Chapter 2

Ten Years Later

Ume sat on a branch outside her master's hideout and felt a sudden will to go back. She was never far from his side, but now being out on her own felt…strange. After shaking off the feelings, she jumped to another branch trying to think of ways to spend her time. Orochimaru had told her to go and join another Village as his spy. He specified he wanted her at the Hidden Leaf village, and she couldn't complain. Apparently, his old teammate was the Hokage.

She journeyed all night and day on purpose. The worse she looked when she arrived, the better she could pull off the "attacked nin who got her mind swiped" routine. She had played with the idea of using it, and then perfected it with the help of her sensei. Now, she was going to be put to use.

When she came within three miles of the village, she began to feel weak. She reached up to straighten her headband, a nervous habit of hers, but then realized she left it back in her room. She wouldn't be able to pull off the act if she brought her head protector.

Wearily, she began to walk. She could feel the eyes of guards on her back, but Ume pretended not to notice them. She suddenly collapsed from true exhaustion and let the guards take her body to village.

"I feel like crap," Ume muttered when she woke up on a hospital bed. A young looking blonde woman stood next to her smiling before handing the 15 year old girl a small cup of sake.

"Drink it fast," The blonde warned, and Ume complied. She didn't worry about poison; they had no idea she was from the sound village. When finished, she set the cup down before looking at the woman. "Who are you?"

"Well…" Ume looked up as if she were trying to remember something. "I- I don't know."

"Do you know your name?"

"Just…Ume."

"Alright, that's a start. When the nurses removed your clothing they found ninja weapons on you, so you must be a nin. Are you sure you can't remember anything?"

"Yes, just my name."

"There must be some new ninja out there with a mind wiping jutsu. I'll have to get a team onto this case. Anyways, you're welcome to stay in Konoha for as long as you like, or at least until you regain your memory."

"Wait! Who are you?"

The blonde woman looked startled that were was no trace of weakness in the voice. She must be very confident, she smiled. "Tsunade. I'm the Hokage of this village."

"Okay, then thank you ma'am." She bowed her head. "May I make a request?"

"Of course."

"I'd like to be allowed to train. If I'm a ninja, then my body probably remembers all the teqniques I learned before even though my mind may have forgotten."

"But of course. There are training areas always available, and perhaps I can find o jounin to help you. Several of our very best have minor injuries, but can watch you for a few weeks."

"Thank you that would be nice." Ume smiled politely when she left. She wanted to start laughing, but she bottled up her feelings and looked at the pile of clothing sitting on that chair. It was all new, so her old stuff was probably very worn out.

Moments after dressing she began to brush her waist length brown hair. When satisfied with her appearance, she turned to the door and threw it open. A surprised nurse jumped back, and then smiled. "Hokage-sama has found a suitable jounin for you to work with. Here he- SIR!"

A blonde haired boy in a wheel chair raced down the corridor going as fast as his ride would allow. Just as he was passing by Ume reached out and grabbed one of the handles. She steadied it, and stopped it without moving more than a foot.

"Naruto, please don't do that." A man's voice said cheerfully from behind her. "You're scaring the nurses."

"But Kakashi-sensei!" The blond one whined. He looked a year or two older than Ume, but he acted like a 5 year old. "How am I supposed to improve if I'm stuck in a hospital like this? I have to keep training to get Sasuke back!"

Ume wondered how he knew Sasuke, and then she remembered one of the few conversations she had with him. Naruto was an idiot on his squad along with Sakura, who had too many brains not put to work because she was always staring at him, and the team leader an incredible ninja Kakashi. He was the only part of the team that Sasuke had said anything positive about, so he must have respected him.

"We'll get him back, don't worry. If you break your legs again, how are you going to do that then?" He turned on his crutches to look at Ume. "You must be the girl without a memory. Hi." He smiled, or at least she thought he did. She couldn't tell because of the mask covering his lower face. "I'm terribly sorry about-"

"NARUTO!" A girl's voice screamed throughout the hospital. The blond boy cowered in his wheelchair as a pink haired girl raced around a corner. "LOOK WHAT YOU DID!"

"I- made you angry?"

"YES! You broke my arm just because of that stupid trick. Now we'll have to take a week off from training because of you."

"Sakura, calm down…" Kakashi put his hands up, but the girl's rage didn't stop until she saw Ume staring at her in chock.

"Who's she?" Sakura asked.

"Sasuke's temporary replacement." Kakashi smiled, or at least Ume was pretty sure it was a smile.