there? Sorry, I didn't see you. Are you joining us for ramen?"

Neji finally got up; wiping the dust off his clothes, he agreed to tag along. It was not that he liked the company of Naruto that much; he just wanted to make sure that the brat would not have a chance to get close to Hinata. After all, she was the Hyuuga heir and he was just, well, Naruto.

Itachi watched from the cover of the shadows as a certain noisy blonde ninja walked out of the Hyuuga mansion with two Hyuuga clan members. Funny that the proud Hyuuga clan would associate with such… company. Or do they also seek the same power as I have? Itachi followed the trio from a distance, watching them eat ramen. Damn, I'm hungry. What I would give for a hot bowl of ramen right now. The raven-haired man frowned, the growling of his stomach was sure to give him away to any trained ninja. He could probably disguise himself or do a henge to join them, but that would be too risky. To hell with following them, I'm going to have my bowl of ramen right now. Naruto's so loud; I should be able to find him again. Itachi then left undetected.

Sasuke quietly slipped into the room. She was standing by the window looking out, deep in thought. He thought about how ridiculous he must have acted the day before, running away like a coward. He was furious with himself, why should he be so afraid of a weak girl like her who now left her back unguarded. Anyone could just strike her down and kill her now.

"Why are you just standing there?" She suddenly spoke, not looking at him. He almost jumped at her voice; shame immediately overwhelmed him as it was not her but him that was lost in his own thoughts. He was angry at her, angry because she made him nervous. Nervousness was a sign a weakness and she had made him feel weak. The awkward silence was driving him crazy but still she did not speak.

"So you've recovered?" Sasuke started, trying to make his voice sound as nonchalant as possible, hiding his anger and anxiety.

"Please don't try and act concern. I hate it when people lie," Kyoshi replied coolly, her voice so cold that it gave Sasuke frostbites. The male ninja shuffled his feet uneasily. Was it so easy to tell? Hadn't he masked his feelings? How could this weak girl possibly know anything?

"If you don't like me. Why are you here?" She continued, not taking one glance at him.

"Who are you?" he demanded.

"Why don't you ask Kakashi? You believe what he says, right? Why seek me for answers… when you don't trust me?" Kyoshi turned to him, her pretty face showed no emotion. Sasuke turned his back to her and walk out once again.