Hey guys! This is my first work posted so I'm looking forward to seeing the response to it! I love reviews but constructive criticism is welcome too! :P

Hope you guys enjoy the plot bunny that has been gnawing at me for a while and I'll try to get chapters out on a weekly basis. Maybe even two a week if I see enough people taking interest!

I don't own Naruto and this is a pure work of fiction.

ON TO THE SHOW! :D

No matter how many times she had visited this country to fight in battles during the Second Great Shinobi war, she could never get used to the copious amounts of rain that fell day in and day out. She had trekked for days, only stopping when absolutely necessary. The war may be over, but there were still reports of skirmishes with shinobi who refused to believe the war over and were set on finishing what was started.

Luckily, she didn't encounter any of them on this excursion.

Normally, she would be able to take out nearly anyone who dared cross her path! She had made a name for herself in this war and she was damn sure that she would live up to it! But this wasn't a battle she could use her skills in, a shinobi to take out, a medical anomaly to solve.

No.

This was a battle against time. She had to deliver this bundle to the Kotonashi's before anyone found out she was even here, friend or foe. And this bundle could not be discovered no matter the cost.

This bundle of blankets was a restless new born baby girl. And she was getting hungry and wanted out of the rain.

"There, there, little one. We're almost there! Look! You see that little house right over there? That's where daddy is waiting for us. He's sad to see you go but he knows…. Actually, we BOTH know, that this family will take better care of you more than we can. You'll be safe and won't have to deal with reckless shinobi parents like us. A mommy and a daddy will always be here for you, they won't be out on week-long or month-long missions, and you'll always have someone to tuck you in and kiss you goodnight every night. Something your real mommy and daddy can't promise you…."

She started to choke on her words as tears began to fall. The thought of leaving her daughter here and returning home without her was breaking her demeanor. The house was within reach when a man approached her from her right side.

"It's about time you arrived! I was beginning to worry….." His words were cut short as the little girl began to cry. The two-day almost non-stop trek was beginning to take its toll on mother and baby and they needed to get out of the rain. The young man opened the door and let the pair in.

"This is the Kotonashi household. I know I told you about them already but they are extremely trustworthy people. They just lost two sons in this past war so without a doubt they'll give her all the love in the world. They're not here right now, they left into the nearest town to go get extra supplies for a new baby but they should be back any minute now. Our little girl is going to be spoiled rotten….."

His voice was drowned and no longer processed as the young mother stared into the eyes of her daughter. Her mother's eyes but her father's mischievous glint behind them. She could already tell. She brushed away little locks of hair, (a light blonde or maybe even platinum, it was too soon to tell) from her baby's face and little fingers wrapped around hers. Her heart sang and broke at the same time. And it was during this sweet moment that the front door opened and entered the owners of the home.

"Oh my, she's beautiful! She's definitely got her mother's genes" exclaimed Misaki Kotonashi, the lady of the household. "My husband and I were so anxious to get back home as soon as we could to meet our new bundle of joy!" Ryuu Kotonashi, Misaki's husband, walked in too and instantly went to meet his new daughter.

The little baby was handed over to her new parents. No second guessing, no hesitation. The young parents knew they were doing the right thing. Not for their own selfish escape from parenthood, but for the safety of this innocent life.

"Now you said no one knows that you two have a daughter correct?" asked Ryuu. "That's correct. No one except our current Hokage. We can't risk anyone knowing we have a child. If word gets out about her parentage, who knows who would come after her as retaliation against us for the part we played in the war" said the young mother as she collected her things to prepare to leave.

"Leaving so soon? But wouldn't you prefer to stay overnight and rest?" exclaimed Misaki. "No, we have leave as soon as we can. If anyone, especially the missing-nin who still want to start war against us finds out we were here and what we left behind, her life will be in extreme danger. They'll want to get back at us and they'll go after the closest one to us. Her."

Ryuu and Misaki looked gravely upon the sweet little girl who was asleep in her new blankets in their arms and grew somber at the fate she could have. The girl's father looked to the new parents and asked "Are you sure you can do this? To protect her?"

"Of course we can!" Ryuu said assuredly. "It's the least we can do after doing what you could to save our sons from the war, for helping us get back on our feet after all we had was taken. For giving us a second chance at life, we can give your daughter one too."

Goodbyes were said, kisses were given, and final glimpses were made before these young parents walked out the door. They put all their faith in this little village outside Amegakure to keep their daughter safe from harm, to give her a life they couldn't provide, and to give her a different way of life besides the dangers of being a shinobi, a fate she was sure to have if she stayed with them.

"You've hardly said anything since you arrived at the house. What's going through your mind?"

"I just…" struggled the mother as she began to cry. "I just can't fathom the fact that we won't raise our daughter ourselves. She'll probably won't understand why we're doing this. She'll probably g-grow up during her f-first years hating us!" She sobbed the farther they trekked from the house and the closer they got to the Land of Fire border.

"You're right. She probably won't understand and she'll probably hate us. But when we get the chance to visit her and explain how better off she would be growing up with parents who could actually be there for her instead of parents who could potentially come home in body bags any given day, she could be a little less hard on us."

The pair stopped for the night and set up camp.

"So what happens now? For... for us I mean. Do we go home and pretend nothings wrong? Continue living life the way we normally would? Go along our merry way until someone finds out?" Her voice suddenly dropped in volume and her face grew somber. "Do we pretend we had nothing between us? No feelings? No family?"

Her partner leaned over and gave her a light kiss.

"We're going to have to put up a façade, like it or not. It's not going to be easy for either of us, but no. We don't ever forget about our feelings, our family, and certainly not our daughter. Now get some rest, Hime! You look like you could keel over at any moment!"

She chuckled as she got up from the fire and went to go sleep in the tent. "I'm guessing you're gonna keep watch for a while?" she asked.

"You know the drill. It's been the same since we were young. Besides, I want to take advantage of the quiet and write."

And with that the night ended. He kept watch as she slept.

The next morning when the sun rose, Jiraiya and Tsunade packed up and continued on to Konohagakure, their home village.

With nothing but their daughter Aiko on their minds.

Remember to review because it will REALLY encourage me to keep dishing out more chapters! Even if it's little sentences that say 'Nice Job!' 3

Hope everyone has a good weekend!