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A young red-haired girl with dazzling blue eyes sighed heavily as she leaned against the wall that had been her latest cover from the mob of people out to get her today. Why the hell did they always come out on her birthday? What had she ever done to them?

Well maybe there was the small fact that she was managing to live on her own at the young age of ten... or it could be that got angry when some merchants decided to try and overcharge her on produce. But really this was a little uncalled for, after all she'd only kicked two of them in the groin... but maybe she should have gone after the third one if this was the trouble she was getting into.

Okay so maybe lifting them a good foot off the ground was a little excessive in the kick, but she had held back, really!

And that began yesterday's hunt for the little red-haired demon girl from the deepest pits of hell, or Naruko Uzumaki if you'd actually asked for her name. Most merchants called her Satan's Usurper or something similarly mean. Couldn't they at least give her a cute name?

Like... well... how about... umm... she'd get back to that...

Heading up the stairs to the run down shack she'd bought within the first week of living on her own, she sighed as she found herself alone again. Today's grocery run had been mostly successful, up until the idiots tried to overcharge her on those apples. Making a mental note to write to the Better Business Bureau in the morning, she put away her supplies for the week. Another couple weeks, and she could ask Teuchi for a raise at the ramen stand, not that she wanted much, but she did need to save up for a new freezer, this one was wearing out, and she'd rather be prepared than find her meat all spoiled one evening.

A quick check on her garden told her that she'd at least have plenty of vegetables this week, but still she would have liked to have some fruits for breakfast. Maybe she could ask Ayame to pick some up for her on break again, it sucked having to do so, but still it would be nice to have some fruits.

Independence sucked when people were idiots.

Settling in for the last couples of hours of sunlight, she picked up her novel and began reading it from where she'd left off, savoring the chance to read after a long, hard day. Maybe after getting the new freezer, she could pick up a lamp or something. It would be nice to be able to read more than when the Sun was up, and winter was coming soon... she should clean out the chimney before fall ended.

It looked like her day off the day after tomorrow was already beginning to fill up, especially if she was going to clean up like she'd been meaning to the past week or so. True she didn't have much in the way of a mess here, but that layer of dust and cobwebs in the corners were getting on her nerves.

But that was detracting from her reading. Returning to the novel, she smiled as the two friends pretended to be princesses of some nation, and were talking about how they would grow old together. After a minute she did a double-take, and reread a line a couple times over. Why would two girls kiss? And talk about getting married?

Maybe the librarian was right and this book was a little bit over her level... but she decided to keep reading. After all, once she took an undertaking, she always saw it through to the end, no matter how over her head this one might seem.

Just as the Sun settled behind the hills, Naruko lowered her book with a puzzled frown, that was... creepy...

The two girls that had been pretending to be princesses when she started apparently took their vows to marry pretty serious, because when the families tried to separate them, the girls killed them all and ran away together. It just didn't make any sense to her 13-year old brain. After all, who in their right mind would separate two people obviously in love, but the going psycho part was completely over the top.

Novels were sure weird... and looking at the back, she paled when she found that this novel was based on real events.

Maaaaaybe it was a good thing no one knew where to find her...

Unfolding from her curled up position on the worn out couch she had been reading on, she sighed and stretched her tired limbs slowly. She had to get ready for bed soon, or she'd be stumbling around in the dark... again.

That night, her mind was plagued with visions of her laughing and playing with another girl from the orphanage, but they were older, about Naruko's age right now. And they were playing games Naruko'd knew they never played back in the orphanage... but for some reason the brown haired girl couldn't help smiling at her the entire time. A smile that left her tummy feeling funny for some reason...

Despite a restless night of sleep, she awoke before the Sun peeked over the horizon, and set about her daily routine. First was the last pear she managed to buy last week for breakfast, and then it was off to the public baths for her morning cleaning. She got there just as old Mrs. Kurstein finished scrubbing up the women's side, before she could start on the men's side, as usual.

This was her favorite part of waking up early, she got the baths all to herself, and could truly soak and pretend she was a rich kid, lounging in a clan house's private baths. After a quick scrub down, and rinse she slipped into the steaming water with a contented little sigh. Oh, the hot water was a glorious gift delivered from heaven by several gods.

Okay, so maybe it wasn't but with how tired she felt, she could easily let herself get deluded into thinking that. If she had her own books, instead of those from the library, she'd probably get in a little reading as the lights were certainly bright enough, but since they were only borrowed, she couldn't risk it.

Speaking of which, she'd have to return that one from last night before work. It was only right, since she didn't want to hold onto it for longer than necessary. To ensure it for the next reader her mind pointed out, avoiding the other possible connotation her rush could suggest. Getting out of the bath, she hurriedly finished her routine and dried off, escaping before the first crowd of the day could arrive. She didn't like crowds, it always felt like someone hated her.

The trip back home, and to the library were uneventful, and then a little free walking over the library, the old clothing store, and down into the street in front of Yamanaka's florists were also rather mundane. She knew that as a civilian she wasn't supposed to be up on the roofs, but it was much easier than having to walk the three blocks just to get here.

A quick wave to Mr. Yamanaka, whom she'd helped tend to his flowers while his daughter Ino was at the academy studying to be a kunoichi, and she was off towards the ramen stand. It was nice that Mr. Yamanaka wrote her a recommendation to Mr. Ichiraku... err Teuchi, he hated being called mister, said it made him feel old. Even if she didn't need it, it was still awesome that he'd do that for her.

Getting to the stand, she hurriedly put on her apron and set about the day's business. First came wiping down the counters, while taking a couple orders from the early risers. Most of them were other merchants on their way to work. Sometimes she'd get the occasional ninja trying to kill time until the Hokage's office opened, but today it seemed just the normal early morning crowd.

At eight, right on the dot, Teuchi popped out and asked her to run and get a couple bags of flour for him, as he'd ran out while making the noodles. Same as every morning.

Off she went with the exact amount tucked into her apron, her short apple-red hair still tucked away in the cloth she got from the Ichiraku's just for that purpose. It wasn't that far, and really the two forty-pound sacks weren't that heavy, she should be there and back in under five minutes. Maybe if she got enough tips, she could save up for that freezer faster, even if that meant cutting into her weekly spicy kabobs binge.

Oh she really hated thinking about losing her spicy kabobs, but getting a new freezer would be worth it.

Getting to the stand, she gasped in shock as she ran into someone, and something went flying. Looking up, she saw a dozen eggs reaching the peak of their arcs, and beginning their decent towards her. Without a second thought, her hands snapped out in a blur of motion to snatch up the eggs, putting them into a basket sitting nearby. She managed to get all 12 of the eggs, and sighed happily as she noticed there wasn't a single crack. "Sorry about that... I wasn't looking..." Naruko offered, while turning to look at the brown haired girl she'd accidentally knocked over. Suddenly her heart began thundering in her chest as she noticed the warm brown eyes shining back at her in admiration. "Err... I... I'm sorry?"

"Never mind that... you caught the eggs... Thanks..." the girl stated while picking herself up. "Hey... how about I treat you to something? I mean you did save me a bit of cash..."

"Oh no thank you Miss... I have to get back to work..." Naruko stated, while trying to edge around the bun-haired girl that she couldn't help but feel some sort of familiarity with. There was just something about her that she couldn't help but feel she knew this girl.

"It's Tenten, and you are?" Tenten stated while picking up her eggs and returning them to the carton she'd bought them in.

"Naruko Uzumaki... bye..." the redhead stated before disappearing into the store. Tenten smirked playfully before she started on her way home. It wasn't often you met someone with that speed and control, she had to learn more about her, and since it was her team's day off, she could just find out the girl's secret.

Getting home and back, she found out two things. One was that the girl who couldn't have been more than a hundred pounds soaking wet, was easily able to carry two forty-pound bags of flour, and dodge the people walking along. The other was that the girl worked at Ichiraku's Ramen Stand.

Today was turning out to be a great day.

Sarutobi sighed heavily as he leaned back and smoked his pipe, yesterday would have been the thirteenth birthday of a little girl he'd promised to look after for Minato and Kushina. And Yesterday was also the third anniversary of the day that she disappeared all together. Not that the council had stopped celebrating a single day since she vanished, but he was very concerned about her, and there was a steady five-thousand ryou reward for any ninja that brings him information to help in the finding of the girl.

Tomorrow he would have to bring in the new generation of genin... and probably Gai's team too, and inform them about the reward. Maybe he should post a reminder down in the mission room, since most ninja would probably have forgotten about the verbal request from the Hokage by now. Well most of them...

As if on cue, the most concerned of all his ninjas walked into his office, his lazy, disaffected look contrasting completely with the sharp mind that Sarutobi knew resided behind the masks. "I've not heard anything about her Kakashi..."

"Maa... I see..." Kakashi answered with a heavy sigh. It was his sensei's daughter, he should have been there for her when she was younger, but he hadn't even known until the Hokage's request three years ago that he'd even had a daughter. And that was only because he knew about the secret marriage of Minato to Kushina. Turning around, he started to slump out of the office. "Remember to bring your team tomorrow... we might just find her this time..."

"Hai... we'll be there..." Kakashi answered with disappointment thick in his voice. Sarutobi knew that he'd wanted to have Naruko on his team, but the council had forced him to do everything in his power to get Sasuke Uchiha placed under Kakashi. And so like a good soldier, Kakashi trained the Uchiha survivor and the two teammates that had been assigned to him.

Looking out over the village, Sarutobi frowned as he knew they'd failed not only the greatest hero to ever come forth, but themselves as well. He couldn't fault them too much, for he was even more guilty than they. He had failed a little girl, and possibly the greatest hope for the future they had.

Maybe there was still time to make amends... but each passing day he doubted it more and more.

If only there was some clue as to where Naruko Uzumaki had gone...