Tai: Well, I'm well aware there's no one reading this, but I have it already written and thought 'Why the fuck not?' so I'm continuing to put it on here. Review if you're reading it.

Disclaimer: Don't own it if you recognise it.

By the time the tanned male awoke, it was almost lunchtime. He couldn't remember much of what had happened, only remembering Lee and Choji fighting over what the night's activity would be. After that everything was blank, although he felt incredibly woozy for no apparent reason, unless.... "I was starting to think we'd given you too much." a familiar voice stated, coming into view. It took the Inuzuka a moment to realise who it was, his vision seeming blurry. "We're lucky Akamaru noticed something was up so quickly, any longer and there'd have been a bigger problem than the bite-mark in Choji's arm."

At the comment, Kiba's eyes widened, letting out a small groan. "I know you didn't mean it, but fuck those teeth hurt." said ninja stated, dropping onto the nearby couch. Apologising quickly, he frowned a little at the two males present. Akamaru seemed no where nearby, nor did Shino or Lee. Looking between Neji and the Akamichi planted on the couch, he knew something was up. "Where are the others?" "They've gone out to see if they can't find that girl you mentioned. Akamaru knows her scent, so Shino's hoping he'll be able to track them."

As if to prove the prodigy wrong, the aforementioned trio entered the room, sighing in defeat. "No sign of her. Akamaru lead us back to where you'd met her, but there's nothing. The scents are about the only thing we could find, and even then they just disappear." the Aburame stated, the large white canine that had been by his side bounding over to the Inuzuka on the couch. Lee looked between the duo, before making his own statement."She had a dog with her, so she's bound to know how to cover her tracks."

Kiba nodded briefly, agreeing partly with the statement. "It's easy enough to cover human scents, canine scents are much harder to hide, and even then there's a small amount that can be picked up. The only way there's no canine scent to pick up is if the dog is a summon. Yuri moved on alone, and summoned Kuroi to her, instead of both of them moving along the ground or trees." "You never said you got names out of them earlier." A fifth voice stated, looking at the Inuzuka. "If she's been told she's from the village but wanted dead, its easy enough to check. It could be she was taken from the village and fed some bullshit story that she's got nowhere else to go."

"That's a point. Tsunade should be able to tell us if anyone by that name was kidnapped." the green beast agreed, looking at Neji. "We're working off the theory that she doesn't know anything but what this person has told her, right?" A round of nods confirmed this, and it seemed nobody could quite understand what his point was. "Yuri may not be the name she had before she was taken. If the memory loss was bad enough, this person could convince her of anything, including what her name is. It's worth a shot, but if nothing turns up then we'll have to have another go at finding her."

"Why are you guys so interested in finding her anyway?" Kiba finally asked. The question had been bothering him for a while, it wasn't like lying about her reasons for being around the village were hugely important, nor was the fact that she'd lied about being a traveller. None of the other five answered, instead choosing to watch him silently. It took a moment, as the full events of last night combined with the new conversation. Finally being the one to bite the bullet, the Hyuuga spoke up.

"Your mother seemed fine with you having another woman's scent on you, even if the reason was completely innocent. Shino and I have discussed it, and it seems that she may be your best chance for finding someone you clan will accept. You already know she likes dogs..." "She could be a murderer for all we know." the Inuzuka stated. Passing a glance to Akamaru, Shino realised what the sudden interruption was. His mind knew Hinata was with someone else, but his instincts were still being a bitch.

"Kiba, you need to let go. You've waited long enough for Hinata, and she's with someone else now. Let go and move on, that's what you need to do, and that's what we'll help you do." The black of his glasses met with the yellow of Kiba's eyes, and it seemed the Aburame was able to get through to him. Sighing, he looked up at Neji. "If she's lost her memory, she may be here to try and get it back. There might be a place she's looking for that she's hoping will spark them."

"It's a theory. You and Shino should go and report in about your mission anyway. Ask her about the girl while you're there. We'll keep looking in the meantime."

Just outside the gates of Konoha....

"Well? Are we going in or do you plan to sit here and look at the gates for the next two days and have sensei drag you through them when he gets here?"

'Give it a rest Kuroi. I'm thinking.'

"About what exactly? You don't just leave your thoughts there to be read like a book you know."

'Well, sensei always said they'd kill me, but I've seen two ANBU officers pass right over us without even a glance. The only reason they'd do that is because I'm no one important. I'm not a threat to them or the village, nor have I done anything wrong. All that means is...'

"The one person you've relied on for all these years has been lying to you for just as long."

Her head dropping, the large dark canine nudged the girl's side, whining slightly. Yuri seemed numb to anything, even the mental pleading of the large animal at her side, and physical prompts. 'He's lied to me for the last seventeen years....How can he live like that? Knowing that I've depended on him for so much, and he's lied to be about much more.'

Finally standing and slinging her bag over one shoulder, the slightly-tanned woman headed towards the gate. Nothing about her appearance stated she was a ninja, and by all definitions she wasn't one. The light denim shorts and black shirt more said 'holiday-maker' than anything, so she was let through the gate with few questions. Several glances were given to the canine at her side, but after allowing both gate guards to check her temper towards strangers, they were led away.

"So, where we headed?"

'There's a secluded area I'm looking for. It's probably the only thing I remember about being here last time, other than the presence of ANBU. There was a distinct scratch on a large stone in the area, and I doubt it's been worn down to make it invisible just yet. I was hit by something too, and leant against a tree, so there might be a stain in the wood from that.'

"Sounds like a plan. Think we might run into that boy again? And if so, are you planning to flirt a little more?"

'Maybe, but is there a point? It's not like sensei would let me stay here just because I met a cute boy.'

"Wasn't the whole point of this to prove to yourself that there was nothing left so you could make a final decision on your own?"

'Yes, since when has he ever let me make a decision?' Silence ensued for a few moments as the duo continued to wander around, both looking around curiously.

"Would it likely be a training area then?"

'Most likely. It was almost completely surrounded by trees.' Nodding her head, the black canine took off in the opposite direction, telling the girl she'd be back shortly. Jumping up into a nearby tree, she climbed cautiously to the top and began looking around, curious as to how far she'd be able to see, and more importantly the area she was looking for. Spotting something that roughly matched what she was searching for not far from where she was, she quickly jumped down and walked slowly to the area, feeling Kuroi brush against her.

"Didn't find anything, you think you might have?"

'Yea...' Looking around the trees as they continued on, she began to notice small scratches in the wood; scars that hadn't fully healed since they'd been caused. 'This may well be it...' her eyes searching the area as the continued on, as they landed on a large shaped stone off to one side she froze. A deep cut was visible in the rock, the black wolf pausing as the tan girl continued on ahead. As she slowly let her gaze flit around the area, memories came flooding back as if a locked door had just been opened.

'There was a group of us; we'd been taken out for training by members of ANBU because we had skills unusual for our age group. We were attacked by a small group who were yelling that no one village had the right to train such a force...the others were killed; I was injured and my teacher sat me down by a tree so I wouldn't be hurt anymore...' Moving forwards slightly, she ran her hand over the now smooth rock, her eyes gazing over a series of names printed onto the stone. Her eyes froze on one in particular; Shiranui Yuri. Not listed as one of the dead, but rather as an unknown.

Growling from behind her made the teen spin suddenly, her eyes narrowing on the male. Her guard dropped after several moments, an air of familiarity surrounding the male. "No...it couldn't be..." he mumbled, looking at the girl curiously. She remained silent, her mind still attempting to place the male in her own mind. "Yuri?" Unsure of what to do, she allowed Kuroi to continue to snarl at the male as her mind processed the somehow familiar scene.

--Flashback--

Rain began to drizzle slowly as the pale young girl bounded through the trees, flicking herself up onto one of the above branches. Smiling, she watched as her pale haired sensei darted forwards below her, stopping a few trees ahead to look around. "Yuri?" "Hai, sensei?" Cocking her head to one side, she smiled as he turned, shaking his head slightly. "You're definitely faster than most I've come across." Her smile faded as she noticed something not far behind the nin, her frown enough for the male to glance back and soon jump to pull her out of the way, straightening his normally crooked forehead protector. "Stay close; I don't want this creep to have a chance to grab you..."

--End Flashback--

Her eyes narrowing on the male's appearance, her mind slowly processed the likeness and differences between the memory and the man before her. Similarities outweighed the differences, and most of those could be explained by the seventeen year gap since she'd last seen him. "You're alive..." he stated softly, not daring to move with the snarling canine between them. She nodded slowly, Kuroi moving to stand next to the girl. "Your brother's been worried about you; if it hadn't been for the rain that night we probably would've been able to find you..." Remaining quiet, she wondered just what could happen now.

"Kakashi-sensei!" the sudden yell was enough of a distraction for the male to look away, both girl and wolf taking off into the trees without a sound. Letting out a deep sigh, the white haired male ran a hand through the strands. "What is it, Sakura?" "Tsunade-sama wants to talk to you; something to do with a girl and something that happened seventeen years ago." Pausing, the older ninja thought about the statement for a moment. "Has it really been that long?" Without another word he wandered in the direction of the Hokage's tower, leaving the pink haired woman to look around the area. 'I wonder what he was doing here...'

"I take it you knew him then."

'He was my sensei before I was taken from the village. That stone I was looking at, it's a memorial stone now. I'm the only one not listed as dead, just unknown. They never found out what happened to me, and because it was raining that night they couldn't track the scents.' Finally stopping a fair distance from the area, she dropped her bag to the ground and sat, wrapping her arms around her knees.

"I see. So how does one go about re-meeting the people they knew seventeen years ago and dealing with the awkwardness that's bound to crop up? Or do we accept that sensei lied and head back to him anyway?"

'I don't know anymore. I want to stay here; Kakashi said I have a brother, so is there any reason I can't stay?' she let out a sigh, running a hand through her long brown hair. 'It'd be nice to stay and have a life. Not a life built around a complete lie.' The large dark canine moved to lie next to her, Yuri placing a hand gently on the canines head. 'Why can't things just be simple?'

Knocking gently on the door, the copy nin soon found himself in front of the Hokage, along with Shino and Kiba. "Kiba encountered a girl a few nights ago, whose description would roughly match that of an old student of yours, Kakashi." "Yuri? I wouldn't be surprised." he answered, earning surprised looks from all three. "I was visiting the area where we lost the entire group and she was there; Sakura turned up before I could ask her anything, and she took off in an instant." he explained, earning a small nod from the blonde. "She seemed somewhat lost, which makes me think the blow to the head she took all those years ago may have caused a bit of memory loss."

"Otherwise she's harmless?" the blonde questioned, earning a nod from the white haired man. "Inform Genma she's been found; we won't do anything more at this stage. She's probably more than a little unsure of what to do, so it'd be best to let her sort her own mind out rather than asking questions about where she's been. Kiba, if you come across her again don't mention anything about this, understood?" Earning a nod from the Inuzuka, she looked briefly at the Aburame, debating what to do. "That's all for now. I'm going to assume you've told Neji, Choji, Lee and Shikamaru also; if they find her at all they're not to approach her for anything less than offering help or directions."

Nodding, all three left the office and headed their own ways, Shino and Kiba back to Shikamaru's and Kakashi off to inform Genma of his sister's reappearance. 'That would explain why I thought she looked a little familiar. Her eyes, they're the same as Genma's.' "Kiba?" Glancing up at the Aburame, he wondered just what had the usually stoic male concerned. "Are you all right with Hinata and Naruto being together?" Letting out a sigh, the tanned male stopped suddenly, somewhat glad not to have Akamaru with him. "I doubt I ever will be. But she's happy with Naruto, which is why things are...difficult now."

Shaking his head clear, the Inuzuka continued on past the Aburame, rushing to return to Shikamaru's apartment. The blonde and Hyuuga heiress had been together less than two days, but that was long enough to convince Kiba's mind he'd lost out. Part of him still wanted to fight for her, but the rest had given up; that much was clear to the Aburame. 'At least I can tell Neji she's within the village. He may be able to find her with Akamaru's help.'