'Thoughts/Signing'

"Speaking"

"Seal Symbols/Words"

Flashback

A/N: After realizing that my story didn't follow the timeline correctly, I've decided to go back and edit some things.

Disclaimer: I own nothing of Masashi Kishimoto. Enjoy!

Chapter 2

Hound was trying to focus on anything other than the painful pounding on the side of his head. He knew that they were not going to be able to continue to Konoha at top speed, especially when Crow had a large gash on his thigh, and he himself with a bleeding head injury, and his other two teammates were low on chakra. Knowing of an abandoned house not too far along the outskirts of the capitol, he urged his team forward. Upon arriving at the roof of the house, they looked at each other unsure. In the past, the house was abandoned so many members of Konoha's Anbu would use it as a place to stash weapons and medical supplies in case for emergencies.

Now, it seems, someone had bought the place, and made some major renovations. It had been made into a shop of sorts. The only thing that they recognized was the Hashirama tree used for the shop's logo. Sensing that no one was home, Hound signed for the team to go in.

'Hopefully, the stashes have been left untouched by the renovation,' he thought.

The team decided to slip through the back. Once on the deck, the team took a moment to survey their surroundings. Across the deck's ceiling were small strung up lights that were beginning to turn on. In the middle of the deck was a low square table with six sitting matts surrounding it. A few feet over were wooden steps that went down to a trail of steppingstones that led out to a beautiful garden. Along the left and right perimeter of the fence were a variety of unfamiliar fruit trees, such as a shining blue fruit. The end of the yard was kept unfenced so that you can see out to the forest. Near the edges of the deck were three garden beds with herbs, vegetables, and fruits that looked like the ones sold at Konoha's market but not quite the same. For example, one of the stalls in Konoha sells palm sized tomatoes, but the one in the garden looks the same except they were quite tiny, almost like a cherry sized tomato. In the center of the yard was a pond surrounded by rose bushes in varying colors. One bush had roses that were starting to glow a green color as the sun descended further down the horizon.

Looking back towards the house, Neko popped onto the other side of the sliding door panels with a soft poof. He then unlocked one door panel to let his team in. Looking for a light switch, Neko flicked on the light and the whole team found themselves in the dining room and kitchen area. Tanuki went to go search for medical supplies while Neko and Fox applied pressure to their teammates' wounds. From behind the kitchen island, Tanuki popped up with a medical kit in hand. Hound then signed to the team to be quick since the owner could be back at any moment.

Hound pulled out one of the chairs at the dining table, while Fox helped Crow sit on the floor. Tanuki opened the medical kit and was surprised to see how well stocked it was. Most medical kits only had the basics such as Band-Aids, gauzes, and bandages. This one had all three, plus a splint maker, cotton balls, disposable gloves, as well as other items. It even had the commonly sold chakra pill supplements. Which he thought was unusual since as common as they were, they were highly regulated for shinobi use only. Putting the thought of a possible enemy shinobi living in the house away, Tanuki quickly took the pills out of the medical kit and threw it at Neko. Neko took one look at it and his eyes widened. Reading the directions, Neko handed the correct amount for one adult to each of his teammates. Each one popped it into the back of their mouths.

While Neko was handing out the chakra pill supplements, Tanuki directed Hound to move his mask so that he can look at his head wound. Hound placed his mask beside the medical kit on the table. Tanuki grabbed two clean towels that he had found in the drawers and wet them both with warm water. He took one to began cleaning his captain's head wound of any blood while handing the other one to Fox so she could do the same with Crow's wounds. Neko took on the task to open the packs of bandages from the medical kit. Just as Tanuki was about to take one, they heard sliding doors open. Freezing, they dropped everything and hid in the shadows of the dining room.

They watched as a civilian woman popped her head through the doorway. Tanuki felt relieved that it was a civilian rather than an enemy shinobi. They all flinched as she slowly went towards the bloody mess that they had left behind. There was a small puddle of blood on the floor from Crow's wound, along with some unused bandages and bloody towels on the dinner table and floor. They all stiffened as she went to pick up something white beside the medical kit. There in her tiny hands was a painted white porcelain mask resembling a hound.

From a dark corner up on the ceiling, Hound internally cursed himself for being so careless as he watched the civilian woman below.

Not knowing whether to kill her or not, Tanuki, who was the closest to her was about to sign to his captain, when she called out, "Anbu-san, I think you forgot something." Giving her no response, they watched as she turned the mask over as if to look for something on the inside of the mask. She then placed the mask and any unused bandages into the medical kit. Watching her leave the dining room and into the living room, they quickly followed her, sticking as close to the shadows as possible.

Once in the living room, she turned on the light and placed the medical kit on her coffee table. Keeping it opened, she took the mask with her and went towards the tv stand. The Anbu team watched in curiosity when she pulled out two more medical kits, and two jars that read 'Healing Salve'. They watched her place the items on the coffee table, with the mask on top of the jars. The team watched in wonder as she looked around the room and called out to open air, "Anbu-san, I know at least you and one of your teammate is injured. I will leave everything here for you and your team. Just clean up after yourselves. There's a trashcan in the bathroom in the hallway."

The team watched the civilian woman leave the living room and back into the dining room. Looking to their captain, Hound signed, 'She already knows we're here, might as well use the medical supplies she is freely giving to us.'

Fox signed, 'Possible enemy?'

Hound signed back, 'Negative. Most likely a civilian who's used to seeing shinobi.'

Neko signed, 'How does a civilian woman associate with enough shinobi to know what an Anbu mask looks like?'

Hound narrowed his eyes, but signed, 'Not our prerogative. I will let Minato-sensei know as soon as we are back. Get ready to go in 30. Make it look like we weren't here.'

Everyone nodded.

Ignoring the sound of the oven door closing from the kitchen, they jumped down near the coffee table. Tanuki opened both new medical kits and was shocked to see that both were just as well stocked as the first one. Moving his captain's mask to open one of the jars, Tanuki showed the others an herbal green cream. Directing Hound to come closer, he slowly started applying the healing salve over Hounds head wound. Hound was shocked to no longer feel any pain or that the side of his head had stopped pounding. Tanuki wrapped the wound with the bandages. While Tanuki took care of Hound, Fox focused on Crow, and Neko kept an eye out for the civilian woman. When they had finished cleaning up, a delightful smell wafted from the kitchen and into the living room. Tanuki and Crow found themselves salivating. Neko's stomach grumbled. They all froze as they looked towards the entrance of the living room to see if the civilian woman had heard the sound. After finding that she was not coming to investigate, they all relaxed and turned to glare at Neko. He sheepishly rubbed the side of his head in embarrassment.

Tanuki placed the two medical kits back onto the tv stand, while Neko closed the one on the coffee table. Tanuki placed one healing salve jar back onto the shelf and placed the other into his pack. Hound bent down to grab his mask to put it on, frowning as he thought about why the civilian woman had checked the inside of his mask. Just as they were about to leave the house, a soft voice called out from the kitchen. "Anbu-san, I made dinner if you and your team is hungry. Feel free to grab some. I'll be eating on my deck."

The rest of the team looked to their captain, silently pleading that he would let them stay to eat the wonderful smelling homemade food. When they heard the door panels slide open, a set of plate and cup being placed on a table, they all strained their ears. When the sound of her sitting down was heard, only then did their captain nod his head to let his team eat.

Excited, the team quickly went to the dining room. Being careful to keep an eye on the civilian woman, they paused to analyze her. She was sitting at the low table with her back towards them.

Glancing around her kitchen and dining room, Hound noted that she had cleaned up after the mess that they had previously left behind in their haste to hide. Two of the upper cabinets were left open to display white dinner plates, bowls, and cups. A drawer underneath was opened to show some silverware. The team walked closer to the kitchen island to examine what the civilian woman had cooked. It was something they had never seen before. Inside was what seemed to be tomatoes that were pulverized into a thick liquid. It was then mixed with what looked to be meat, cheese, and mushrooms. The mixture was then put in between layers of flat noodle like sheets. A corner of the pan was missing, presumably taken by the civilian for herself. Beside the pan, was a bowl of sliced toasted bread that smelled like garlic.

Tanuki handed his teammates plates, forks, and cups. Apprehensively, Hound took the spatula beside the pan and took a slice of the mysterious tomato and noodle concoction onto his plate. He then stepped back to curiously gaze back at the civilian woman, moved his mask slightly to reveal his mouth, and slowly took a bite. His eyes lit up as his tastebuds tingled from the flavors. Seeing their captain's reaction, they all quickly grabbed a slice. Hound then reached over to grab a bread covered in garlic and butter. Placing it in his mouth, he internally moaned at the softness of the bread. The others grabbed one as well, though they were not as silent as their captain.

Without turning her head back, the woman softly informed them, "There are drinks in the fridge, if you'd like."

Tanuki looked to Hound, and Hound gave him the go ahead. Opening the fridge, Tanuki found four pitchers. One was filled with a dark brown liquid, another water, another had orange colored juice, and the last one had clear amber liquid. But what caught his eye the most was the three small little pumpkin puree on top of what seemed to be like bread bases on a plate. Curious, he grabbed one to put in his mouth. Accidently letting out a soft moan in pure bliss, he ignored his teammates curious stares and quickly added another pumpkin sweet goodness onto his plate. Taking each pitcher out and placing it on the kitchen island counter, his teammates watched as he picked up each one to smell it.

Then he signed to the others the options that they had. 'There's water, cold tea of some kind, juice of an orange, and juice that smells like apples.'

Hound asked for water. Fox decided to try the cold tea, which was something she had never heard of before. Crow opted for the orange juice, and Neko wanted to try the apple juice. Tanuki opted for the cold tea as well. Once everyone's drinks were poured, Hound watched his team take small sips, before taking big gulps and refilling their cups.

With drinks refilled, everyone began to eat until Crow saw the addition on Tanuki's plate. He then curiously pointed to it.

Tanuki signed, 'A pumpkin dessert of some kind. It's super good. You have to try one.'

Neko then signed, 'You snooped in her fridge.'

Tanuki signed back, 'It's not snooping when it's out in the open.' Stuffing the pumpkin tart into his mouth.

Fox rolled her eyes at her teammates' antics while Hound sent them an eye crinkle.

Everyone was tempted to grab more of the layered noodle tomato dish but hesitated. Until a voice popped up, "Feel free to eat as much as you want."

Eyes widening, Neko signed, 'How did she know?' Everyone shrugged uncaring while they grabbed seconds.

Once everyone was full, they placed their dishes into the sink. Debating whether they should do their dishes, the civilian woman called out, "I'll take care of them."

Giving her one last curious glance, Hound nodded his head and all five disappeared out of her house.

Sora moved her plate to the side and slumped over the table. Smiling to herself, she thought, 'Anbu. They disappear just as fast as they come. Thankfully, I had already made the lasagna the night before. I just needed to bake it.'

Thinking on her guests for a few more minutes, she groaned out loud, 'I should've stopped to see whether or not they were Konoha-nin. Granted, I can only sense their warm souls. I doubt they would have stayed still long enough for me to see their forehead protectors. Though, two of the souls reminded me a lot of aniki and otouto. Another had felt strangely familiar.' She then thought back to the dream she had in the morning. Sighing to herself, she grumbled about dreams that made no sense.

Her bracelet started to heat up as a deep gruff voice said, "The pup seems to be doing well." In the dark corners of her deck, a black shadow emerged in the shape of a giant shadow wolf.

She let out an automatic hmm, while bringing her knees to hug them close to her chest, still thinking about the familiar warm earthy soul she had felt amongst the others. Sighing, the big shadow wolf came to sit next to her. When it finally registered on what he had said, she turned to the shadow wolf in shock, "One of them is your pup?"

Rolling his eyes, he said, "Yes. However, that is not important." Seeing her about to respond, he quickly said, "Not as important as what's going on in that head of yours, imouto."

Placing his head next to hers to let her know he was listening, she quietly began, "Ne, aniki," pausing to find the right words, "when mama died, did she tell you anything about what had happened to me when I was little?"

Giving her a contemplating look, the wolf asked, "Has something happened?"

"One of the souls that was with your pup had felt familiar," she confided.

The wolf let out a soft hmm. "I don't know what had happened before your human mother died, but she made us promise to take care of you. If you think that pursuing the owner of the soul will give you the answers that you are looking for, then we will go wherever you go. Just make sure it is something you want to see through to the end, imouto, good or bad."

Sora leaned against his side as the shadow wolf place his head on top of hers. After a few minutes, he nudged her gently, "Go to sleep soon, pup." With a comforting nudge against her small frame, he evaporated leaving behind two painted porcelain masks and two shiny Konoha forehead protectors. Narrowing her eyes, she quickly picked them up and flipped them over. There, on the inside of where the forehead should fit, were two familiar self-destruct seals. Sighing, she swiped her thumbs over the seals, and they began to slowly dissipate. Placing them on the bare skin of her thighs, black lines traveled from her toes to the rest of her body. Glowing slightly, both masks and forehead protectors disappeared.