My Eyes, Your Eyes

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto; if I did, Sasuke would be a SASKUATCH!

Maria's POV

'Ouch. My head…no, my whole body is throbbing with pain. Urgh, I wonder how Val is doing…gasp…VAL!'

I lifted myself from what I thought was the Earth, only to be stricken with pain and collapse back down on a…futon? I opened my eyes and looked to my surroundings; I was in a hospital. Surely MY village wouldn't take me back; they'd probably kill me on the spot. Wait a minute…could this be-

Suddenly, two women came through the door to my hospital room; one had very pretty pink hair, whilst the other one was a blonde head… OMG! Did she get a boob implant? Ewwww! Anyway, that aside, the two were surprised to find me awake,

"Welcome to the conscious world," the blonde one greeted with a smile on her face, "When Kurenai found you three weeks ago, they thought you were a goner."

My eyes widened,

"THREE WEEKS!" I screamed at the top of my somewhat tired lungs, "OH my GOD! I, how, when did, where's Val!" I screamed yet again.

"Val?" the strawberry top questioned, "OH! You must mean that little wolf pup, she's fine; she's being taken care of by the best vet in Konoha."

My face lit up at those words; Val was safe, AND I WAS IN KONOHA! I was truly eager to see how Val was, so I tried to scoot my leg to the edge of the bed in an attempt to prepare my body to stand; but to no avail, my body struck with another shot of pain,

"Don't get up;" the strawberry pleaded/ordered, "Your body still needs to recover."

"Sakura is right, um," the blondie added

"Maria"

"Maria, Sakura is right; your body is too weak from your wounds. Not only did you injure yourself from what we presume is a fight, but your muscles were so over worked; we figured you ran for days!" the blonde remarked, she brought herself to the edge of my hospital bed and smiled a relaxing smile, "I'm the Godaime; the present Hokage of Konoha. This is my student; Haruno Sakura," Sakura waved at me, I managed to curve my lips to create a greeting smile; stung like hell though.

"Tsunade-sama," Sakura began, "Why don't you return to your office, I'll talk to Maria for a while." The Godaime smiled at her then left the room. Sakura then came closer to me and sat on a chair beside my bed. She was smiling a lot; how could she trust me so, shouldn't she be wondering who I was, where I was from, why I was here?

"Did you wish to ask me something?" I began; she looked to me and loosened her smile,

"Maria, what exactly happened to you? When Kurenai brought you here; you were in such bad shape, I thought you were already dead!" Was I really that bad?

"Well, I was attacked. Val and I aren't exactly the pride and joy of my village you know. I don't know why, but the villagers constantly looked to me like I was a freak, Val too. They diverted their attention to Val more though," I paused; Sakura seemed a tad interested in my tale, "I was the only one who went near Val; others ran at the mere sight of her…just because she is different…"

"Wait, so you were attacked because your wolf was despised?" Sakura interrupted in shock, I ignored her and continued,

"Val was considered a freak; I was too since I was 'crazy' enough to even enjoy her company," thinking this made my fist shake; sure it hurt my tired muscles, but those bastards can go to hell! "All this happened because Val was attacked. I defended her. The Kaze didn't find my act approving, so he exiled us; and where I come from, when you're banished, you don't just pack up and leave. Your clan name is removed from your own so the clan doesn't receive a bad image then are stripped of all of you own, excluding your clothing and headband if acquired, then you are kicked out…literally."

Sakura stared at me wide eyed; her jaw slightly hung from the rest of her skull.

"Um, Maria, what exactly is it about Val that is so despicable?" I froze for a moment, sighed, then decided to answer her question,

"When you found Val and I; did you see what color Val was?"

"Yes, she was pure black"

"Sigh… usually, most canines have one set of fur…Val doesn't." Sakura's eyes looked like they were about to pop out of their sockets at any moment, "Her fur changes color with her emotions; when she is in pain, her fur turns fully black. When she is happy; her black coat shows golden stripes along her back. When she is angry; her markings turn a blood red." Sakura's eyes narrowed a little; I could tell she was in thought.

"How can fur change scare your village to such an extent?" Sakura questioned after a silence. I really didn't want to say; it kills me inside to think about it. But If I am to be trusted, I must.

"Sigh…when she turns blood red…she grows in size. Not just a little; she grows 240 times her size." Sakura then gave me her wide eyed stare again; don't her eyes hurt form doing that? Anyway, "That, and when she turns red; she becomes a…" I froze there; I couldn't bear to say it, my heart was already beginning to clench at the thought of it, but I had to…I had to… "…a…a…sigh…a monster…" I could feel my heart stab itself in pain; Val was no monster! Yet…I just called her one…

Normal POV

Haruno Sakura glared at the girl in the hospital bed; her eyes seemed to sadden. Sakura gave a heartfelt and sorry gaze, though it did seem like a pity smile at the time. Maria let a tear escape from her eyelid; Sakura noticed and brushed it off her face with her thumb. Maria looked up in surprise to find Sakura smiling a reassuring smile.

"Maria-san, don't worry about it; I saw her with my own two eyes, no monster in sight." Maria felt her heart relax a little, "I need to see Tsunade-sama. Hey Maria, don't worry, you'll be one of us in no time." Maria's face lit up at those words,

"REALLY! THANK YOU SAKURA-CHAN!" Maria replied her voice so full of hope and gratitude; it would kill someone to say no.

Four days later, Maria was fully rested and could leave the hospital. Her first order of business was to greet the Hokage and to enquire about her citizenship, the next was to pick up Val, then look for some decent clothing since her originals were heavily torn and dyed red.

Maria stopped in front of a large building; it faced a beautiful monument with faces carved in to it. It truly was a beautiful sight to behold.

Maria walked nervously up the stairs in the building; what if the Godaime won't accept her or Val? Where were they to go then? Maria began sweating nervously as these negative thoughts multiplied in her mind. Thankfully, a familiar face was in front of the Hokage's door.

"H-hello Sakura-chan" Maria greeted nervously,

"Hi Maria-chan. You look like you just saw a ghost. You're nervous huh?" Maria nodded slowly, Sakura smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry Maria-chan, you'll do fine. Besides, I'm gonna be right outside if you need me." Sakura finished with a smile. Maria smiled back and nodded now that her courage was restored. Sakura stepped to one side and opened the door for Maria. Maria entered the room; it was big! Maria took a couple of steps forward, paused then waited for the Godaime to speak. Tsunade was sitting at her desk; her chair was facing the monument. Maria waited patiently for five minutes with out a stir, soon, Tsunade let out a chuckle which confused Maria a little.

"You're very patient Maria-chan," Tsunade spoke, "I expected for you to cough, speak, whistle or something to get my attention. You're very patient indeed." Tsunade then spun around in her chair to face Maria who was smiling happily due to the comment, "Anyway, Sakura told me about your little mishap earlier; it's completely understandable to protect someone important to you. Is this wolf important to you?" Maria began nodding furiously at that comment.

"Yes, indeed she is Hokage-sama." Maria added politely. Tsunade smirked approvingly,

"So far, the information I have gathered is that you are: a VERY young jounin, once a member of the Village of the Hidden Rain, Val is your pet/fighting partner, you are dedicated to those who are important to you and your tolerance level is surprisingly high…" There was a small pause, then a smile appeared on Tsunade's face, "You are to discard your Hidden Rain headband for safety reasons, only to have it be replaced by that of the Hidden Leaf. Your title will remain jounin, no retests needed" Maria's face lit up, Tsunade then opened a drawer from her desk and handed Maria a bag of money. Maria's face was so happy, it would make even the tightest person smile. Maria then looked up to Tsunade and gave her a hug! Tsunade was taken back by this, but smiled down at the smile bloomed girl.

Maria released her grip from Tsunade then inquired where to find Val. Tsunade showed Maria to the window and pointed to the Inuzuka clan abode. Maria thanked Tsunade once again then bounded out the door. Tsunade laughed to herself,

'She's the adorable version of Naruto. With a lot more common sense…'

Maria happily strode down the roads of Konoha with her amazing smile still plastered on her face. She couldn't believe how lucky she was. Maria soon reached the Inuzuka clan abode; she stared at it in awe.

'It's so…beautiful. Their garden is so nice! The flowers smell great! Huh? Wait a second…I smell something, other than flowers…CANINES! Of course! Inu means dog! Man, I'm slow today!' Maria chuckled to herself then walked to the door of the abode. She introduced herself and her purpose to the guards and was escorted in by one. Maria was 'greeted' by a boy in a grey jacket attempting to bolt out the door. He instantly collided into Maria, both of them were sent flying.

Maria landed on her feet whilst the boy landed on his backside. Maria giggled at the boy who was now giving her an angry glare. Maria, who was still giggling, walked over to the boy and offered a hand up.

"I don't need your help!" he snapped, lifting himself from the ground. Maria took her hand back and apologized. The boy huffed,

"Whatever…"

Maria felt somewhat offended, but refused to show it. There was a small silence until Maria felt something tickle her chest,

"OH! Is he yours?" Maria inquired. The boy looked to her confused,

"Is what mine?"

Maria pulled out a little white puppy from her arms, the boy went wide eyed,

"When did he-"

"I caught him when we collided. He was shaking a little so I tried to calm him a little." Maria interrupted. The boy glared at her then took back the pup. Maria saddened a little, this time, her emotions were clear. The boy noticed then loosened up,

"Well, thanks. Hi, the name's Inuzuka Kiba." Kiba remarked and held out his hand. Maria's head snapped up and cast her eyes to his face; it had a kawaii grin plastered on it,

'Cute grin…'

Maria then took his hand and shook it and introduced herself. She also explained her purpose for her being in the abode. Kiba looked to her with shock,

"You're that girl!"

"Huh?" Maria inquired

"That girl: the one who was discovered a month ago outside the Konoha border. MAN! When sensei told us of your injuries, we thought you would…ya know…" Kiba put his hand to his throat, Maria got the message.

"Yea, well, how's Val doing?"

"Um, Val?"

"My wolf" Maria, well, chuckled. Kiba then placed his hand behind his head and shrugged.

"My sister's taking care of her. I'd take you to her myself, but I'm late to practice, Sorry Maria-san" Kiba apologized. Maria nodded an O.K. then watched Kiba leave,

'Hmph…he really is kawaii…'