"Do you want to know the truth Sasuke-kun? Do you want to know the truth behind every painful memory you carry? Itachi let you win Sasuke, he could have killed you easily but he loved you too much."

The teen wearing a purple outfit was staring wide eyed at a bloody slumped figure. Behind him a figure warped into existence.

Sasuke...Itachi's younger brother?

Sure enough the teen had an uncanny resemblance to Itachi, the only major difference being their chakra: where Itachi's chakra was warm and passionate, Sasuke's was cold and distant.

The figure behind Sasuke came closer into view and you couldn't hold back a gasp. The Uchiha Madara imposter stood behind Sasuke, he had changed his mask and cut his hair but there was no mistaking that chakra signature.

"What are you talking about? Itachi killed our entire family. I brought him down in an all out battle. Did you miss that? Who the fuck are you to tell me such lies!?"

"I too am of the Uchiha clan though I opened my eyes and left before you were even born. My name is Uchiha Madara, and I worked closely with your brother."

The two Uchiha continued to talk, the truth of the masacre and Konoha's dirty secrets were revealed and it left both you and Sasuke reeling. Sasuke had just killed his older brother who only did what he did because he was acting on orders. Konoha was complacent in the experimentation of dozens of children by the hand of Orochimaru. Danzo had paid Orochimaru to implant a dozen sharingan into his arm and had Uchiha Shisui's mangekyou in his right eye socket.

By the end of the conversation Sasuke was cursing Konoha and swearing to destroy it. If Itachi's dead and beaten body was anything to go by then he definitely was capable of doing so.

You were confused and angry. Konoha was your village, your family and friends all lived there. You hadn't known the third hokage, he died before you were born but everyone only spoke of him in high regards. Had he really allowed such atrocities to occur in the name of "peace"? You were brought out of your doubts by "Madara's" next sentence.

"You wish to impose your will onto those who hurt you, I will support you in this. Bring destruction to Konoha, make them grovel at your feet. I will give you the Uchiha's ultimate power so long as you join my organization."

"Why would I listen to you? I can bring down Konoha all on my own, I don't need your phony power!"

"By the time you do you'll be completely blind, just like Itachi. Come Sasuke, bring your brother's eyes. I'm going to implant them into your own, doing so will grant you the eternal mangekyou sharingan. Then we can bring havoc and chaos into this putrid world."

With that all three bodies disappear into a black vortex, leaving you alone. Your thoughts were running wild, if Konoha was guilty of everything "Madara" had claimed then were you wrong to want to protect it? You knew Itachi had acted on orders from Danzo but had the Sandaime Hokage condoned it?

Before you could possibly connect any events to others the ground trembled. A humanoid plant popped its head out of the ground, half of it's face white while the other was black. The white side seemed to be more wacky and jolly while the black side was grumpy and cynical.

You watched and listened to the two sides argue for a bit before the black side said something rather concerning.

"Obito better get his act together and capture the last two tailed beasts soon. Mother is getting impatient and I don't know if I can deal with his stupid personality any longer."

"Tobi, he said to call him Tobi! He doesn't want anyone to know he's Obito, he wants to be known as Tobi!"

"Shut up you imbecile! Tobi, Obito, Madara who the fuck cares? We only help him until he no longer is useful to us, once mother Kaguya returns she'll kill him and everyone inside of the infinite tsukuyomi. Let's go, before that idiot realizes we're gone."

With that the humanoid plant wiggled back underground. You were in shock, complete blatant shock. Tsunade and Jiraiya were under the impression that the Akatsuki were being led by someone named Pein, who wielded the rinnegan. But minutes before you had heard Uchiha Madara or Obito, claim that the Akatsuki was his organization, and now there was some plant person claiming that Obito was just being used for their own benefit, for someone named Kaguya?

The entire scene jumbled every emotion you had towards your village, you had to find out if what Obito had said was true. You also had to somehow stop Sasuke from killing Itachi, and convince Obito that he was being played like a fiddle. One thing was certain however.

Everyone in your village was a liar.

You were bloody, bruised and angry. Opposite of you was Sai, an elite member of ROOT, who was equally bruised and bloody. The two of you had been sparring for the last four hours straight, ninjutsu, taijutsu, and kenjutsu had been used and you were just about done. The entirety of ROOT had come out to witness the fight. Despite having gone on for hours neither of you let up, the fight was honestly anyone's game, it was only a matter of who would pass out first.

The entire match, Sai had been taunting you with insults to your skill, claiming that, for being Danzo-sama's pupil you were nowhere near the skill level he had imagined. This of course spurred you on and resulted in what was supposed to be a fifteen minute match lasting well over four hours.

You knew you weren't going to last much longer so you decided to end it with one last jutsu. Flash stepping close to Sai you trapped him in ninja wire and moved your hands to form the snake hand seal.

"Suiton: Bakusui Shōha!"

The remaining amount of disposable chakra you had was completely used up by this jutsu. A behemoth of a wave surged from your mouth and you stood triumphantly on top of it. The ROOT agents and Danzo were cheering at your jutsu while Sai's face morphed from indifference to fearful.

You could kill him, the size of your jutsu would most likely kill him on impact and if not then he would definitely drown before escaping your ninja wire. Now you were presented with a dilemma, do you kill Ino's future husband or not?

Let's be honest, Sai is a total sweetheart once Naruto opens up his heart. Ah, I'll let him live.

Willing your chakra to obey, you allowed the wave to come crashing down right where Sai was, except you had it parted so he wouldn't get hit. His eyes were closed and he was holding his breath, you couldn't help but feel a bit guilty at yourself for actually considering killing him.

When your wave began to calm you quickly positioned yourself behind him, one kunai against his throat and the other over his liver. You had won, if he tried to escape or harm you a simple flick of your wrist or twitch of your fingers could end his life. He too realized this and yielded immediately.

How the fuck had your day ended with you almost killing a boy out of anger? You were removing yourself from Sai and trying to bandage your numerous wounds when you thought back to how your morning had started.

Waking up to Fū and Torune banging pots and pans next to your ears had been funny and cute the first two times, now you were pissed.

"Wakey Wakey Ayumi-chan! Maybe today we can actually make it outside to train, wouldn't that be some impressive progress!"

Weren't ROOT agents supposed to be emotionless?

Fū was the one to tease you about your lack of motivation, he believed that you could get over your heart break by training and acting as if it had never happened. The first two days you found his overwhelming outpouring of love and support completely adorable, it made you feel warm and fuzzy inside. Torune was always the much more quiet of the two, instead of yelling his love and support for you he showed it through his actions.

The two had made your stay away from your house so loving and warm, and now you were sick of it. Day three of their stupid optimistic bullshit was your breaking point. You were still massively hurt by what had transpired after your match with Sakura and Naruto but you figured that mess was easier to deal with than your two torturers.

"Torune, why does a kind and gentle soul like you hang around someone as awful as Fū? You shine so brightly on your own baby boy, you don't need Fū stealing your thunder."

Torune let out a gentle laugh as he patted your rat nest of hair while his friend squawked with indignation. In the now three days you had spent sleeping in the ROOT barracks, not once had you actually gotten up from your bed aside for using the restroom. Fū and Torune would spend their entire days simply sitting with you and comforting you the best they could and you loved them for that.

Danzo had visited you plenty as well, each time he seemed to bring a different type of food but your body couldn't stomach it. Before you had laughed at the idea of getting physically sick over heartbreak but now it didn't sound so far fetched.

Deciding to finally give into Fū and train a bit you removed yourself from your surprisingly plush covers, grabbed a fresh set of shinobi issued uniform and went into the bathroom to freshen up.

"Yeah Ayumi-chan! That's right, get up and show the world who's boss! C'mon Torune, help me encourage her. Let's go Ayumi-chan, let's go!"

You couldn't help but smile at Fū's antics, when he got comfortable around you his actions and speech patterns mimicked Tony's to a T.

When you emerged from the restroom, you couldn't help but internally squeal at the sight that greeted you. Gone were the two elite shinobi but your bed had two humanoid lumps underneath it's covers. Fū's jolly voice carried from underneath the covers as did Torune's baritone laughter.

The two were close, they had been partners since they had entered ROOT at young ages. Torune had been horribly shy and Fū took an instant liking to him. They claimed they were only "best friends, like brothers" but you greatly suspected that there was something more between the two of them.

Making a quick decision to throw professionality out the window, you got a running start and then hurled yourself at both teens. Torune let out a quiet "oof" and Fū a shrill "OW!" upon impact. You laughed at their different responses and then crawled underneath the covers as well.

"Hey boys, room for one more?"

And just like that, the three of you spent the majority of the morning messing around in a bed meant for one person. Not hearing the door to the barracks open, nor someone approach the bed, both you and Fū let out ear splitting screams when the covers were yanked off.

"Ah, it's good to see you in better spirits today Ayumi-chan. Danzo-sama and the rest of us have been worried about you."

A pale white face, short black hair and dull black eyes stared down onto you and your friends. Sai was another of Danzo's strongest agents, his fighting technique was sleek and his knack for ninjutsu was astounding.

"Oh Sai-san, yes. Fū and Torune have successfully made me feel a bit better. We were just about to go out and train a bit. Would you like to come with us?"

A fake smile was plastered onto his pale face as he answered.

"If it's not an inconvenience then I'd love to."

And now you were here, soaking wet, bleeding from multiple places and tired as shit. Sai was no better, he also was soaking wet, bleeding from multiple places and tired as shit though his eyes were different.

Before, he would look at you with something akin to arrogance, his chōjū giga was difficult to counter so most of his spars ended within the first few minutes. But now he was looking at you with...fear? His pupils were dilated and his carotid was pumping blood at double it's normal speed. You had scared him, he truly believed you were going to kill him with your last jutsu.

Before you could speak with him, Danzo had made his way to you and was patting your head.

"My, my Ayumi-chan, you really have been working on your endurance and chakra control haven't you? If it were me in your place, I would have tapped out hours ago. And the size and power behind that last jutsu was completely amazing. I'm proud of you, my child."

Your heart thumped in glee at your teacher's praise, he never once failed to make you smile.

"You have made me into everything that I am sensei, without your dedication to my training I would not be where I am. Thank you for believing in me Danzo-sensei."

Said man brought you into a warm hug before standing back and smiling at you.

"Perhaps we should get you out of your wet clothes and feed you something? You haven't eaten in three days, my dear."

"Actually, I think I'm going to go back to the compound. It's been days since they've seen or heard from me, they're bound to be anxious. I wouldn't want them to go snooping around looking for me and discover what we've been doing sensei. Thank you for housing and caring for me these last couple of days."

"Of course my child, I will send Fū and Torune to retrieve you when you have training again. Take care."

He kissed your forehead and walked away, leaving you in the care of your two friends. By now most of the other ROOT shinobi had cleared the area, only you and the two goons were left.

"Hey guys, do you think you could help me with something?"

"Yeah, what's up little monster."

You tensed a bit at the nickname but didn't voice your disdain for it. Given what you were capable of at your age you supposed the nickname was fitting. One of your hands went to your back, feeling the long wet locks of hair stick to your skin and shirt. You had never been a fan of long hair, it got in the way when you were fighting but your mother had made it clear that "a proper lady has beautiful, long hair, supple skin not marred with scars and a kind, giving heart."

You let your hair grow out to please her and your father, something you highly regret now. Sai had grabbed you by your hair at least eight times, proving how much of a liability long hair was. Turning to look at your two closest friends you made up your mind.

"I want to cut and dye my hair."

Two hours later you had deep burgundy hair with light blonde tips, your hair now just barely reached your shoulder blades, a drastic difference to your once knee length locks. As it turned out, Fū had plenty of experience dying hair, he was naturally dirty blonde since he was from the Yamanaka clan but was currently sporting bright orange hair. Torune had simply watched and made fun of you when you were bleaching your hair. The end result was exactly what you wanted, it looked identical to your hair from before, from your last memories with the Avengers.

Your hair had dried into prominent waves and your head felt thirty pounds lighter. You still looked like you had just come home from the war but that didn't matter. You were giddy with excitement, your new hair reminded you of home, your endgame. You were going to see your Avenger's family, no matter the cost.

Thanking both men for their help, you shunshined to the middle of the village before slowly making your way in the direction of the hokage tower. You knew you were in no condition to continue your apprenticeship with Tsunade, she was in close cahoots with your fa- Shikaku and right now you wanted nothing from him.

Ignoring the pointed stares and the whispers you kept your pace slow as you thought of the right words to say. You didn't notice yourself pass Genma and Raidō until you were lifted from the ground and squished between two shinobi.

"Baby Nara! Where have you been?! Everyone has been so worried about you, dear god what happened to you?! Where did you get all of these cuts and bruises, holy fuck your hair! Oh you poor baby, who did this to you…"

The two went on about your disappearance and appearance for a bit, you lacked the energy to make them stop so you just let it happen. When the two noticed your silence they let you back down and studied your face. When they had finally quietted, you spoke.

"Genma, Raidō, I need to speak to the Hokage. Please let me go."

Both men stiffened at your emotionless response but released you. You continued your walk towards the Hokage's office as if the interaction with the two jounin hadn't happened. You paid no attention to the worried looks the two jounin gave your form, nor how they quickly took to the rooftops once you were further away. You continued to your goal, unwavering.

"So let me get this straight, you want to quit your apprenticeship with me because I'm close to your father? That's the most stupid reason for quitting an apprenticeship I've ever heard! What the hell has gotten into you, I heard about your little breakdown in the Nara forest after your match so I understand you wanting a bit of space but look at you. You're bloody and bruised, your chakra is almost completely gone and your hair, what the fuck did you do to your hair?"

Tsunade was not happy with your current state. She broke her desk in two pieces when you told her you wished to quit your apprenticeship.

"I need time to come to terms with a few things. I cannot do my job as a nurse practitioner without having a clear mind. My appearance is a direct result of me battling with a few demons I have."

"So you're just going to give up? I thought you wanted to save your friends and family, I thought you wanted to become a respected shinobi and protect your village? You've been given a gift Ayumi, you can change the future. You can save our men from dying and you're choosing to give up?"

"I will continue to provide you vital information to keep shinobi casualties to a minimum. If a big event is close to happening, I will personally deal and take care of it. I'm not abandoning this village, I simply need time."

"You'll personally take care of it? Do tell me how because last time I checked you were still a child, not even an academy student."

"I took down two chunin didn't I? One of which is trained under you and the other is the nine tails jinchuriki trained under Jiraiya-sama. I know the enemy's weaknesses and I'm more than capable of taking care of myself. I don't have anyone else I've confessed my visions to. All I need is for you to trust me and give me your support, Hokage-sama."

It was quiet between the two of you after your last sentence. You were bowing deeply while Tsunade was studying your form. After a few minutes of silence you heard her let out a deep sigh.

"C'mere gaki."

Obeying imeadiately you scurried closer to the woman and squeaked when she brought you into a bone crushing hug. You unconsciously cuddled closer to the woman, unaware at the tears dripping down your face. Tsunade had always had your best interest in mind and not once had failed you. Settling you onto her lap she rocked your smaller than average body and allowed you to cry into her chest for a long while.

When you finally were composed enough she spoke.

"Gaki, I cannot imagine what you must be feeling right now. I can't imagine what you've been dealing with at home. I'm sorry if I've failed you as a mentor, I should have noticed how much you were hurting and done something about it. The truth is, I know you're more than capable of keeping yourself safe. You've gotten so strong, stronger than anyone I've ever known, but you're still a child. I know you do training outside of what I teach you, you made that very obvious when you amazed everyone with your ninjutsu and genjutsu, and I trust you to make your own decisions. You will always have my full support, you are my precious daughter after all."

You let out a loud sob at her words, the human body was only capable of crying around thirty tears every day but you seemed to cry double that. Again, Tsunade just held you and let you cry. When you calmed down again you blushed and ducked your head, eliciting gentle laughter from the Hokage.

"You will always be my student, even if you decide to stop studying under me. I love you Ayumi-chan, no matter what may happen please just know that I love you as if you were my own daughter."

You nodded and thanked her profusely for understanding. Standing up from her lap and wiping away your last few tears, you were genuinely surprised when she held out a navy blue hitai-ate. You gasped and looked up to her face.

"You've earned it gaki, I don't know many other four year olds who can easily perform B rank jutsus, create techniques and fight like you do."

You gently took the headband and looked at your reflection in the metal. Your eyes welled with tears but you kept them at bay, you had done enough crying in front of Tsunade already. You wanted to accept it, you wanted to wear the hitai-ate with pride and serve your village. But at the same time, you didn't. There was a small voice in the back of your head telling you that becoming a shinobi would only hinder you, and that voice was steadily getting louder.

You handed back the headband, taking in the surprised look of your shishou and clearing your throat.

"I don't think I'm capable of handling the shinobi lifestyle emotionally. Please allow me some time to learn how to control my emotions. I want to be a great shinobi, not one who cries at the drop of a pin."

Just before you turned away you stopped and asked a question you had been sitting on.

"Tsunade-sama, was the Sandaime Hokage a good hokage? Was he really as kind as the history books and people say he was?"

Tsunade seemed a bit taken aback by your out of the blue question but answered nonetheless.

"My sensei was human, he made mistakes and had flaws like everyone else but his intentions were always for the benefit of Konoha and it's people. Towards the end of his life he did get a bit soft but I genuinely believe he thought he was doing the right thing."

"I see. Thank you Hokage-sama."

You bowed deeply and gave your ex shishou one last hug before body flickering out of her office.

You were deep inside of the Nara forest when you let your tears fall, finally someone aside from your sensei had truly acknowledged your efforts and rewarded you for them. Despite not accepting the reward you felt accomplished, this was possibly the most important step in your plan to save the world and finally, you had achieved it. Recognition and reputation were two very important factors in creating a hero, and now you were well on your way to building both.

You stayed in the forest until nightfall and fell asleep among the deer.

Shikaku was believed to be the smartest man throughout the elemental nations, his track record was close to flawless. That being said, he was also the world's biggest idiot and an asshole.

He hadn't realized how much he was hurting his own child until she had an entire mental breakdown in front of him. Watching the small girl physically hurt herself to grab his attention and then curse him, his family and friends until her voice was raw was agonizing. Nothing had hurt Shikaku more than hearing his baby say she hated him, that she would have rather been aborted than live the life she was living now.

Looking back on his actions and attitude towards Ayumi from the last two years had him wanting to bang his head against a brick wall until he bled. The truth was he hadn't stopped loving Ayumi during these last two years, in fact the love he held for his daughter only grew with every passing day. She was getting so big, albeit she was still considerably small for her age but still, progress was progress. If Shikaku had to guess then he would say Ayumi almost reached his hip. The fact that Shikaku had to guess said a lot about how wrong this entire situation was.

Shikaku's neglect started the moment Kakashi's ninken delivered an urgent message to follow them, that they had found Ayumi's body. His entire world stopped at their wording, "they had found her body", implying that she was no longer alive. He so desperately wanted to fall to his knees and cry but he was with the Hokage and the head of the Torture and Interrigation department, he had to be resepctful towards them.

Following the pack of dogs to a scene of Kakashi destroying trees made his heart sink deeper into his chest, turning his head to see the naked and heavily bruised body of his baby made his world stop for a second time. His two year old daughter had been abducted from her hospital room, a place that should have been safe. Her captors had obviously beaten her and reopened her wounds, and now here she was naked.

Shikaku wanted to vomit at the thought of someone violating his most precious treasure, he wanted to crawl and take her place, have them do it to him instead of his baby. At a quick glance her genitals hadn't looked violated but you could never be too sure. At the very least, Shikaku could try to cope with the fact that she no longer had to suffer, he hoped with all of his heart that her passing had been peaceful, that she hadn't been scared.

Then Kakashi spoke.

"She's alive, her heartbeat is very faint and slow but it's there. I didn't want to worsen her injuries so I didn't touch her.."

What?

"Kakashi is right, her heart is barely working and her left lung is filled with blood but she's alive. Shikaku, your daughter is alive."

Hope and dread filled Shikaku's body. His daughter was alive, she still had a chance to live a long, virtuous life. Shikaku had a chance to see her grow into the beautiful woman he knew she would be.

At the same time Shikaku wanted to kill whoever did this to her. Whoever had targeted his child, beaten her until she was black and blue, and then done God knows what to her, deserved to die the most painful death Shikaku could bestow.

Watching as his daughter was taken back to the hospital for a second time within the week made Shikaku's blood boil beyond belief. A firm hand on his shoulder brought him out of his murderous daze. Morino Ibiki was not a man who comforted people, his job was to understand emotions well enough to break his victims down.

"We'll catch the sick fucks who took her Shikaku, we won't rest until we do. You have my word on that."

Ibiki really was shit at comforting people.

A month after the incident, the T&I department stopped investigating the case, insufficient evidence they claimed. That was enough to send Shikaku over the edge, if no one was going to be investigating his daughters abduction then he would do it himself. Taking on the investigation on top of his own paperwork ended with him barely making it home on time for dinner and only playing a game of shogi with Shikamaru before he would need to sleep.

Whenever he would see Ayumi he was reminded of his failure to catch her abductors and he would scowl to himself about it.

He hadn't thought about the fact that maybe, just maybe, his daughter could pick up his shift in mood. She was only two, she couldn't possibly be able to pick up social cues and moods.

Then one night over dinner she told them that the Hokage had taken an interest in her and wanted to make her one of her apprentices, alongside Shizune-san and Sakura-san. Shikamaru had been immensely proud of his younger sister, having the strongest ninja in the village want you as an apprentice was huge. His wife was concerned, she knew the consequences Ayumi could face should she over exert herself with jutsus. Shikaku himself was livid, how could the hokage offer his daughter such a dangerous opportunity, one they all knew his daughter would never turn down.

In his blind rage he had stalked out of the house and gone straight to the hokage, not once thinking about how his actions could possibly hurt anyone.

After that, time seemed to simply slip through Shikaku's fingers. Never once had he thought about stopping his investigation, he was determined to make sure his daughter never had to go through something like that ever again.

Plenty of times Inoichi and Choza would remind him to spend time with Ayumi, it wasn't difficult to notice the relationship strain between father and daughter. Asuma had asked him if he was already teaching his baby shogi and Shikaku had blanked because yes he had thought about it but there simply wasn't time for that.

Months later, Asuma had come up to his office and asked him why he hadn't taught his daughter shogi and Shikaku gave the excuse that he was planning on teaching her this week only to find out that Asuma taught her when the family had been out at a clan meeting. He couldn't even begin to explain the shock that ran through his body at the thought of someone else teaching his kid his favorite game.

Instead of dwelling on his feelings he simply waved the jounin off and continued with his mountain of paperwork.

When his own son brought up the disturbing conversation he had with his sister, Shikaku hauled his ass up to her room, sighing in defeat when he opened the door and found his baby asleep. Dried tear tracks were clearly visible on her baby face and Shikaku felt like shit for neglecting his daughter to the point of her doubting his love for her. This time he swore he would clear everything up with little Ayumi-chan, his baby would no longer doubt her father.

But of course he failed to clear anything up because all of a sudden there were whispers of a new ROOT agent. Shikaku had been investigating ROOT for years now, this new information was crucial to everything so he had to leave that important conversation with his daughter for another day.

All of that had led to him finally catching a break from work and hanging out with his two best friends at an Akimichi restaurant they used to frequent. They had been contently converseing and enjoying some herbal tea when Kakashi flew through the restaurant doors and became embedded into the far wall of the establishment.

Before any of them had time to react, his little shadow had popped in. Her eyes were frantic, blood was running down her temple and she was breathing heavily. All at once Shikaku's world stopped for a third time in his life because he truly believed that someone was after his daughter again. When her frantic eyes met his own, she let out an audible sigh and shuffled over to where he was sitting. What he didn't expect was for her to hand him a brand new Icha Icha book.

"Father, Kakashi-nii is so considerate. He went on a trip recently and thought I would enjoy this book as a souvenir. After I read it, we can add it to the collection you have hidden in that box on the bottom shelf of the bookcase in the living room."

After that she had healed herself as much as she could, needing Tsunade-sama's help to pop her shoulder back in. How often did she get her shoulder dislocated for her to not react to it being popped back in?

Then she had asked him if he would attend her spar, she looked so timid and sad, like she already knew he would say no. Catching his friends sharp nods he replied, heart breaking at the look of genuine surprise his baby sent him.

Shikaku wasn't sure what the Hokage was expecting, his daughter was four years old, both Naruto and Sakura were seventeen and trained to fight. He didn't know why she wanted to humiliate his daughter in front of countless shinobi but he didn't voice his concerns.

When it came time to start the spar, Shikaku was shocked to see his daughter breakdown crying while hugging his younger brother. The hard glare Ensui sent him after she had calmed down only added to his confusion.

Then he watched as his daughter, his baby, completely kicked Naruto and Sakura's asses. She had performed a powerful mizurappa to start the match, then a raiton laser beam. Then, to everyone's shock and amazement she performed Kakashi's signature move, chidori, only she added to it and made it her own.

Shikaku felt like he didn't even know who his daughter was, since when had she been able to do such things? She was performing B and A rank jutsus like they were nothing. Even after taking a full rasengan to her back, she stood back up and finished the fight with astounding kenjutsu combos.

Using Kokuangyo no jutsu to take away her opponents eyesight, using fear mongering to get them and the rest of the crowd to believe she was going to kill them, was technique not even Shikamaru could pull off. Deceiving everyone into thinking she was going for the kill when she really was going to heal them was something he never thought she was going to be able to do.

She shouldn't have been able to do that, her heart condition was supposed to have killed her from the large amounts of chakra she was using. She wasn't even using the entirety of her chakra either, around seventy percent of it was still sealed away, unable to be accessed.

If Ayumi was already this strong using only about thirty percent of her chakra, how powerful would she grow to be?

That thought quickly left Shikaku as the match was called in her favor and he turned to walk away. How had his daughter learned such high level techniques? Who was teaching her this?

Shikaku's guilt surged in his chest at the thought of someone else taking over the role he was supposed to be playing as her trainer. He was supposed to have been the one to teach her everything she knows. How much of her life had he already missed?

Just as he was about to let his frustrations out he noticed that she had followed him. She was trying to get his attention but he wouldn't give it to her, he couldn't look her in the eye when he had done over the last two years aside from neglect her.

From there everything had escalated too quickly for Shikaku to truly understand what was happening. He had only watched as his daughter, his strong and independent daughter, broke down and cursed to the world. He was only vaguely aware of the group that had formed around them, hidden in the trees of the Nara forest. He wasn't embarrassed to start crying when she told him she hated him. He wasn't embarrassed when he fell to the dirt ground of the Nara forest and started bawling like a child when she body flickered away.

Nara Shikaku was not embarrassed when his younger brother, Nara Ensui, dropped down next to him and tried to help him up. He was ashamed. He had broken his daughter, broken her into so many little pieces, he wasn't sure she could ever be the same.

Ayumi didn't return home that night, nor the day after. Two days and three nights, that's how long the Nara family and friends had been waiting for their youngest to come home and still nothing.

They were all gathered at the house when Raidō and Genma burst in, both yelling at the top of their lungs making whatever they were saying impossible to understand. Yoshino had been the one to smack them both and demand they speak properly. Genma spoke.

"Baby Na- I mean, Ayumi-chan! We saw her, she was on her way to the Hokage's office."

That got everyone's attention, but again Shikaku's wife was the first to speak.

"Was she okay?! Did you talk to her? Did she tell you where she's been this entire time? Did she look like she'd been fed?"

"Ahh Yoshino-san, please let us answer what we can. Um, we only spoke to her a bit, she seemed pretty...out of it? I don't know the right word to describe her tone when she spoke to us. In regards to her appearance, ugh, you may want to sit down."

Raidō waited for the Nara patriarch's wife to sit before continuing.

"Well her hair was cut, I think about shoulder length? Maybe a bit longer but I'm not sure. It was also dyed a dark red soo… Oh, she also looked like she had gotten in quite a tussle with someone. Fresh bruises and cuts were all over her body and her chakra was really low. She only asked us to let her down before saying she was going to see the Hokage. Then she just walked away. But she didn't seem completely there, like, she sounded emotionless. It was a bit unnerving."

After that was said everyone was quiet, they were all processing what they had just heard. Shikaku was simply relieved to hear that his daughter was alright, alive, but what was this about her looking fresh out of a fight? His son was the one to voice the unanimous decision everyone in the room had made.

"I guess we'll just have to wait until the troublesome girl comes back to make a full assessment ourselves."

And so they waited again.

An hour and a half later, Shikaku felt it. Ayumi's chakra signature was in the Nara forest. Looking towards his brother, he noticed that he too felt her signature. Both brothers locked eyes but Ensui was the one to ask.

"You want me to go get her?

"No, let's wait to see if she's comfortable enough to come on her own. If by nightfall she isn't back then we'll go get her."

And so, they waited once again.

Once nightfall fell, Shikaku, Ensui, Shikamaru and Asuma were out the door and went into the Nara forest.

My birthday is on the 15th so I thought I'd finish this chapter as an early valentine's and birthday gift from me to all of you! Any and all feedback is much appreciated! I promise everything I write serves a higher purpose than just furthering the plot but yes, I agree Ayumi is a big ole dummy.