Chapter 6

Tsunade was sitting in her office doing some testing on Haruko's blood. She had just put a droplet of something in it when she noticed that it had changed colors, "What…no way." She did a few more tests to confirm her findings and she was completely shocked at what she found, "Shizune, go get Iruka."

- - - -

Iruka slowly followed Shizune into Tsunade's office. She sat at her desk looking sternly at him, "Sit down, please." She said gesturing to a chair in front of her desk. He sat down and Tsunade tapped her fingers together, "I've found out something interesting about that girl."

He swallowed, "Oh?"

"Her DNA matched up with yours. She's your daughter."

"I thought so." He looked at the ground.

"Y-you what?"

"Well, um…"

"Why didn't you tell me about this?"

"Sarutobi-Sama told me to keep it a secret…I didn't want the whole village to know what I'd done…"

"It's alright Iruka; you won't be punished for this." She picked up a large book, "What's her mother's name?"

"Nekosura Hirako…from the mist…"

Tsunade let out a choking cough, "The mist! Could you have done anything more dangerous!" She sighed and flipped through the pages until she came across the name, "Nekosura Hirako, died eleven years ago, two days after her daughter, Haruko, was born. She was branded a traitor before she died." She cleared her throat, "Not the luckiest child is she?"

"She's…Dead?" He put his head in his hands, "She's been all alone all this time…"

Tsunade closed the book and pushed it aside, "Look, she's still young. She still has a good chance to start over. If she agrees to stay in this village for the remainder of her life, she may be forgiven for taking the scroll." Iruka's eyes lit up, "But," She continued, "She will be put into your care and supervision, understood?"

"Yes, of course, Tsunade-Sama."

"You should go and see her, but beware. She may be under genjitsu, don't strain her too much."

- - - -

Iruka was sitting in a chair next to Haruko's bed as she began to stir. He rushed over to her side. She blinked her green eyes a few times, trying to focus on him, "Who…"

"Don't speak, you're lungs have been damaged. I'm Iruka; you're in the hospital in Konoha."

Her eyes narrowed, "Konoha!" She tried to get up but Iruka held her down,

"Calm down, Haruko."

She stopped and stared into his eyes, "How do you know my name?"

"Well, I…I'm…It's not important right now." He sat back down in the chair.

"It is important!"

"No, what's important is you're getting healed up."

She sat up and glared at him, "Tell me, now."

Iruka leaned forward in his chair, remembering Tsunade's warning but wanting to tell her anyway, "I'm…your father."

She looked stunned, "But that…my parents were killed."

"Only one of them."

She began to feel dizzy, "Why would they lie…?" She put her hand on her forehead, "Ugh...My head…" Iruka walked back to her bedside, not quite sure what to tell her, but knowing now that she was definitely under genjitsu, "Lay down." He said, helping her to do so. She looked up at him; her eyes were completely different, almost scared, "What's wrong with me?"

"I don't know." He lied, "On another subject, the Hokage has agreed to let you live…if you agree to stay in our village."

She glanced quickly at him, "You really think it's that easy? They'll hunt me down like a dog if I don't go back."

"But you'll be killed for sure if you do go."

She shuddered at the thought, "I'll think about it." She rolled over, "Maybe."

- - - -

A week later Haruko was about to be released from the hospital. Tsunade was sitting at the edge of her bed; she had just brought her some new clothes, which she had changed into. A purple t-shirt, with the same black fishnet beneath the sleeves, and some black Capri pants. She had even been given her own Konoha headband, but wasn't able to actually take it unless she agreed to stay, "I need to know if you're going to stay here or not."

Haruko turned to her, "I think I will stay…for awhile."

Tsunade was pleased with the answer, she really didn't want to have to throw a child into the prison, "Good, then I'll go and make sure there's a place for you to live for the time being. You'll need to be patient with the other villagers. It may take them awhile to get used to you."

"Right…" She turned to the window. The bright warm sun streamed in. The light breeze blew around her shiny hair. Her hair was styled the same as it had been even with the kunai sticking out.

Tsunade walked to the door and opened it, "You should get yourself acquainted with the village, you'll need to know where things are." She pried her eyes away from the window and followed Tsunade into the hall.